- Vance Miller
-
Vance Miller 
Born 1965 (age 45–46)
Rochdale, LancashireOccupation Entrepreneur Vance Miller is an entrepreneur from Rochdale, in North West England.[1][2] Miller, whose "business practices have attracted controversy",[3] has been referred to in the media as The Kitchen Gangster.[4]
Contents
Biography
Miller is the executive director of Maple Industries, and of Kitchens, which operate from Maple Mill in the Hathershaw area of Oldham in Greater Manchester.[3]
In January 2010 Miller was cleared of defrauding customers in Oldham. Oldham Council's trading standards department faces a £5m bill after a judge at Manchester Crown Court dropped all charges against Vance Miller. The Ramsbottom businessman was cleared of conspiracy to commit fraud and making false representation. The judge who presided over the case against Miller heavily criticised Tony Allen, the head of Trading Standards of being an unreliable witness. - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8454361.stm - http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2804973/5m-kitchen-trial-collapses.html
Vance Miller was the Victim of a £4m Vendetta. Clearing Mr Miller of conspiracy to defraud customers, Judge Jonathan Foster QC told Manchester Crown Court: “Some may think that this trial has been a waste of time, money and emotional commitment. The decision to investigate was not based on any reliable material. There was no discernible increase in complaints. I am concerned there may have been other reasons for the decision to investigate. The investigation was flawed from the start by Tony Allen’s unsubstantiated belief that complaints were increasing and Vance Miller’s businesses should be closed down.” - http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/151442/The-victim-of-a-4m-vendetta
In December 2008, Miller was cleared of charges against relating to the quad bikes that he sold. The kitchen boss was cleared of nine counts after Oldham Council withdrew its case against him. Mr Miller, 42, from Rochdale, was acquitted on all counts http://menmedia.co.uk/oldhamadvertiser/news/s/1087168_vance_has_escape_on_quad_bike_charges
In 2007 Miller was featured in Real Business Magazine - http://www.vance-miller.co.uk/auxi/real-business.pdf
Vance Miller has been featured in two documentaries about him. One called Vance Miller - The Kitchen Gangster that aired on the BBC and another that aired on Channel 4 called Brits Get Rich in China - http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/may/29/tvandradio.comment
Miller has also had a book wrote about him entitled: Kitchen Gangster?: The Story of a Serial Entrepreneur - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Gangster-Story-Serial-Entrepreneur/dp/0954401190
In November 1995, he was sentenced to 18 months on counts of kidnapping and affray following an altercation with his neighbours over a missing kitchen unit.[5] In February 1999, he was jailed for 6 months having punched a female inspector in the face as she pursued a minor pollution complaint near his Birtle Mill, Bury business premises. In related incidents his company was fined £28,500 for health and safety breaches and he was convicted for damaging the car of a journalist.[6][7]
In 2002 the Office of Fair Trading instigated the ‘Stop Now’ order and he became the first person in Britain to be handed one after supplying a kitchen which was not sold as advertised.[8]
In June 2003, defending himself without lawyers, he was called “intelligent, cunning, manipulative but above all arrogant” by a Manchester judge who jailed him for nine months for contempt of court when he failed to improve operations at his Oldham-based company, Maple Industries. He was released 2 weeks later on the undertaking to employ business efficiency consultants.[9]
Miller is currently banned from being the director of any company in the United Kingdom until 2014.[10]
In 2006 his home in Ramsbottom was attacked twice in arson attacks.[11]
Despite appearing several times on the BBC TV series Watchdog and branded a rogue trader, his companies reputedly achieve an annual turnover of over £20million.[12]
In July 2007, the magazine Real Business printed an article and interview with Vance Miller written by Charles Orton-Jones, covering his business history and current activities in some depth.[13]
On 21 April 2009, Maple Mill was partially destroyed in a fire.[3][14]
In 2010, Vance Miller was cleared of all 33 charges held against him as he took on Oldham Council single handedly in Court. Tony Allan (Head of Trading Standards) was suspended after a "flawed" case against Miller was thrown out of court.[15]
Problems with Trading Standards
In 2006 the Greater Manchester Police and Trading Standards raided two residential properties, one belonging to Mr Miller, as well as the company's Maple Mill offices and factory. As a result of the raids four people, including Miller, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud in what was one of Tradings Standards' biggest ever operations.[16] The company was able to continue trading despite Trading Standards seizing property in a bid to pursue its case against the company.
On 21 February 2007, under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, Trading Standards Officers in Oldham ordered Vance Miller, again trading from Maple Mill, to immediately withdraw four types of minibikes from sale. The products failed national safety provisions.[17]
On 28 May 2008, Vance Miller was issued a six month suspended sentence and a £90,000 fine by the Manchester Crown Court in relation to an alleged breach of the Stop Now legislation brought against him in 2003. The judge presiding over the case, however, has noted that "there was evidence of `a significant and continuing reduction in complaints' against Miller's business since the summer of 2007." The judge noted that since the Office of Fair Trading was unable to provide any evidence of breaches since early 2006 then Miller was to be sentenced on the assumption that no breaches had taken place since then.[18]
Alleged kidnapping
On 24 May 2007 the Manchester Evening News reported that Vance Miller was on the run in China after evading police officers who had called at his Oldham Mill in order to arrest him over an alleged kidnap.[19] Coincidentally, a few days later, on 28 May 2007, Channel 4 screened a documentary that followed Miller and two other British entrepreneurs doing business in China.[20]
Maple Mill burns down
On April 21, 2009, Miller's main kitchen factory and base of operations in Oldham caught fire, severely damaging the six story Maple Mill. The fire is thought to have started near the diesel generator of the factory and ignited the contents of propane cylinders and pallets.[21] Sixty firefighters used ten fire engines and "a number of specialist appliances, including two aerial appliances, to contain the fire."[21] Fire Service spokesman Paul Duggan said: "The fire is thought to have started in a diesel generator then spread to some wooden pallets and propane cylinders nearby, some of which exploded as a result. There were people inside at the time but there were no reported injuries or any reports of anyone missing." Local townspeople near the area had been left without water or very little.[3]
References
- ^ Anthony, Andrew (2007-06-03). "Sisters are doing it for themselves". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/jun/03/broadcasting.observerreview. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
- ^ Billen, Andrew (2007-05-29). "Last nights TV". The Times (London). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article1850799.ece. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
- ^ a b c d Britton, Paul (2009-04-21). "Blaze Wrecks Kitchen Trader's Mill". Manchester Evening News. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1110190_blaze_wrecks_kitchen_traders_mill. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ^ The Kitchen Gangster, BBC Press Office, December 22, 2003. URL accessed November 6, 2006.
- ^ The Times; 28 November 1996; How to qualify as a witness
- ^ Manchester Evening News; 27 July 2001; The villain Luxury life of boss with a dark past
- ^ News of the World; The dead hard sell; Feb 14, 1999
- ^ Rogue trader is under fire, Oldham Advertiser, August 23, 2006. URL accessed November 6, 2006.
- ^ Customs seize £66k from Miller as he boards China flight, Oldham Advertiser, April 14, 2006. URL accessed November 6, 2006.
- ^ Fitted Kitchen Supplier Accepts Nine Year Disqualification, Government News Network, June 15, 2005. URL accessed November 2006.
- ^ Gangster link at arson farm, Halifax Today, August 17, 2006. URL accessed November 6, 2006.
- ^ "The Kitchen Gangster". BBC Press Office. 2003-12-22. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2003/12_december/22/kitchen_gangster.shtml. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
- ^ I'll Have What Vance Miller Is Having
- ^ "Homes evacuated over mill blaze". BBC News. 2009-04-21. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8011170.stm. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ^ "Kitchen boss cleared of defrauding customers in Oldham". BBC News. 2010-01-12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8454361.stm. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
- ^ "Four held after kitchen firm raid". BBC News. 2006-11-29. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/6194608.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
- ^ "Vance Miller ordered to withdraw mini motos". oldham.gov.uk. 2007-02-21. http://www.oldham.gov.uk/view_press_release.htm?refno=JB/PR/ES/43/07. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
- ^ "Miller Avoids Jail". Manchester Evening News. 2008-05-29. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1051908_miller_escapes_jail. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
- ^ Manchester Evening News: Rogue Trader on the Run
- ^ Guardian Review: Brits Get Rich In China
- ^ a b Andrew Penman. "Huge blaze destroys factory of kitchen conman Vance Miller". Daily Mirror. MGN. http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2009/04/huge-blaze-destroys-factory-of.html. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
External links
- www.ukpreneur.co.uk - business blog UKpreneur receives support comments for Vance
- www.Vance-miller.com
- 130 police in raid on Britain's 'worst rogue trader' kitchen supplier - a Daily Mail article outlining key facts and the history of Vance Miller up to December 2006.
Categories:- People from Rochdale
- English businesspeople
- Living people
- English criminals
- 1965 births
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