V proposal for the declaration of insolvency, the reason for the bankruptcy of the company is described as a consequence of the measures introduced in connection with the coronavirus epidemic. “The debtor was forced to significantly reduce his operations and it was not possible to provide services efficiently and effectively so that he could achieve the required profits,” reads the insolvency register.
The Central Tenders company focused on the home delivery of energy offers, which could not be practiced during tough covid measures. In the past, the company was fined 900,000 crowns from the Czech Trade Inspection Authority for unfair practices in circumventing households. “A fine was imposed on a company for, for example, committing an unfair commercial practice by misleading consumers by claiming that it was a state-owned company. We had the entire offer process documented by a recording from a consumer who recorded the offer of a company representative on a dictaphone all the time, ”says Jiří Fröhlich, a spokesman for the inspection.
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The consumer who recorded the meeting on the dictaphone was Artur Janoušek, at that time the editor of the daily MF Dnes, who subsequently wrote an article about the whole case. This fact is also mentioned in the insolvency register as one of the reasons why the company went bankrupt. “In addition, at the time, the debtor also faced the consequences of a false negative media campaign, which in itself resulted in a reduction in demand for debtor services. Although the debtor has always acted in good faith and provided the best and most advantageous services to his customers, the campaign has resulted in a significant drop in demand for debtor services, ”says the insolvency register.
The company Centrální výběrová řízení filed a lawsuit against the Czech Trade Inspection Authority, but lost the court. The lawsuit now lies with the Supreme Administrative Court, which has not yet ruled on the case. At the same time, a spokesman for the Fröhlich inspection confirmed that complaints from consumers were sent to the Central Tenders even after the company had been fined almost a million.
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The company’s largest creditor is Martin Hes, who sat on the company’s supervisory board until November last year. He now owes him central tenders over 50 million crowns, another 17 million owed to N&H Marketing Group, whose executive is also Martin Hes. The same person is also the largest creditor of the businessman Michal Mička, who is also currently in insolvency.
If insolvency occurs, it should not mean the end of the company, part of the bankruptcy is also a reorganization plan. “Restructuring of the claims of creditors affected by the Reorganization Plan, consisting in the partial waiver of part of the debtor’s debts, including their accessories, and in the deferral of their maturity,” the reorganization plan states. He also counts on “securing external financing from a third party”. It is not yet known who it will be. The reorganization was undertaken because the company did not have assets at its disposal, the eventual sale of which could satisfy creditors’ claims. According to the entry in the insolvency register, the company’s management anticipates that the company’s activities will continue after the reorganization.
On Wednesday, an amendment to the legislation dealing with energy blacksmiths was approved in the Senate. In particular, the new law will introduce a register of energy supply intermediaries and regulation of energy supply intermediation activities by the Energy Regulatory Office. However, there were changes compared to the version of the amendment, which was approved in the Chamber of Deputies. The law will thus still be considered by the lower house.
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