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News story
Loveday Ryder will become the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s Chief Executive on 1 January 2021.
Loveday Ryder has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and will be starting her new role on 1 January 2021.
DVSA’s purpose is to help everyone stay safe on Britain’s roads. The agency carries out driving tests, approves people to be driving instructors and MOT testers carries out tests to make sure lorries and buses are safe to drive, carries out roadside checks on drivers and vehicles, and monitors vehicle recalls.
Department for Transport Permanent Secretary Bernadette Kelly said:
I’m delighted to welcome Loveday Ryder to the department in her role as Chief Executive of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.
DVSA’s work affects everyone in the country, and Loveday’s wide range of business change and performance improvement experience will be invaluable in helping DVSA overcome the operational challenges created by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
I would like to express my thanks to Gareth Llewellyn for his immense contribution as Chief Executive, and wish him every success for the future.
Loveday Ryder was appointed as BPDTS Ltd’s Chief Executive Officer on 22 January 2018. BPDTS provides specialist digital technology services to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Previously, Loveday spent 12 years in the Ministry of Justice, where she successfully served in several senior roles in organisation design, change management and programme delivery,
Before joining the Civil Service in 2006, Loveday worked within a specialist management consultancy.
Loveday Ryder said:
I’m thrilled and excited to be joining DVSA, whose people are so passionate about helping everyone stay safe on Britain’s roads.
I want to help build on the successes already achieved through DVSA’s 5-year strategy. DVSA will continue to change, improve and modernise services for customers, embrace smarter ways of working and make the most of new technology while making sure road safety remains at the heart of everything we do.
I’m looking forward to supporting DVSA colleagues in the vital work they do to help achieve the vision we all share – safer drivers, safer vehicles and safer journeys for all.
Published 26 November 2020
Elia Bols (32) now living in Australia, was director of AMS Marketing Limited, a telephone marketing company incorporated in January 2016.
The Telephone Preference Service (TPS), however, received 71 complaints between October 2016 and October 2017 about AMS Marketing’s unsolicited calls. A further 32 complaints were received by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO), who informed Elia Bols that a fine of £100,000 would be issued.
In April 2019, AMS Marketing was wound-up in the courts, with the fine outstanding. Further enquiries by the Official Receiver established that for just over a year between October 2016 and December 2017, Elia Bols’ had caused AMS Marketing to make more than 75,000 unsolicited direct marketing calls to numbers around the UK.
AMS Marketing Limited should have used the TPS list before making such calls to remove the numbers of individuals who had elected not to receive unsolicited contact.
On 28 October 2020, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Elia Bols after he did not dispute that he had caused his company to breach Regulation 21 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations in making the marketing calls.
Effective from 18 November 2020, Elia Bols is disqualified for 6 years from acting as a director or directly or indirectly becoming involved, without the permission of the court, in the promotion, formation or management of a company.
Andy Curry, Head of Investigations at the ICO said:
Our work with the Insolvency Service has seen the successful disqualification of 17 directors who have shut their business down to try and avoid paying a fine for illegal marketing activity.
Nuisance calls, emails and texts can be a huge problem and often cause people real distress. By taking unscrupulous directors out of action, we can help protect the public and their privacy.
Robert Clarke, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:
Elia Bols had a complete disregard of protective regulations and thanks to the joint work with the ICO, we have secured a ban which reflects the seriousness of this offence.
When directors of a company do not comply with regulations that are designed to protect the public, we will fully investigate the circumstances and take action where appropriate.
Elia Bols is from Perth, Australia and his date of birth is April 1988.
He was the director of AMS Marketing Limited (Company number 09967423)
Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.
Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of restrictions.
You can also follow the Insolvency Service on:
News story
The CMA has issued new warnings to firms over concerns that couples are still not receiving fair refunds for weddings that could not go ahead during the pandemic.
Following the publication of its statement on wedding cancellations and refunds, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) took action against Bijou Weddings Group to secure fair refunds for its customers. However, the CMA has continued to receive new complaints from couples who had their big day booked with other wedding party providers, prompting the CMA to write directly to several firms which may have broken consumer law. Couples have complained about being misled about the level of refund they are entitled to or being offered the opportunity to rebook but only at a higher price.
These businesses are being asked to review their practices to ensure they comply with the law, or risk enforcement action if they fail to do so – including being required to provide refunds.
As a result of concerns highlighted by the most recent complaints, the CMA is also making its views clear to all wedding firms:
All wedding firms are being urged to look at their policies on refunds and cancellations and make changes where needed.
Andrea Coscelli, CEO of the CMA, said:
It’s not right that couples are facing an uphill battle over costs for weddings which couldn’t go ahead due to the pandemic. We know that businesses are continuing to face the impact of coronavirus, but consumers cannot be expected to lose out as a result.
Many couples will be entitled to a full refund, but in the cases where they are not, we are absolutely clear there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to retaining costs. Any proposed deduction should only cover costs already incurred in relation to the particular wedding in question, and those costs should be proven by the firm and clearly broken down. All wedding firms need to take note of the CMA’s action in this area and provide refunds where they are due, without unnecessary delay. Those who refuse to do so risk enforcement action.
This update on the wedding sector is part of a wider programme of CMA investigations into businesses that have reportedly failed to respect refund rights during the pandemic.
All updates on the CMA’s work on refunds can be found on the COVID-19 response page.
Published 26 November 2020