MSP John Park resigns seat to take up trade union role, insiders question SNP dirty tricks against politician who helped victim of AIB sequestration scandal

John Park MSP resigns to take up trade union role. AN MSP who helped a victim of a sequestration scandal involving agents acting for Scotland’s Accountant in Bankruptcy has surprised many by announcing his sudden resignation from the Scottish Parliament to take up a trade union role. MSP John Park, who represented Mid Scotland & Fife for Scottish Labour, and was the party’s Chief Whip, has resigned his seat effective 7th December and will be replaced by Jayne Baxter, who currently represents the Cowdenbeath ward on Fife Council.

Mr Park, who has formally notified the Presiding Officer, will work for the Community trade union as policy and strategy director.

Mr Park issued a statement, saying : “Representing the people of Mid Scotland and Fife has been an enormous privilege and I am really grateful to have had that opportunity. I want to thank everyone who voted for me and Labour Party members for the support they have given me. “This is a decision that I have not made lightly and I now have the opportunity to represent thousands of workers across the UK.

“I've tried to use my time in politics to make sure the issues important to working people – jobs, apprenticeships and a living wage – are centre stage. Now, as workers are under attack like never before, I am returning to my union roots to fight at the coal face.

“I wish Johann - who has been a good friend to me and all my friends in the Labour group - the very best for the referendum and upcoming elections. I am a strong Labour supporter who loves my country, so will be campaigning shoulder to shoulder with them in the months and years ahead.

“I would also like to thank Holyrood officials and my own staff who are undoubtedly the most dedicated group of people I have ever met. Their support and assistance has been invaluable.

The surprise resignation comes a little less than three weeks after Scottish Law Reporter reported on Mr Park’s continuing assistance to a Perth man caught up in a bitter sequestration battle which mushroomed into a scandal revealing huge multi million pound contracts awarded by the SNP Scottish Government to Scottish accountancy firms who act as ‘agents’ for the Accountant in Bankruptcy.

Mr Park had given significant help to his constiuent, Mr William Gordon of Perth, who had been the target of a sequestration ordered by Perth law firm Kippen Campbell in a dispute over fees, even though the law firm had left him standing on the steps of the Court of Session without legal representation in a medical damages claim.

Scottish Law Reporter further reported that Mr Park had been asked to query the contracts in the Scottish Parliament, and call for their cancellation after it transpired some of the firms, including Wylie & Bisset, the firm involved in the sequestration of Mr Gordon, were unlawfully freezing state benefits payments to victims of long term disabilities & illnesses.

However, when it became clear Mr Park was being asked to look into the issue, media agents for the Scottish National Party began distributing Press Releases calling for explanations from Mr Park over a 2009 incident in which the SNP had alleged Mr Park had paid a sum of money into a printing firm started by a Labour researcher.

Political insiders have tonight said the SNP wanted to force out Mr Park, and pointed to the recent “dredging up” of the years old accusations relating to the printing business as a factor in Mr Park’s sudden resignation. A former SNP spin doctor pointed to reports on a website Newsnet Scotland from 2001 and October 2012, the former of which was picked up by “The Courier” newspaper in February 2011 and reported HERE.

An insider said “Calls for scrutiny of the SNP’s hand-out of millions to law firms & accountants seems to be behind the SNP’s recent dredging up of the printing firm case so you can be sure there is a lot to hide over Mr Salmond’s handing of eight million pounds of taxpayers money to six firms of accountants.”

However, questions are now surfacing about links between accounting firms who have been handed millions of pounds of public money by the Scottish Government and SNP MSPs as well as others working for the party.

Speaking about the AIB contract fiasco, a Holyrood insider described the “questionable deals” with the agents as being “unnecessary”.

He also questioned why the Accountant in Bankruptcy requires to hire out so many private accountants while having a staff approaching 100 at it’s plush office in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire.

‘A bigger racket than legal aid’ as MSP asked to call for removal of contract from AIB Accountants who seized disability benefits, wrong house in sequestration scandal

John Park MSP (Mid Scotland & Fife, Scottish Labour) asked to call for costly AIB contracts scrutiny DOCUMENTS obtained by Scottish Law Reporter in connection with a sequestration of a client ordered by Perth Law Firm Kippen Campbell have revealed an MSP has been asked to call for the cancellation of highly profitable state funded contracts between the Accountant in Bankruptcy (AIB) & WYLIE & BISSET LLP, a firm of Glasgow accountants who blocked a disabled person’s access to bank accounts containing his state disability benefits for more than SEVEN MONTHS.

The pleas to MSP John Park (Scottish Labour, Mid Scotland & Fife) come amid investigations into an on-going scandal involving the flow of millions of pounds of public money to firms of private accountants acting as ‘arms-length’ agents for hugely overstaffed Scotland’s Accountant in Bankruptcy, its luxurious headquarters located in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire.

The scandal of the multi million pound contracts, recently reported by popular Scots law blog “Diary of Injustice” have revealed a mere six firms of accountants are soaking up over EIGHT MILLION POUNDS of public money dealing with thousands of sequestration cases handed to them by the AIB.

Between April 2009, until 31 March 2012, Armstrong Watson has been paid £1,051,627.12 for the administration of 2062 cases on behalf of The Accountant in Bankruptcy.

Between April 2009, until 31 March 2012, Hastings & Co have been paid £608,605.96 for the administration of 1040 cases on behalf of The Accountant in Bankruptcy.

Between April 2009, until 31 March 2012, Invocas has been paid £284,346.77 for the administration of 875 cases on behalf of The Accountant in Bankruptcy.

Between April 2009, until 31 March 2012, KPMG has been paid £3,706,744.79 for the administration of 6585 cases on behalf of The Accountant in Bankruptcy.

Between April 2009, until 31 March 2012, Miller McIntyre & Gellatly (now mmg archbold) have been paid £303,745.48 for the administration of 710 cases on behalf of The Accountant in Bankruptcy.

Between April 2009, until 31 March 2012, Wylie & Bisset have been paid £2,066,686.50, for the administration of 3703 cases on behalf of The Accountant in Bankruptcy.

A legal insider who claims many of the firms are forcing people to pay their fees and sign up to unfair trust deeds, some of which have been running for years over their agreed timescale, has dubbed the AIB agent contract scheme “a bigger racket than legal aid”.

The legal insider also claimed many of those operating on behalf of the AIB appear to have been engaged in unregistered hospitality & professional lobbying efforts with local & Holyrood based politicians and civil servants at the Scottish Government. The insider went on to suggest such connections as a reason why the brewing scandal involving the unfair seizure of disability benefits by rich accountants paid millions from the public purse has attracted little parliamentary attention until now.

No one was available from Mr Park’s office to offer comment at time of going to publication, however, an insider at the AIB has acknowledged there are significant problems with agents who appear to be running up fees for unnecessary work in cases where there is little or no hope of any return.

SEIZE YOUR BENEFITS, GRAB YOUR HOUSE & RUN : Scottish Law Reporter previously exposed Glasgow accountants Wylie & Bisset who blocked a disabled victim’s access to benefits, then tried to seize his rented house for a small debt relating to disputed legal fees :

Accountant in Bankruptcy agents try to seize wrong house in bankruptcy of disabled client ordered by Perth law firm over disputed legal fees

Perth lawyers bankrupted ill client on benefits for disputed fees. A BANKRUPTCY ordered by Perth law firm Kippen Campbell against a severely ill client in receipt of disability benefits, over disputed legal fees of around £2,700 in connection with a damages claim in Scotland’s Court of Session which curiously collapsed under the law firm’s representation has today been highlighted as an example of harassment by Scots law firms for questionable fees after revelations in the media that agents acting for Scotland’s Accountant in Bankruptcy threatened to seize property belonging to a family completely unconnected to debts which Kippen Campbell claim are owed to them.

Wylie & Bisset – Your house or someone else’s house to pay your ex lawyers fees :

Threatening letters – Pay up for lawyers fees or we make you homeless say AIB’s agents. In letters sent to Mr Gordon, Wylie & Bisset demand a “required payment” of NINETY TWO THOUSAND & FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS, and goes on to threaten “We require firm proposals for the realisation of the sum in question to your sequestrated estate as a matter of urgency. Should we not receive your proposals within 14 days of the date of this letter, then please be aware that we shall be forced to seek action for vacant possession of the property.”.

The property which Wylie & Bisset were attempting to seize and had valued, at £185,000, was located in Rattray, Blairgowrie, and owned by a family unconnected to Mr Gordon. Yet the debt allegedly owed to the Perth based law firm amounted to little more than £2,700, which now appears to have increased to some £6,600 taking into account several hearings at Perth Sheriff Court which have artificially inflated the original demand for the disputed legal fees.

The Herald newspaper also featured a report on the bankruptcy case against Mr Gordon, here :

Accountants target wrong Mr Gordon

AN accountancy firm handling the sequestration of a man was preparing to seize the home of someone with the same name.

William Gordon, who lives in a rented house in Perth, was stunned to receive letters from Glasgow-based Wylie & Bisset demanding to know how much equity he had in a detached home in Rattray, Perthshire. When he ignored the letter, another arrived telling him a professional valuation had been conducted and the firm would target his share in the equity to cover a debt of £5200 to Perth law firm Kippen Campbell.

In fact, the William Gordon who owns the home in Rattray confirmed he had no connection with his namesake.

He said: "You'd think professionals involved in such a serious business would carry out their job a bit more thoroughly."

The target of the sequestration added: "I pay rent on a modest home in Perth. Why would I be doing that if I owned a lovely detached house 15 miles away in one of the most desirable parts of Perthshire?"

Wylie & Bisset was appointed by the Accountant in Bankruptcy (AIB) to pursue the legal firm's debt. Gordon Chalmers, a partner in Wylie & Bisset, said: "It would be inappropriate for me to add anything further to what you have from the AIB on the matter."

TWO MILLION POUNDS of PUBLIC MONEY handed over to Glasgow accountants who seized benefits & went after wrong house to pay lawyers fees

‘We’re in the money’ - Quiet unassuming office of Wylie & Bisset in Glasgow, who receive millions from public funds for pursuing sequestration cases. WYLIE & BISSET LLP, a firm of accountants in Glasgow who act as agents for the Accountant in Bankruptcy and were recently featured in media reports after having threatened seizure of properties to pay off alleged debts to Perth Law firm Kippen Campbell, are revealed today to have received OVER TWO MILLION POUNDS of taxpayers money since April 2009, according to information released from the AIB in response to a Freedom of Information request.

The AIB admitted in their Freedom of Information disclosure, available to view online HERE : I can confirm that Wylie & Bisset are one of six Providers, who were appointed to administer cases on behalf of the Accountant in Bankruptcy under an Agency Framework Agreement. This contract commenced on 1 April 2009.

Since the commencement of this contract in April 2009, until 31 March 2012, Wylie & Bisset have been paid £2,066,686.50, for the administration of cases on behalf of The Accountant in Bankruptcy.

Since Scottish Law Reporter originally covered the case of a Mr William Gordon, of Perth, who was threatened by Wylie & Bisset in an attempt to seize his home (which he does not own) and the property of another Mr Gordon in Blairgowrie to pay off Perth lawyers Kippen Campbell, it now transpires the Glasgow based accountants also froze Mr Gordon’s Disability Living Allowance benefit payments for at least FOUR MONTHS, reported by popular Scots law blog “Diary of Injustice”, HERE

However, inquiries made by journalists for Scottish Law Reporter today reveal that Wylie & Bisset have again, seized Mr Gordon’s bank accounts at Lloyds TSB in Perth, blocking his access to his Disability Living Allowance payments, in what appears to be an attempt to starve him out.

The Freedom of Information response from the Accountant in Bankruptcy also reveals Wylie & Bisset have been implicated in at least EIGHTEEN COMPLAINTS made about the way in which they handle cases allocated to them by the Accountant in Bankruptcy’s multi million pound office in Kilwinning, although the AIB did not disclose outcomes of complaints or the exact subject & sums of money involved in the complaints.

The AIB finally admitted there were complaints made against Wylie & Bisset, their response stated : “I can confirm that there have been 18 complaints made to AiB in respect of Wylie & Bisset, from 1 April 2009 to date, 27 July 2012. These complaints were on a variety of issues, not necessarily on the conduct of Wylie & Bisset or their administration of cases and included matters relating to the general bankruptcy process which is governed by legislation.”

However, the AIB attempted to explain away any concern caused by the levels of complaints, claiming the complex nature of work performed by Wylie & Bisset, at massive public expense, made it likely errors would occur.

The AIB’s response claimed : The administration of sequestrations is a complex task where a range of information is obtained from various sources.  During this process it is possible for errors to occur, though the Accountant in Bankruptcy is satisfied that our Providers give a consistently high standard of service when acting on our behalf

Any errors made during the administration of a case are not routinely recorded. In the event that an error is identified, the matter would be handled by the Provider.  Any issues that arise are reviewed and immediate steps are taken to correct the error and to ensure that lessons are learned to prevent repetition.  The AiB Contract Operations Team is responsible for auditing the work of our Providers to ensure that quality standards are maintained. Any complaints made against our Providers are recorded by Accountant in Bankruptcy’s Contract Operations Team and the Provider. 

The AIB finally admitted there were complaints made against Wylie & Bisset, their response stated : “I can confirm that there have been 18 complaints made to AiB in respect of Wylie & Bisset, from 1 April 2009 to date, 27 July 2012. These complaints were on a variety of issues, not necessarily on the conduct of Wylie & Bisset or their administration of cases and included matters relating to the general bankruptcy process which is governed by legislation.”

It was also admitted some 3703 cases had been given to Wylie & Bisset although legal experts said the vast majority of work done in these cases would be minimal, given the nature of sequestrations and the unlikelihood of repayment particularly in the current financial downturn.

Speaking to Scottish Law Reporter earlier today, a legal insider said he was surprised about the amount of public money being handed over to private accountancy firms such as Wylie & Bisset while the AIB has such a high headcount of staff, particularly many accountants paid out of more public funds. The operational budget for the Accountant in Bankruptcy in 2012-2013 as listed in their yearly ‘business plan’ is nearly FIFTEEN MILLION POUNDS.

The insider said : “I wonder how much of this multi million pound spending spree on private accountants & law firms accounts for the burgeoning budget of the AIB. It seems to me their sums don't add up.”

Wylie & Bisset – Your house or someone else’s house to pay your ex lawyers fees :

Threatening letters – Pay up for lawyers fees or we make you homeless say AIB’s agents. In letters sent to Mr Gordon, Wylie & Bisset demand a “required payment” of NINETY TWO THOUSAND & FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS, and goes on to threaten “We require firm proposals for the realisation of the sum in question to your sequestrated estate as a matter of urgency. Should we not receive your proposals within 14 days of the date of this letter, then please be aware that we shall be forced to seek action for vacant possession of the property.”.

The property which Wylie & Bisset were attempting to seize and had valued, at £185,000, was located in Rattray, Blairgowrie, and owned by a family unconnected to Mr Gordon. Yet the debt allegedly owed to the Perth based law firm amounted to little more than £2,700, which now appears to have increased to some £6,600 taking into account several hearings at Perth Sheriff Court which have artificially inflated the original demand for the disputed legal fees.

Another demand sent to Mr Gordon from Wylie & Bisset, just a few days after the earlier threat, stated : “Please note that should suitable proposals not be received in writing, within 7 days, then we will have no alternative but to instruct a solicitor to raise proceedings in court for the forced sale of your property.”