In some cases this has been capped by two-thirds.

The decision to apply the cap was implemented by Vodafone head of indirect sales Richard Hurring. A letter to SPs stated: Any connections that exceed targets will not receive standard bonus payments or discretionary support.

One SP was given a few hours notice that he had to cut his weekly connections by two-thirds.

Vodafones major independent SPs include Yes Telecom Intercity and Aerofone. They met up with Vodafone a month ago at a Heathrow Hotel roadshow to be told to go for growth.

This has come from the top said one source. Vodafone looked at its whole UK operation and found a lot of budgets were over-spent. It hit the last quarter and the books didnt balance. Something had to give.

Vodafone has seen 3 and Orange pull back. The networks went hell for leather in the first nine months but have now put the brakes on.

According to the source the capping is across the board.

You can understand why. If theres no budget theres no budget. The upshot is that every service provider has to do fewer connections yet its still got to support its direct sales teams. The SPs still have their own businesses to run. Their people are all being paid salaries and incur overheads. How can the SPs keep them if they are not allowed to do the business?

Another Vodafone supplier added: In the past SPs would not always get the funding they were after. But they knew they could rely on it. The new era of Vodafone management thought this was old-style thinking. They now want to give the SPs everything they ask for and then deal with the financial implications at six-month intervals. They have turned the partnership relationship into a supplier relationship. The trouble is when Vodafone decides to turn the tap back on its SPs will be doing business with the other networks.

A Vodafone spokesman commented: We have asked our independent service provider partners to work within a budget set between now and the end of the year to avoid the foot-on-foot-off accusation. This gives them a set limit to work towards until the end of the year. During this period we will be talking to them to help them to grow their businesses with Vodafone.

Acson which traded under the Ora name went into administrative receivership after a shareholder suddenly withdrew investment.

Ora CEO Peter Oliver attempted to buy the company out of receivership before MWG made a better offer to insolvency practitioner Kingston Smith & Partners.

Mobile News understands that other parties interested in acquiring Ora included Unique Distribution and The Accessory People among others.

MWG subsidiary Portix will take on Oras trade and assets. Portix managing director Steve Muttram said the acquisition gives the Ora brand and staff a new lease of life. Portix will distribute third-party accessories under the Ora brand through Portix and the other MWG businesses.

We have been looking for a brand through which we can sell third-party accessories said Muttram. Up to now we have sold a lot of third-party accessories but they havent had a brand identity. The motivation behind the acquisition was to revitalise the Ora brand and to sell Ora-branded accessories through existing Ora channels and through the group.

Portix has transferred Oras stock to the MWG warehouse in Manchester and informed clients of the change of address. Ora has 500 existing trading accounts according to Muttram.

They have traded in the past year – though it is difficult to tell whether or not they remain active he said.

Oras sales staff and managerial team have been retained and moved to a smaller premises in Aylesbury though it is unclear whether Oliver will remain.

Sony Ericsson refused to comment but a senior source at a rival manufacturer told Mobile News: It has happened. Its an open secret.

LG Mobile sales director John Barton added: Peter has moved to a Vodafone global role.

Barton suggested that Sony Ericsson might promote from within the company.

He said: Sony Ericsson either hasnt decided what it will do yet or has chosen to replace Peter with somebody already within the company.

Its not possible to give precise figures for the money involved in other similar cases as the status of each case is being reviewed in the light of the ECJs guidance and other action to protect the revenue may be taken. However the tax at stake is certainly not the billions of pounds suggested. At most the tax that would have to be paid back is around 105m. We have written out to the traders involved and given them the following helpline number to discuss their case: 01737 734 510.

The losses to this country have risen from 1.4bn to 1.9bn in the last 12 months. There should now be a public enquiry into their strategy.

Ian Prescott founding partner and director of Bond House said:

For the past three years we have been forced to cease trading after the withdrawal of a VAT refund of 13.2m. Myself and the other business directors and their families have suffered terribly as a result of the Customs actions. It has been a long and painful battle. Customs should never have been able to act in this way.

Orange embarked on an internal process last year to identify dealers and distance resellers that were delivering low-value connections. That process should be completed in the first half of 2006. A cull of low-value connectors will follow.

Orange head of independent retail Chris Hough said: We have paid good money for commissions because we want to reward dealers not consumers. We will strengthen our relationships with the dealers that bring us good value business but we wont hesitate to cull a few that fall below that threshold.

Associate sales director Craig Abraham was Dextras national account manager for Orange. He is understood to have died instantly after a collision with another skier on Tuesday.

The 33-year-old New Zealander joined Dextra two-and-a-half years ago and was on the trip at the Val dIsere with his boss Dextra CEO Mark Ormerod who is said to be distraught over his employees tragic death.

Craig was one of the nicest guys you could have ever of hoped to work with he said. We will all miss Craig desperately at Dextra. His colleagues and friends throughout the Caudwell Group are feeling the loss of a super guy a talented business man a fantastic colleague but most of all a fun-loving guy who would always find time for joke and a chat with anyone in the office.

Mark Squires director of corporate communications at Nokia confirmed that the trip was cut short following the incident and all the delegates flew back to England the following day.

Craigs death is being investigated at the moment – we cannot discuss it until after the post mortem he said. Its been very harrowing for everyone involved. We flew everyone back as soon as we could.

Squires said that Abrahams parents were notified late on Wednesday because of the 12-hour time difference in New Zealand.

The skiing trip is something we do every year with our suppliers just ahead of 3GSM so that we can talk through what will be happening there added Squires.

Meanwhile Abrahams death is being mourned at Caudwells Staffordshire HQ. In an official statement a spokesman said: It is with great sadness that we can confirm the death of Craig Abraham. Our deepest sympathies go out to Craigs family and friends at this difficult time.

One colleague described Abraham as a friendly and popular member of the Dextra workforce.

He was an all round nice guy – the type everyone got on with – and his death has come as a real shock. He will be sorely missed.

Commenting on the tragedy John Caudwell said: Craig was an inspiration to those around him. His professionalism devotion and fun loving approach to work had a positive impact on everyone he met. His popularity and ability to be a good friend as well as a work colleague will be sadly missed.

Abraham leaves behind a partner Helen as well as his mother and two sisters in New Zealand.

The investigation follows criticism that Customs had not followed disclosure procedures in a missing trader case. Justice Crane accused the officials of muddle incompetence and lack of frankness.

Defence lawyers and Customs own barrister were not told prosecution witnesses were under investigation in a separate Customs case.

This led to the collapse of the trial at a cost of 60 million.

Its the proper thing to do said Jason Collins a partner in the tax litigation of law firm McGrigors. There has been a culture in Customs of getting their man at all costs. But it must go through due process.

Anthony Barnfather defence counsel in the Operation Venison case said: My client is pleased there is going to be an investigation.

A Customs spokesperson said: We are committed to ensuring the issues raised are fully investigated and we will be cooperating fully with the IPCC.

See feature page 20

A Phones 4U spokesman confirmed that the sales manager had not turned up to work since last Monday (January 23) when the theft took place.

The assistant sales manager turned up to work and reported it said the spokesman. The sales manager is not at work. We cant comment any more until the police investigation has been concluded.

A source close to Phones 4U told Mobile News that the Union Street sales manager had stolen 100000 in SIM-free stock together with three days takings.

He took everything and hasnt been seen since. It is estimated that he took 100000 in stock and the weekends takings said the source.

The sales manager allegedly missed a Phones 4U sales conference in Dumfries on January 23. He was expected to share a ride to the conference with the sales manager of the Phones 4U branch in Aberdeens St Nicholas shopping centre according to the source.

The Phones 4U spokesman was unable to confirm the total loss.

We dont know that [figure] until police have investigated he said. Auditors are checking to see whats missing and what needs to be accounted for. l Meanwhile Phones 4U recorded bumper sales over 2005 and has outlined plans for expansion.

See feature page 26

O₂ is the last UK operator to exclude the numbers and began enforcing the new policy to new customers in April. The latest announcement means that both existing subscribers and new customers can no longer call make calls to the numbers within their inclusive minutes.

Calls to O₂ customer services and telephone helpline association are the only exceptions to the groups new charging policy.

A spokesperson for O₂ said: O₂ constantly reviews its tariffs to make sure that they offer the best value to the most customers. We regularly introduce new services and benefits to make sure that O₂ remains competitive.

Unlike many of our competitors our customers have enjoyed five years of being able to call non-geographic numbers from within their inclusive bundle. From time to time we make changes to our call plans to ensure that our charges are fair for the most people. Overall these changes are giving better value to our customers.