Lure the old man to place an order and lose contact! A photovoltaic enterprise was ordered to shut down.

local time, the British Bankruptcy Office announced that a company that sells solar panels specifically for retired elderly people with false " government refund " promises as bait had been shut down. A company previously associated with it went into liquidation at the beginning of this year. An investigation by

the UK's Official Receiver's Office showed that there were 80 complaints about telemarketing and unauthorized door-to-door sales at Trident West Industries Ltd and Star Solar Ltd.

Salesmen targeted users who had previously installed solar panels by other companies, using false "government subsidies" to lure customers into buying solar accessories or maintenance plans. Mark George, chief investigator of the

UK's Official Receiver's Office, said the two companies used telephone and door-to-door sales to trick consumers into paying by falsely claiming that they could get government subsidies.

"Consumers pay in the belief that they will receive solar equipment and maintenance plans, and are repeatedly told that the fees paid will be refunded to them after government subsidies are granted.". However, the promised goods and services were not fulfilled , and when consumers tried to recover the refund, the companies simply lost contact. A typical case highlighted by the

UK Insolvency Office shows that a customer paid 3420 pounds (about 31,930.83 yuan) for an inverter, but never received the goods. A further offer of ￡ 1,883 (about 17580) was offered to the client with the promise of a refund of the remaining difference, which was not forthcoming.

Another customer cancelled the contract during the cooling-off period and was assured over the phone that the refund would be processed. However, the customer never received the refund. (Note: Under UK and EU consumer protection law, there is usually a 14-day cooling-off period if a customer buys goods or services through telemarketing, door-to-door selling or online shopping .

It found that more than £ 3.1m had flowed into the accounts of the two companies between May 2023 and January 2025. Even though the amount of the complaint and the total amount of the district court order exceed 41.The registered director of

both companies told investigators that he did create the Star Solar Ltd . But claimed that the Trident West Industries Ltd had been set up by a third party, whom he declined to name.

The director said he did not control the company's bank accounts, had no knowledge of its balance sheet and could not explain the use of more than £ 1m in payments to various individuals and businesses.

In addition, the Trident West Industries Ltd has not yet submitted the required financial statements due in April this year and the annual confirmation statement due in August last year. The

Trident West Industries Ltd was compulsorily liquidated by the High Court of London on October 28; Star Solar Ltd, which is linked through co-director Terry Smith, went into voluntary liquidation in April 2025.