The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has refused an application from debt management firm Baker Evans Ltd to use the trading names ‘The Bankruptcy Helpline’ and ‘The Insolvency Helpline’.

The consumer credit regulator has warned all debt management companies that they must not use misleading trading names and must make clear that they are commercial enterprises rather than charities or government services.

The OFT said it refused to authorise the use of these names because they could potentially mislead consumers into thinking they are dealing with an impartial, non-commercial or governmental organisations, rather than a commercial enterprise. Consumers need to be able to differentiate between the two, it added.

Ray Watson, the OFT’s director of consumer credit, said: “Consumers must be able to distinguish commercial debt management companies from free charitable or government services. We will not agree to names that could mislead consumers into contacting companies when they might think that they are accessing free advice.””