This blog is written by me, Philip Smith-Lawrence, to enable me to reply to the anonymous blogger and the newspaper journalist, who have both been on a campaign of disinformation, which to some has worked. The nonsense written by a journalist in a national newspaper, is the same journalist that has lied to get his children into better schools! Not a good thing to do when you are exposing liars and cheats in the national press!
I will address the antics of the journalist in a more indepth, in a separate blog post.
It is still an ongoing situation with the anonymous blogger which started in 2009. The anonymous blog has contributed to the company being wound up and me being banned as a director for 10 years. I was banned for publishing misleading 'POTENTIAL' earnings information.
There is also wrong information about this whole affair which has been published, by a journalist in the national press. He has gotten some of his facts wrong, and not even bothered to get court transcript to use the actual facts. It does seem he is intent on getting at the previous owner of the business (whose was named in the article), whilst also tarnishing a product and a company that has nothing to do with me, save for the fact that I sold the product for the company, as a self employed sales person.
In December 2008 I took over a company called Advanced Media Information Limited (AMI Ltd). It was a young company with great potential, and there had been a pilot of the franchise model operated that had proven the business model worked, and that is what attracted me to the company.
The company sited digital touch screen information kiosks in hotel foyers to assist hotel guests in locating local attractions and businesses in the local area, an area that the hotel guests may not be familiar with.
It was in early 2009 that a number of blogs and discussion forums appeared on the internet, set up by existing franchisees, others were set up by persons unknown. At first they were aimed at the previous owner of the business, but the focus soon changed to me, and that focus on me has continued to this day, for whatever reason(s), I don’t know?
The anonymous blogger has never identified him or herself, yet they consistently quote disinformation and they do not even have the decency to allow me a right of reply on their blog, nor have they made themselves known.
When I took over the company it already had a number of franchisees, which I inherited and which the court accepted. Some of the franchisees made a success of their franchised business, but this has never been acknowledged by journalists, but this fact has been acknowledged by the District Judge sitting at the High Court, however other franchisees struggled, which was also accepted by the District Judge sitting at the High Court.
I would like all those that understand the business of franchising to name me a franchise operation that doesn’t have franchisees that struggle?
The majority of franchisees that I had inherited didn’t even start to operate their business, for whatever reason(s). I don’t know why they never started their business, but despite trying to contact them, by various means, they never ever replied to any of my requests for contact!
Throughout my tenure at the business I tried to help any and all the franchisees that wanted help – with one to one meetings, training courses, help with recruiting sales people, training of their sales people and ensuring that the hotel sites were happy. I even brought in self employed sales people who went out and sold advertising space onto the kiosks and proved that the business model worked. All this documented and verifiable.
Some, maybe one or more of the franchisees, decided that they were not getting what they wanted from their franchised business, so rather than air their concerns at a meeting of other franchisees, attended by myself and the company sales staff, which was held on a Sunday and lasted for three hours, they decided to go to the CIB, and the rest is history as they say, or is it?
The result has been that the company was closed by the court in February 2012 and I was disqualified from being a director for 10 years. I will post online the District Judge’s summation when I receive it.
There are two sides to every story and in this blog I will state the facts as they are that will rebut the disinformation of the anonymous blogger and put right the ‘hack’ that wrote the piece in the ‘ragtop’ he works for. I am in receipt of all the documentation that the CIB has had, that same documentation that they used to draw up the winding petition for Advanced Media Information Limited (AMI Ltd). To my knowledge the anonymous blogger does not have this information, and nor does the ‘hack’, yet they still comment on the situation?
This is an ongoing situation as the company, Advanced Media Information, was wound up in the High Court in February 2012 and for pragmatic reasons, I did not defend the winding up order, but I maintain that the accusations in the petition of the Secretary of State are/were wholly refuted by me. A letter to this effect was accepted by the presiding judge, and is on file.
I will be posting over time, all the documents I have relating to this situation and the evidence that the Government decided to use against me.
I have often wondered how a company can go from being invited to a private luncheon with the North West’s great and good, hosted by a billionaire property developer and attended by a The Right Honourable Mark Prisk MP, Minister of State for Business and Enterprises, to the same company being closed down in the space of 18 months?
Please feel free to contact should you wish to discuss any of the above.
Thank you for your time.
Regards,
Philip Smith-Lawrence
