London-based SOFY 82 UK Ltd offered rental tenants a '100 per cent deposit return guarantee' for cleaning services which were not carried out and then refused refunds.
- SOFY 82 UK Ltd claimed to be one of the top cleaning companies in the UK.
- The Insolvency Service found evidence of customers not receiving services they had paid for, denied refunds, and numerous false claims including guaranteed full tenancy deposit returns.
- The company was subject to a winding up order at the High Court in London on 2 September 2025.
A cleaning company which attracted renters at the end of their tenancies has been shut down after the Insolvency Service found it had failed to carry out services, refused refunds and falsely claimed to be a 'top 10 cleaning company in the UK'.
SOFY 82 UK Ltd, which was registered at a residential address in Tottenham, provided domestic and commercial cleaning services.
The company, who's director is Sofka Ivanova Popova, was named as suppliers on an inactive website.
They falsely claimed to be a 'top 10 cleaning company in the UK' and promised customers they would receive a full return on their rental deposit from their landlords - a decision out of their control - and receive a '100 per cent refund guarantee.'
An Insolvency Service investigation found that at least 28 customers had made part, or full, payments of between £80 and £400, totalling £5,101.
In each case, cleaning services were not carried out or provided to a poor standard and any requests for refunds were refused, sometimes aggressively.
Some customers had also been pressurised into making payments in full after receiving a quote.
SOFY 82 UK Ltd was subject to a successful winding up order at the High Court in London on 2 September 2025.
Insolvency Service Chief Investigator Edna Okhiria said: "Through false and misleading claims, occasional use of aggressive sales tactics and providing a poor service, SOFY 82 UK Ltd took thousands of pounds from unsuspecting customers.
There were clear concerns about the company, not least the evidence of customers not receiving requested refunds and having paid for a service that wasn't provided.
This successful winding up order ensures that no one else is affected by this company's poor business practices and hopefully deters others from operating in the same manner.
The Insolvency Service received limited cooperation from Director Sofka Ivanova Popova.
The company failed to produce all its trading and accounting records during the investigation, where there is a requirement to do so. As such, the investigators were unable to examine all their transactions.
For example, between 2020 and 2025, they failed to account for receipts for four company bank accounts totalling £729,982, and only £21,047 worth of issued invoices could be accounted for.
Additionally, the company obtained £36,539 from the government's Covid Job Retention Scheme. Due to the lack of accounting records, the Insolvency Service could not find evidence that the funds had been used properly, but bank accounts show that money was deposited in Ms Popava's and direct family member's accounts at the time the government money was received.
A trading premises for the company has not been identified.
The Official Receiver has been appointed as liquidator of SOFY 82 UK Ltd.
All enquiries concerning the affairs of the companies should be made to the Official Receiver of the Public Interest Unit: 16th Floor, 1 Westfield Avenue, Stratford, London, E20 1HZ.
