A disgraced Aberdeen businessman has removed mentions of two popular north-east children’s charities from his company’s website after it emerged that no money had been donated to either of them.
Convicted domestic abuser Ryan Calvert pledged to give a portion of profits to charity and included a description and logos of the two organisations on the website of his van conversion firm Vanbitious.
However, neither charity was aware they were featured on the website and both also confirmed they have no records of any donations from Calvert, Vanbitious or Calvert’s metal fabrication and welding business, Calfab.
The P&J has chosen not to identify the two charities and both declined to comment.
Calvert, who Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told employs four full-time staff, also declined to comment on the case – and referred our reporter to the Vanbitious “media department”, which did not respond to requests for comment.
On the Vanbitious site’s “outreach” page, it stated: “Your support makes a difference. We consider ourselves fortunate to be able to do what we do, and we believe that helping those in need is an essential part of our journey.
“For every full build we undertake, we aim to give back by donating a portion of our profits to select local charities.”
Court case exposed Ryan Calvert as a horrific thug
However, on Wednesday, more than a week after the charities first contacted the business, the entire “outreach” webpage vanished from the website.
It was replaced by an error message that included: “The page you are looking for has been moved or deleted.”
Calvert, 36, of Jesmond Road, Bridge of Don, was unmasked as a violent domestic abuser when he appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court. He was later spared jail during sentencing last month.
He had been found guilty of 11 charges of violent and degrading acts that he cruelly inflicted on two former partners who suffered over a nine-year period during which he worked as a DJ at the Justice Mill pub on Union Street.
The jury heard that Calvert strangled one of his victims until she passed out.
Calvert is currently attempting to overturn his conviction at the Sheriff Appeal Court.
The two north-east children’s charities were alerted to the claims on the Vanbitious website by a member of the public, who mistakenly believed he was actively involved with them.
The person, who asked not to be named, told The Press and Journal: “When I looked at his outreach page, I understood it to mean that his business supports these two featured charities – either by donating money to them or working with them in some way or both.
“If I were a prospective customer, what that page appears to communicate might sway me to give him my business because of where I would believe some of my money should be going – to benefit the charities listed on the Vanbitious webpage.
“Why else would he proudly display the charities’ names and logos on a page about his company’s belief in ‘helping those in need’ and stating its ‘aim to give back by donating a portion of [their] profits to select local charities’?
“In my opinion, it’s misleading.”
One of the charities replied to the concerned citizen’s email, thanking them for alerting the organisation.
A screenshot of the reply was widely shared in social media posts across Facebook and LinkedIn.
In the email, a charity worker said Calvert had once approached them, but it has never benefited from his website’s philanthropic claims.
She replied to the emailer: “We were contacted in 2022 by the company to tell us that they would like to give regular donations, but we have never received a single penny from them and I had no idea we were listed on their website.
“I have contacted the company to ask for us to be removed so fingers crossed they will.”
That request was sent on February 24 and the page was eventually removed more than a week later.
Misleading actions and false statements by businesses are illegal
Legislation called The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 states it is a criminal offence for any business to carry out a misleading action or make a misleading statement about its involvement with charities.
Any company could fall foul of the law if it makes untruthful claims or “if it or its overall presentation in any way deceives or is likely to deceive the average consumer” and if it “causes or is likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision he would not have taken otherwise”.
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