Shady Magazine Publisher Banned for 11 Years Over Rogue Sales Tactics
Alan Peterson from Liverpool has been hit with a hefty 11-year ban after running Sage Media National Limited, a dodgy magazine publisher that scammed businesses out of thousands. The firm, which produced the bi-annual Copperwheel magazine for West Midlands Police Motor Club, used high-pressure sales gimmicks and false claims to wrangle advertising cash from unsuspecting clients.
False Advertising Claims and Aggressive Sales
Sage Media National Limited, trading since January 2018, cold-called businesses to flog ad space in their magazine. But investigations revealed they misled clients by suggesting the magazine had a huge subscription base and official ties to emergency services. Many were invoiced for ads they never ordered — including a charity that was billed for extra adverts paid out of a volunteer’s own pocket.
The company raked in a whopping £74,000 for ads that were never published. On top of that, Sage Media failed to keep proper accounting records, leaving authorities unable to trace why over £32,000 ended up in Peterson’s personal account.
Company Wound Up and Director Disqualified
Following government-backed court action in November 2020, Sage Media National Limited was wound up and an Official Receiver appointed. After a thorough probe, Alan Peterson accepted an 11-year disqualification in June 2022 for causing “substantial misconduct” and abusing client trust.
Karen Maxwell, Deputy Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service, said: “Sage Media National Limited unscrupulously targeted companies using aggressive sales tactics to advertise in a magazine that didn’t have the reach or associations it falsely claimed to have. Alan Peterson was ultimately responsible for the company’s objectionable tactics and abusing clients of thousands of pounds. 11 years is a substantial ban and Alan Peterson has rightly been removed from the corporate arena for a significant amount of time.”
Peterson is now barred from managing or promoting any company without court permission, putting the brakes on any future corporate shenanigans.
