- Paragrim Ltd tricked consumers into signing up to the Mediacraze.net website
- Consumers were charged a monthly direct debit without their permission and which they were unable to easily unsubscribe from
- Insolvency Service investigations found no evidence the website provided any actual services or that the company was trading legitimately
A company which tricked people into signing up for monthly direct debits has been shut down following an investigation by the Insolvency Service.
Paragrim Ltd, trading under the Mediacraze.net website, deliberately misled consumers into providing bank details for what they assumed were everyday online purchases, such as car parking or television streaming services.
But after being duped into logging in to the Mediacraze website, they later discovered they had been signed up to monthly direct debit payments.
Mark George, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:
The actions of Paragrim Ltd in manipulating customers were highly deceptive and dishonest.
Unsuspecting consumers were signed up to a membership scheme which they did not want or indeed think they were paying for, leaving them out of pocket.
The Insolvency Service will not hesitate to take robust action to protect consumers and we would encourage everyone to be vigilant against scams such as this one.
Consumers were often misdirected to the website after scanning QR codes on their mobile phones.
They were charged a small fee for a five-day "free" trial without their authorisation before being signed up to pay £29.99 each month.
Investigations revealed Paragrim, based at an address on Nascot Place in Watford, was managed on behalf of a Canadian businesswoman.
Paragrim failed to co-operate with the Insolvency Service's investigation.
The Mediacraze.net website is no longer active and a winding-up order was made against the company at the High Court on 5 December 2023.
Investigations by the Insolvency Service are ongoing.
