Call centre in liquidation after clampdown on charities

A call centre in Norwich has gone into liquidation following a clamp down on charities in the wake of the much-publicised death of Olive Cooke in Bristol last year.

Insight CCI managing director Melvyn Hill has stated that the closure of the call centre, which primarily worked on behalf of charities, has come about because of increased regulatory pressure upon charitable organisations.

Mr Hill also said negative press surrounding the death of 92-year-old poppy seller Olive Cooke, who received over 3,000 mailings from charities in the space of one year and took her life in May 2015, has meant that many charities withdrew their business from Insight CCI.

The company struggled to survive with debts eventually amounting to more than £700,000, before giving staff a few days’ notice of the closure in February. Many of the 150 workers are still awaiting their final wages.

Mr Hill added: “We thought we could ride this storm but we couldn't’t. The negative publicity turned on us, the sector and also charities themselves.

“Our objective has been to raise money for good causes but we were finding the charities were afraid to make decisions and afraid to use people like us.”

Insight CCI, which had previously worked with some of Britain’s biggest charities including Macmillan Cancer Support and Diabetes UK, is the latest in a list of call centres to go under.

Andrew Kensall, insolvency partner at Larking Gowen, said: “The market for charity conditions continued to deteriorate, and by early February 2016 the directors spoke to me again about how the CVA wasn’t going to work. The only real solution was a liquidation.”

The company has assets of around £146,000.

Find out more information about contacting the liquidators of Insight CCI, or see more call centres in liquidation.

Share this article

Latest Businesses for Sale

View more businesses for sale