Woollam shrugs off ‘dirty tricks and lies’ in Lewis fight

Consumer champion Dave Woollam. File picture: Simphiwe Mbokazi

Consumer champion Dave Woollam. File picture: Simphiwe Mbokazi

Published Sep 30, 2016

Share

Cape Town – Consumer champion Dave Woollam on Friday told African News Agency (ANA) that he remained confident that Lewis Group would be held accountable for illegal and unethical practices after the Financial Services Board rejected what he called “a contrived and fictitious complaint” against him.

“It’s just a matter of time,” he said. “The noose is slowly tightening on the Lewis board.”

Woollam was responding to a request for comment on this week’s news that the Financial Services Board had cleared him of charges of insider trading made by Lewis.

He said: “Another small victory in my long battle with Lewis.

“Not only did they concoct a contrived and fictitious complaint against me with the FSB, but when the FSB issued a statement clearing my name, Lewis issued a statement that whilst the insider trading investigation had been closed, the FSB was continuing to investigate me for market manipulation.

“A quick phone call to the FSB showed this to be completely false, just another dirty tactic and lie by Lewis as they try to duck and dive,” Woollam added.

The FSB closed its investigation into Woollam on Wednesday after finding no evidence of insider trading. The regulator had been investigating a complaint by the Lewis board that the director of Summit Financial Partners had been trying to manipulate the share price to benefit from a holding in the furniture retailer.

Summit has been waging a battle against practices and policies by retailers that are seen to exploit under-informed consumers, and Lewis has been in their sights for some time.

Says Woollam: “We are fighting against injustice for the hundreds of thousands of customers who have been exploited through deceptive selling practices.

“These people are the poor and uninformed segments of our society and business South Africa owes a duty of care and responsibility to ensure they are treated with respect and fairness.”

African News Agency

Related Topics: