Advantia Card Limited was subject to a winding-up order following more than 190 complaints from members of the public in Germany
- Advantia Card Ltd, registered in the UK, scammed customers in Germany using fake prepaid cards.
- The company sent the cards to customers against their wishes then demanded payment through a debt collection agency.
- Advantia was shut down at a winding-up hearing at London's High Court.
A Manchester firm which sent out fake prepaid cards to people in Germany then demanded repayments has been shut down following an investigation by the Insolvency Service.
Advantia Card Ltd, which was registered at an address in Moston Lane Manchester, sent prepaid cards to people in Germany against their wishes - including a 12-year-old boy.
The company was subject to a winding-up order following more than 190 complaints from members of the public in Germany.
Investigations in the UK and Germany discovered the company issued fake prepaid cards and filed false accounts.
Some customers were subject to cold calls and received a prepaid card without their agreement, while others agreed to receive one after being told there would be no costs involved.
Advantia Card Ltd then employed a debt collection agency to make high-pressure calls to customers - in some cases demanding a 400 Euro payment for the provision of the prepaid card.
The company was shut down on 28 January 2025 after a hearing at the High Court in London.
Insolvency Service Chief Investigator Mark George said:
This was clearly a company with no intention of operating legitimately and with the sole intention of defrauding and distressing its customers.
Shutting down Advantia Card Ltd is a significant step in protecting the public - both here and in Germany - from suffering as a result of their fake prepaid cards.
The Insolvency Service collaborated with the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (FGCO) - the equivalent of Trading Standards in the UK - to investigate Advantia Card Ltd, after they received more than 190 complaints from members of the public in Germany.
One of the complaints included a 12-year-old boy who clicked a link for a prepaid card offer through an Instagram advert. No proof of age was taken, and he did not sign any contract.
It was also found that Advantia Card Ltd filed false or misleading accounts with Companies House, having declared the company dormant from April 2022 to April 2023 when the FGCO investigation showed the company was active from at least 2021 to 2023.
The company did not cooperate with the investigation, did not defend the winding up and was not represented at the hearing.
All enquiries concerning the affairs of the company should be made to the Official Receiver of the Public Interest Unit: 16th Floor, 1 Westfield Avenue, Stratford, London, E20 1HZ.
