Neil Wilby Media

Over the past month or so, a journalistic investigation has been conducted into a computer company based in West Lancashire run by a man widely known as ‘The Ormskirk Vigilante’ (read why here).

Liverpudlian, Paul Arthur Ponting, 53, is principal shareholder of Danoli Solutions Ltd. (“Danoli”) and the company HQ in New Court Way, near Ormskirk railway station, attracted attention as it is used as the base for pursuit of The Vigilante’s infamous vendettas, wide-scale internet trolling and campaigns of harassment. A number of the websites he uses for those purposes are registered at the business address.

The articles that have flowed from the investigations have charted an ever worsening financial and governance position for Danoli and Ponting. These include, but are not limited, to suspicions of:

Trading whilst insolvent.

Accounting issues, particularly cash transactions.

Preferential treatment of creditors.

Misrepresenting the size and scope of the business and its services, including the number of its specialist employees.

Misrepresenting itself as a Microsoft Partner.

The most recent article in the series reported a compulsory strike-off warning filed by the Registrar of Companies which, if followed through and absent of objections, would spell the end of the company (read more here).

Now it has emerged that what appears to be a ‘phoenix company’ has replaced Danoli at the same business premises. It is styled ‘Solar IT’ and a scrape of the internet throws up a 5* review made by Jenna Lynch-Bolger that was posted ‘around a month ago’.

“Bought a laptop here and the guys were so helpful! Brilliant shop, highly recommended! Thanks so much”.

A concern for Jenna might be that the laptop she bought from Solar IT may not have belonged to them. Rather it is more likely to have been the property of Danoli or its creditors.

This is how the new business entity describes itself on Google. The images that accompanied this narrative were posted three months ago:

“SOLAR IT is a leading provider of Telecoms, Managed Services & Cloud Services, either onsite or hosted. SOLAR IT also provide specialist services to home users such as problems with your computer, laptop or phone. They can be repaired in our professional workshop, or, if you prefer, we can send an engineer to your home”.

There is no website or email contact for Solar IT and, as recently as last Saturday (30th July, 2023), Paul Ponting was issuing threats to the author of this, and the previous articles, Neil Wilby, via a Danoli email address. Solar IT also appears absent from social media so far but its grandiose claim of being a ‘leading provider’ is typical Ponting hyperbole (or deception if the reader prefers).

A call to the new business number was made on the pretext of needing IT support and to find out more about Solar IT. It went to voice mail and the announcement was “Danoli Solutions”. That call was audio recorded.

Phoenix companies, also known as “phoenixing,” refer to the practice of creating a new company to continue the business of an old company that has been deliberately liquidated to avoid paying debts or liabilities. While not all phoenix companies engage in illegal or unethical practices, and Paul Ponting will, doubtless, deny any wrongdoing, there are a number of public concerns reported about this phenomenon:

Evasion of Debts: One of the primary concerns is that some phoenix companies are created to avoid paying off debts, such as outstanding taxes, creditors, or employee entitlements, from the previous company. This leaves creditors and employees unpaid while the business owners continue operating under a new entity.

Unfair Competition: Some critics argue that phoenixing creates unfair competition for legitimate businesses. By shedding old debts and liabilities, phoenix companies may gain a financial advantage over competitors that have met their obligations.

Impact on Suppliers and Small Businesses: Suppliers and small businesses can suffer significant losses when a company they have been dealing with suddenly becomes insolvent and fails to pay for goods or services provided.

Employee Rights and Entitlements: Employees of the liquidated company may lose their jobs and, in some cases, miss out on owed wages, holiday pay, redundancy pay, and other entitlements.

Strain on Public Finances: When a company fails to pay its taxes, it can place a burden on public finances and the broader economy.

Repeat Offenders: Some individuals and directors are known to repeatedly engage in phoenixing, using the same or similar business models to evade debts and obligations. Although it is true to say that Danoli appeared stable for its first fifteen years or so in business, since 2005.

It is, of course, essential to distinguish between legitimate business restructuring and unlawful phoenixing practices. In some cases, a genuine business may undergo restructuring or start afresh after resolving financial difficulties. However, when phoenixing is done with the intention of evading obligations and avoiding responsibility, it can be detrimental to creditors, employees, and the broader community.

Authorities in many jurisdictions have been actively working to combat illegal phoenixing by implementing regulations and laws to prevent and penalise such practices.

Paul Ponting is invited to issue a statement, via this link, setting out the position with Danoli Solutions Ltd., Solar IT and what gives the appearance, so far, of a ‘phoenixing’ scam.

From a public safeguarding perspective, a further and more urgent point that requires clarification is the soliciting of home visits by Solar IT if Paul Ponting is involved in that aspect of their operations. He is presently the subject of two harassment injunctions and is also on conditional police bail over stalking, harassment and assault allegations.

UPDATE: A member of the public has kindly contacted Neil Wilby Media and provided details of Solar IT’s website at http://www.solarit.uk. It makes the remarkable claim that it has been providing ‘out of this world’ services locally since 2002.

Further UPDATE: Three members of the public has come forward with this important information:

Firstly,

“The Solar IT trademark is registered in the USA. Although not yet in UK an application is pending”.

Secondly,

“Great work on your recent article about Paul Ponting’s new business Solar IT. I did a quick look up on the nameservers and it is hosted with the same company as Danoli.com his other domain. You can see it yourself here :-

Solar IT
https://whois.domaintools.com/solarit.uk
Relevant dates:
Registered on: 29-Dec-2022
Expiry date: 29-Dec-2024
Last updated: 05-Jun-2023

Registration status: Registered until expiry date.

Danoli

https://whois.domaintools.com/danoli.co.uk

Relevant dates:
Registered on: 24-Feb-2004
Expiry date: 24-Feb-2024
Last updated: 25-Feb-2022

Registration status: Registered until expiry date.

That would appear to suggest that the transition from Danoli Solutions Ltd to Solar IT has been more than six months in the making. It does also clearly demonstrate that the latest Ponting venture has NOT been providing ‘world class service’ since 2002.

Thidly, a trading estate neighbour has provided this picture which shows the computer shop front adorned with the logos of Danoli Solutions and Solar IT. Which will, very likely, provoke further questions from investigators. The telephone number displayed on the signage is that historically used by Danoli.

Two different members of the public have also come forward and provided this video clip showing the type of ‘service’ one might expect when visiting Vigilante HQ.

Paul Ponting, despite the perpetual and very largely pointless noise elsewhere on the internet, has not taken up his right of reply, so far.

Follow Neil Wilby on Twitter (here) and Neil Wilby Media on Facebook (here) for signposts to any updates.

Page last updated: Tuesday 1st August, 2023 at 16h45

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