Some 200 people were victims of a £300,000 council tax fraud conspiracy, a court has heard.

Business owner Jack Darrell Henry, 47, has already admitted his part in the fraud conspiracy which operated from premises based at Fitzwilliam House in Huddersfield.

Now three of Henry’s employees - Asif Iqbal, 43, of Hall Bower, Newsome, Wendy Smith, 39, of Illingworth a Road, Halifax and John Boon, 58, of Spring Rise, Leeds, - have gone on trial.

They deny conspiracy to defraud and transfer of criminal property and are standing trial at Leeds Crown Court.

Prosecutor Rebecca Brown told the jury it was through Henry’s numerous businesses which included Council Tax Review, Household Claims and Reband UK ‘through which customers were offered council tax rebates and rebanding.

The court heard customers were either ‘cold -called’ or given leaflets which told they were over paying on their council tax and were in many cases ‘guaranteed a rebate’.

If customers were interested a sales person would call at their home to sign them up.

Henry’s companies offered to apply to the Valuation Office for council tax rebanding on their behalf, typically for a fee of £175, but would take a percentage fee upon rebanding.

But the court heard in the majority of those cases no application to the Valuation Office to reband council tax was ever made and in those which were submitted the applications had ‘basic’ errors and incomplete information.

Prosecutor Ms Brown said: “Some customers were told untruths, such as that the salesperson knew that they were definitely in the wrong band, and/or that they were acting on behalf of the council. Again, such untruths were to induce people into parting with their money.”

In other instances the court heard refunds, which were sold as guaranteed to entice customers, were refused and the companies’ office phones were not answered when they tried to pursue their money back.

The prosecution maintain there were further ‘sinister dealings’ where salesmen ‘door stepped customer’s homes’ demanding a percentage of the rebanding, after victims had themselves successfully applied to the Valuation Office to reband their homes council tax.

Threatening letters were sent claiming customer’s council tax would go back up if they did not pay fees associated with their application, the court heard.

The court heard Trading Standards officers launched an investigation in to Household Claims and Henry’s other businesses due to the ‘sheer number of complaints’.

All three defendants were interviewed and their homes and company offices raided in February 2013.

The prosecution allege that John Boon acted as Henry’s ‘right hand man’ before he left the companies in November 2012 because he wasn’t getting paid.

Boon said he felt threatened by unhappy customers who would visit the offices demanding a refund.

But asked by police if he questioned the ethics of the companies, he said:”I think we all did. But we were getting paid to do a job.’

The court heard Smith worked for Henry as a field sales rep and appointment booker in 2012 and said it was her job to sign up customers.

But the prosecution claim she ‘over promised’ and told customers the company had surveyors and solicitors who worked for them, inferring the process was complicated or inaccessible for homeowners to complete themselves.

The court heard in one alleged instance Smith signed up a vulnerable blind lady and accepted a cheque for £175.

Iqbal also worked as a sales person for Henry and set up a fourth company Smart Band Limited. Smart Band gave their customers applications to Henry to be processed.

The prosecution alleges Iqbal also used dishonest selling and in one alleged instances wrote out a cheque for a customer who could not hold a pen due to his arthritis.

All three defendants deny the charges.

The trial continues.

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