A list which is in Mobile News possession identifies several well-known companies writes Paul Tweeddale.

At the time of going to press Customs and Excise had not returned our calls to verify the lists authenticity.

Many traders were furious that their name appeared.

It is absolutely diabolical that some list can come from Customs or anyone else insinuating that the companies listed are involved in VAT fraud. Especially when its legitimate people like us who appear on it fumed one trader.

We havent heard from Customs and we havent had a visit. I realise they have to stem the tide of VAT fraud. But they have put a lot of legitimate businesses like ourselves out of business because of the rules they have introduced. And now to complicate things with an unofficial list is just ridiculous.

The international sales and purchasing manager of another company named denied any wrongdoing and said he was keen to find out why his company has been linked to carousel fraud in this way.

We have no idea why were are on the list and we are very frustrated. We are trying to see how we are involved. There are so many names on the list that it is as if the whole industry is involved.

We have been in the mobile market for many years and we have never had any enquiries from Customs and Excise before.

We will be speaking to our suppliers to see what is going on. This stuff has almost stopped our business.

The sooner we can get rid of the bad companies and the sooner we can get back to normal the better said the trader.

One trader who has been questioned by VAT investigators said:

We dont know why our name appears on the list. We stopped trading after the new legislation came into effect in March.

When Customs turned up early in the morning they didnt tell us which deals they were investigating or when.

They just asked us if we knew any of the companies.We have done nothing wrong. All we are doing is helping Customs with their enquiries. Just because one company does one thing doesnt mean all of us should be tarred with the same brush.

All our suppliers are cleared with Customs and Excise before we deal with them and at the end of every month we send the details of any new company weve traded with back to Customs. (Cont p2)

Other dealers reacted angrily to the news they were on the list

One trader raged: It is bad enough having people gossiping about who is on the list.

If our company name appears in Mobile News as being on the list it could end our business.

The Customs hit list follows a massive raid by 350 Customs and Excise officers on July 2. More than 70 businesses and homes in the UK and Spain were raided.

In England searches and arrests were made in the counties of Buckinghamshire Cheshire Essex Lancashire Middlesex Staffordshire and Surrey and in Coventry Liverpool London Manchester Northampton Reading Sheffield Slough and Wolverhampton.

Raids also took place in Wales in Cardiff and Wrexham. About 350 Customs officers were involved helped by police in Britain and Spain.

Not even The Carphone Warehouse escaped the extensive dragnet. Customs officers arrived unannounced at the companys Acton headquarters and quizzed distribution head Tony Jeffrey and another member of the trading team under caution before leaving with a quantity of files.

We havent heard anything further. We think they wanted to speak to our guys because they want information about some of the other people they are investigating said Carphone Warehouse chief executive Charles Dunstone.

Ironically The Carphone Warehouse ceased much of its trading earlier this year. The company still deals in traded-in stock and sources kit for its stores from the Far East but has stopped buying equipment in the UK. Dunstone says the pull-back will cost the company up to 4 million a year.

The networks (with the exception of O2) together blew 10 million in legal and consultancy fees to challenge a ruling by Oftel and the Competition Commission that they had to reduce their termination charges.

Thats the estimate of outgoing Oftel director general David Edmonds who gave an exclusive interview with Mobile News following the High Courts decision to dismiss the networks legal challenge.

But Edmonds insists he is not gloating over Oftels victory

Im not triumphant but I am pleased that that the work we carried out over the past two years has been vindicated.

I am delighted the High Court ruled that Oftel and the Competition Commission had acted properly he said.

I am sorry it came to this. I thought the proposals we made two years ago were fair to the industry and fair to consumers. At the time the market was suffering considerable turbulence.

I thought RPI minus 11 per cent was fair to everybody. The Competition Commission argued that I had been too fair and toughened up the price controls.

Ive heard the networks have spent 10 million in legal and consultancy fees. The diversion of management effort must have been significant. The networks now are slightly worse off than they might have been if theyd accepted my original proposals.

I am disappointed that the industry didnt see the sense of what I am proposing although I am pleased that O2 disassociated itself from the appeal. That was a sensible decision.

In regulation you come to the end of one cycle and you get straight on with the next.

Im meeting with Vodafone in a couple of days. The question of termination charges will come up but Im far more interested in the way it is planning to enter the world of 3G.

Regulators cant be vindictive or triumphalist. They have to get on with the task of regulation.

The FTI warned the Government to defer the legislation until it could be approved by the European Court of Justice. A spokesman for the Chancellors office told Mobile News:

The clauses 17 and 18 are compatible with EC VAT law and the Human Rights Act. They are a proportionate response to companies undermining the VAT system. There are safeguards to ensure legitimate businesses are protected. There is an appeals procedure.

FTI chairman Mark Cook said the FTI would now serve an injunction against the Government to prevent the joint and several liability clause of the Finance Bill becoming enactable.

The Governments approach is misconceived. Our counsel believes the new VAT directives are not in line with European law.

The proposed new legislation now awaits a date to become law without any amendments. A House of Lords Select Committee report has recommended Customs officers with suspicions about a trader should first take the case to a VAT Tribunal to decide culpability. Customs would have to prove traders were guilty of fraud before issuing assessments.

The Finance Bill has passed through all Parliamentary stages. A date for the bill to be granted Royal Assent is to be set before Parliament goes to recess. No amendments are planned.

Walker confirmed that while a local Customs investigator might want to prosecute a case the decision would have to go though an independent pre-approvals body before companies were fined or joint and several liability measures were applied.

Walker stressed that Customs is not after honest businesses that can demonstrate they have done all they can to avoid carousel fraud.

He claimed that traders have no reason to worry about checking beyond their initial supplier and customer as long as they ask the right questions before doing a deal.

If an honest and legitimate business does everything it can to avoid being caught up and we are satisfied it has made all reasonable checks we are not going to apply joint and several liability.

But the threat of being hit for liability has already driven several traders out of the business. This is having a knock-on effect up and down the supply chain.

MoCo Cell Link boss Maurice Whelan said: Handset trading has come to a shuddering halt. I am petrified of buying from anyone other than the networks or big distributors. It is even a big risk buying stock from respected traders.

Keith Bennett of trading company Furzfield added:

Customs owes us a large amount from March that we havent seen. There is no point staying in the industry. Customs has its talons out and it is looking for some people to make an example of.

A despairing Stuart Wright of Phone Trade said: We arent trading anymore. There is no way we can. With the joint and several liability ruling there is absolutely no way that I can continue trading.

The only people I can truly know if they are legit are my customers and my direct suppliers. Outside of that I just havent a clue.

(See full story P18)

A disgruntled former Orange store assistant is taking the network to court over wages he alleges are owed to him.

David Polson 25 worked in Oranges retail store in Yeovil for seven months in 2002 as a full-time assistant.

During this time he claims the network failed to provide him with the free Nokia handset it promised him failed to increase his wages following the successful completion of his training and failed to pay him his holiday entitlement when he left.

I received no support from my store manager or regional manager when I told them of my problems he said.

They were more interested with procedures and as long as the handsets were correctly lined up they thought they were doing their jobs.

I was told that someone was sorting it out but for my last month I found myself spending more time on the phone trying to sort out my wages than actually helping customers. This meant I was losing the chance to earn commission.

Polson who now works as a graphic designer with a business consultancy also says he incurred bank charges because of the failure of the network to pay his wages accurately. He is also demanding Orange pay the charges.

The case has been transferred to Yeovil County Court.

At time of going to press Orange had not commented on the case.

The letter attributed to development manager Helen Keys said:

Because theres an extremely high demand for mobile numbers but only a limited number to go round if you dont start using yours again soon well be reluctantly obliged to disconnect it to make room for new customers.

One of the recipients complained to a Sunday newspaper. Vodafone apologised and admitted that the letter was badly written and quite aggressive.

There have been a number of senior meetings at Vodafone as the network tries to get to the bottom of the incident.

It is understood that the letter would have had to have passed through a number of hands before it was finally given clearance to be sent.

Vodafone said no one had been dismissed and no disciplinary action had been taken.

Speaking exclusively to Mobile News McGlade said:

We will not be drawn into a price war with 3. Why should we drop our prices? We have a very strong position in the market. We have a great network great products and great services.

3 has some significant hurdles to overcome. It has chunky handsets that have poor battery life. There is also the quality of the network. By reducing the prices it is looking to get some momentum. We wont react to that simply because its the wrong thing to do. We will watch 3 closely but we wont be increasing subsidy.

Masson said: The cuts in dealer subsidies and the changes in returns policies have left dealers feeling like they are being told what to do by networks who dont care about them. The new scheme is about working closer as partners and showing that we do value them.

Masson says that since the top 20 per cent of independent dealers perform 80 per cent of the business for T-Mobile it makes sense for the network to make a concerted effort to forge closer links with these dealers.

The network held conferences in London and Manchester in the first week of August at which Masson spoke to dealers about the possible benefits of such a programme.

I didnt want it to be just a lot of talk so we came up with some ideas and suggestions. I asked dealers to go away and think about the scheme and whether they would like to be involved. Some might not but I have asked those who are interested to contact me and we will come and spend half a day with them talking about the programme.

Masson said dealers would be invited to become part of the accreditation programme subject to meeting certain criteria ranging from quality of dealership to volume of sales.

Those who become part of the scheme will receive greater help in account management from a T-Mobile account manager as well as joint promotional activity and the possibility of joint investment. Masson said the network had 1 million to spend in providing live handsets and laptops to demonstrate the services it offers.

Masson continued: It is not about adding 20 to 30 on to commission for these people. Its about working as a partner and helping dealers be it with promotion or other (cont P2) ventures that they might be considering.

As well as the top 25 to 30 dealers Masson said he was keen to hear from any dealer who wants to work with T-Mobile.

There are certain locations around the country where we feel we need more dealers and if dealers like what we are doing we would like to hear from them.

T-Mobile is also recruiting another eight dealers to expand its Business Partner programme as it continues its drive to capture more high-value SME customers.

The network is one of the last to launch a specialist dealer initiative which follows Vodafones Business Connectivity Club and Oranges Business Specialist scheme. T-Mobile head of business partners John Fannon told Mobile News the scheme is still in its early stages but reckoned the network was aiming for 20 per cent of the small business market.

He confirmed the networks plans to expand the scheme saying:

We are recruiting more dealers for the programme. We want to have 18 in place by Q3 and 25 by next year.

Fannon said T-Mobiles Business Partner programme is designed to target high-value SME customers and reward the selected dealers with ongoing revenue. Ten dealers kicked off the programme last month. They are: Isis Scottish Communication Systems Mobil-One WN1 CCC Network Challenger 31E Yes Telecom Vanguard and Yorkshire Phones.

T-Mobile said its selected partners would need to meet specific criteria such as making 500 business connections per quarter.

The Business Partner connections need to perform to a set level of call spend each month in order for the dealers to qualify for bonuses and ongoing revenue. Business Partner dealers are also offered dedicated marketing support account managers and customer service.

Among other tools offered to dealers is the ability to offer business customers older discontinued business tariffs and discounts on existing tariffs to match deals offered by other networks.

Isobel Townsley 36 of Perth was appearing before Sheriff James Tierney on motoring charges.

While she was being sentenced people in the public gallery were seen giggling and holding up a Nokia 7650 handset. After Townsley who had been fined 350 for driving without insurance and with defective tyres left the dock a police officer followed her and confiscated the phone believed to belong to Townsley. He reported the matter to the Sheriff who recalled the original case.

Sheriff Tierney said the incident raised serious issues for the future conduct of cases within the Scottish legal system and cited the alleged culprit to appear before him.

At issue is whether the phone transmitted still images from the courtroom. He said: it seems to me to be an extremely serious matter with clear potential consequences for anyone knowingly involved in what was going on.

Under Scottish law court proceedings may not be filmed except in exceptional circumstances where permission has been previously granted by the court.

According to the court office the police have not confirmed a picture was transmitted. Once this has been established Townsley will be recalled. Meanwhile the charges still stand.

Representatives from four companies along with the FTIs legal firm Dass Jakhu met officials from the European Commissions Taxation and Customs Union Directorate a fortnight ago to explain why they believe the new UK VAT laws are unfair and why they are wrecking the industry.

The EU officials said they would be monitoring developments and would only be able to act if they saw UK customs officials apply the new legislation in an unfair manner over a period of time. The EU Commissioners said they would judge whether measures such as VAT and duties tribunals and other legal provisions offer traders a realistic chance of defending themselves. The FTI said it would be sending a dossier of evidence to the Commission to back up its claim.

One of the traders David Downey of 1st Mobile said:

Customs and Excise claims it will apply the laws with a light touch but this is simply not borne out by its behaviour. The onus is completely on us to prove the legitimacy of our trading. Whether it intends to or not Customs and Excise is systematically wrecking and destroying our industry.

Corporate4U had 100000 corporate customers under management connected to Vodafone and O2.

This customer base is on Singlepoint contracts and was part of the 405 million Singlepoint sale.

In a separate negotiation Vodafone has purchased the goodwill and infrastructure of Corporate4U. A statement from Caudwell Group said that Vodafone had to buy the firm as it became obvious that the separation of the business from Singlepoint was not practically possible.

Corporate4U offers advanced corporate mobile voice and data solutions such as BlackBerry and Vodafone Mobile Connect as well as fixed-line services.

However a question mark hangs over the fate of the 420 Corporate4U employees.

Around half of them are in sales and account management and are likely to be retained. But those in management and administration may well find themselves facing redundancy as their roles are already duplicated at Vodafone.

Sources say Cattersons departure coincided with Phones 4Us drive to become the UKs number one retailer. An industry figure close to the company hinted that Catterson was not regarded as being able to fulfil John Caudwells ambition for Phones 4U to be the UKs top mobile retailer.

Earlier this month Caudwell poached The Link operations director John Welsh to fill the same post at Phones 4U. Welsh had over 20 years experience in retail with the Dixons group and his arrival meant Cattersons route to the top was blocked.

Outgoing Vodafone sales and distribution director Stephen Brewer told Mobile News: Corporate4U is quite a hard sales and smart sales organisation with the majority of its customers on Vodafone. It was an extension of Singelpoint but was run as a separate business within the Caudwell Group. The job now is to consolidate the management and sales teams.

(see Brewer interview P28)

Corkhill 33 of Croxton Eccleshall in Staffordshire was investigated by Customs after her companies Mondial Mobile and Pysen purchased 18 million of phones from four companies who all subsequently disappeared without paying the VAT to customs.

In 1999 Corkhill set up two mobile phone trading companies called Holerone and Mondial Mobile. Corkhill ran Mondial from the UK.

She hired three French-based accomplices to manage Holerone. Between May and September 1999 Mondial bought 6m of handsets from Holerone.

Mondial reclaimed the VAT from Customs. Holerone disappeared without paying the VAT.

To throw Customs investigaortrs off her scent Corkhill purchased off-the-shelf company Pysen in 1999 and started to purchase handsets from three other companies (Maxonic Technologies Chester Art and Safinia) which had links to the former management of missing trader Holerone.

Between February and August 2000 Pysen bought 12m worth of handsets from Maxonic Chester Art and Safinia.

The three companies charged Pysen VAT. But like Holerone they too went missing without paying the VAT. Pysen successfully reclaimed 2m in input tax from customs. Customs officials realised Corkhill was again involved in a second missing trader fraud.

They decided it was no coincidence and investigated further leading to her eventual conviction.

Customs and Excise assistant chief investigation officer Peter Wiltshire said:

This was a large scale fraud which took place across international frontiers The overseas participants needed someone with experience in the trade who was fluent in French. Lisa Corkhill used her experience and inside knowledge of the mobile phone industry to help steal millions of pounds of public money. She is now paying a heavy price for her dishonesty. I want there to be no doubt amongst those involved in this crime that we are determined to identify them bring them to justice and deprive them of their criminal profits.