Three companies involved in referring employers to pension schemes have been wound up for misleading their clients.
NAEH, Wise Auto Enrolment (Wise) and National Auto Enrolment Helpline were all wound up by the High Court in Manchester on 17 September 2018.
NAEH and Wise were introducers referring employers to a pension administrator to set up new schemes.
But the firms were found to have made misleading statements on their websites and to employers, and had charged advance fees for services they did not provide.
The companies were investigated by the Insolvency Service, with assistance from The Pensions Regulator, which found they had also used incorrect company names on invoices and it was unclear who was in control of NAEH and Wise.
The third company which was wound up, National Auto Enrolment Helpline, had not conducted any activities but the investigators alleged the company would have been used to continue the activities carried out by NAEH and Wise if given the chance.
Scott Crighton, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: "The Insolvency Service will investigate and bring to a halt the activities of companies that fail to meet the required standards of commercial probity and transparency and that are found to be operating against the public interest.
"The Official Receiver is now responsible for the affairs of the companies and we want to assure the public that the court’s actions have put an immediate stop to their activities."
Employers are required by law to enroll staff into a pension scheme if are aged between twenty two and the state pension age, and earn at least £10,000 in a year.
The petitions to wind up the companies were presented in the High Court in Manchester on 19 July 2018.
Manchester-based NAEH was incorporated on 30 January 2012 as Ventica Limited and changed its name to NAEH on 9 August 2016.
Bury-based Wise Auto Enrolment was incorporated on 13 February 2017 and Cardiff-based National Auto Enrolment Helpline was registered on 16 May 2016.
Jon Bird, strategic employee benefits consultant at Wingate Benefit Solutions, said he has previously heard of firms acting as introducers for auto enrolment pension schemes, which were "effectively blurring the lines of advice" by charging for a service that was not provided or necessary.
He said: "Any company that requires assistance with their workplace pension scheme should speak to an appropriate adviser, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who will take time to understand their needs before making a suitable recommendation.
"Alternatively, Nest is the workplace pension scheme set up by the government and was specifically introduced as a free and simple auto enrolment solution for any employer on a budget wanting to ensure compliance with the new rules."
carmen.reichman@ft.com
