Andy Pilley: Fleetwood Town owner tells his fraud trial of "horrific" online hate campaign and money extortion attempts

Andy Pilley made the claims while taking to the dock at Preston's Sessions House where he, his sister Michelle Davidson Davidson and co-defendants Lee Qualter and Joel Chapman are facing various fraud allegations related to energy supply contracts through Mr Pilley's firm Business Energy Solutions (BES) and other companies.

Wearing a light tan suit, Mr Pilley, described issues with other brokers, disgruntled ex-employees, customers and even an industry body.

Internet trolls

Mr Pilley described how a former employee - who cannot be named - set up her own brokerage which was then closed down, then "made a full-time job of slagging my business off". He also described how the Internet "can be a place where trolls unite".

He said "damaging" online posts by the former employee were seen by a disgruntled customer, who he says then went on to write more online posts, signposted to other people to complain, and claims the complaints sent to Trading Standards were "doctored".

Speaking of online posts, Mr Pilley said: "This was another level of Internet trolling, where my staff suffered.

"There was homophobic abuse, pictures of my kids, staff kids on the internet, my phone number and (that of) legal advisers. It was horrific."

He said the disgruntled customer created a link via his own company's website to "lots and lots of untrue statements" about BES and created a template compaint form to send to Trading Standards.

Mr Pilley said BES took legal action against the two main culprits in 2018 and undretakings were brought whereby all allegations against BES were dropped, it was accepted that the website was untrue and £250,000 would have to be paid should they start their "hate campaign" again.

Mr Pilley said the level of complaints against BES "immediately dropped by 48 per cent" after this.

Extortion attempts

Mr Pilley also said there were several attempts to extort money from him in order to stop the damaging online posts.

He told court there was a message on Twitter which contained the hashtag #payme20grandandwe'llstop, and he received a text message from an anonymous author which read "£400,000 by Friday or I will tell all I know to the police".

Personal attacks

Regarding emails between Mr Pilley's accusers, the court heard how posters mocked Lee Qualter's cancer diagnosis.

One wrote "shame it's not contagious, the time he spends with Pilley".

In other posts, pictures of a BES staff member's baby daughter was used.

Mr Pilley also accused his tormentors of trying to monetise complaints by selling them to rival brokers.

Mr Pilley said he "fell out" with the UIA (The Utilities Intermediaries Association) who represent other brokers, in 2011 after a member of staff from BES was reduced to tears by a representative of UIA over a change of tenancy agreement.

Mr Pilley said: "I don't like bullies and I phoned back the individual and said 'don't speak to my staff like that again'."

He continued: "Subsequently, as a result, brokers informed me the chap who owned the UIA would do all he possibly could to close my business down."

Ofgem

Mr Pilley claimed that he worked transparently and with an "open door" with regulator Ofgem and that emails show BES tried to ensure complaince with Ofgem's rules.

He added that he offerered to work with other aggregators to share information with colleagues about "bad apples" in the industry.

What is Andy Pilley charged with?

Mr Pilley, 51, from Thornton, is facing two counts of running a business with the intention of defrauding creditors, one count of false representation and one count of being concerned with the retention of criminal property.

Mrs Davidson, 48, of Holmefield Avenue, Cleveleys faces two counts of running a business with the intention of defrauding creditors and one of being concerned with the retention of criminal property.

Mr Qualter, 51, also of Holmefield Avenue, Cleveleys is charged with one count of running a business with the intention of defrauding creditors.

And Mr Chapman, 37, of Kingston Road, Willerby, Yorkshire, faces two counts of fraud aiding false representation.

All four have denied all the allegations against them.