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Hario Trading Co., Limited and Sayhi International Co., Limited have been shut down following investigations by the Insolvency Service
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Concerns were identified that the companies, which are connected by shared present and former directors, were selling low-quality women’s clothing online
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In some cases, customers said they did not receive the goods they paid for and could not secure refunds from the companies
Two companies selling women’s clothing online from a warehouse in China have been shut down after concerns were identified that they were selling sub-standard goods to the public.
Hario Trading Co., Limited and Sayhi International Co., Limited were wound-up at the High Court in London on Tuesday 5 November.
Investigators from the Insolvency Service were concerned the companies were not providing refunds to customers for their poor-quality items and in some cases, were not providing the goods at all.
The companies sold mainly women’s clothing exclusively via the internet and targeted English-speaking markets, notably the UK and USA.
Both Hario Trading and Sayhi International were also found to not be operating from the UK despite having registered offices in Nottingham and Cambridge and accountants based in London.
Concerns over the reliability of the financial information and accounts were also identified during the course of the investigation, which began earlier this year.
Cheryl Lambert, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:
We were concerned that Hario Trading and Sayhi International were set up as companies primarily to sell second-rate goods to the public while those ultimately behind the businesses avoided scrutiny and accountability.
Both companies gave their customers a false sense of security that they were operating from the UK and subject to our rules and regulations. In reality, Hario Trading and Sayhi International had no presence at their registered offices and were harming the UK’s reputation as a safe place to do business.
Our investigations concluded that both companies could be used as vehicles for fraud in the future and customers may suffer further financial losses, which is why the Secretary of State applied to have them wound-up in the public interest.
Insolvency Service investigations into Hario Trading and Sayhi International began in January this year.
Online reviews of the companies revealed complaints from several customers that they never received the goods they ordered. In the case of Sayhi International, some complainants said they were given a lower value substitute of the item they paid for.
A total of 29 customers specifically stated that they considered Hario Trading and Sayhi International were running a scam.
Both companies were also found to have failed to maintain a registered UK office address as required under law.
Hario Trading’s registered offices had previously been in Surrey, London and Cambridge before moving to the Wheatcroft Business Park on Landmere Lane in Nottingham in early January 2024.
However, investigators visited the business park and spoke to the site manager who said the company had never had a physical presence there.
Similarly, Sayhi International had registered offices in London, Surrey and Manchester before changing its address to Aberdeen Avenue in Cambridge in January 2023.
Investigators discovered a large number of companies with their registered office at that address, many of which had the distinctive phrase ‘Co., Limited’ in their name.
The address itself on further investigation, was found to be a residential property.
Insolvency Service investigations eventually tracked down one of the company directors, Yanbo Zhao, through a firm based in Shanghai, which described itself as providing “professional registration of overseas companies/offshore account opening/annual tax declaration” services to its clients.
Interviews with Zhao revealed a lack of knowledge of both Hario Trading and Sayhi International. Zhao was unable to recall the name of either company’s website and did not know the address of the warehouse.
The directors resigned during the course of the Insolvency Service’s investigations and were replaced by a Tao Zhou. Repeated attempts to contact Zhou, the current sole director of Hario Trading and Sayhi International, were unsuccessful.
Analysis of the financial transactions shown in both Hario Trading and Sayhi International’s ledgers and the figures in their company accounts were unrealistic to a degree that investigators believed them to be fabricated and deliberately false.
All enquiries concerning the affairs of the Hario Trading and Sayhi International should be made to the Official Receiver of the Public Interest Unit: 16th Floor, 1 Westfield Avenue, Stratford, London, E20 1HZ. Email: piu.or@insolvency.gov.uk.