Publication date	15 December 2021
Case reference	182458
Procedure	Prohibition
Adjudicated party	Mitev, Stoyancho
Tribunal's final assessment	Very Serious
Sanctions	Code 14 - 4.8.3 (g) Sanctions
Summary	This case was brought against the associated individual under paragraph 4.8.8 of the 14th edition of the Code of Practice (‘the Code’).   The Tribunal was asked to consider imposing a prohibition against Mr Stoyancho Mitev pursuant to paragraph 4.8.3(g) of the Code.     The case related to an adjudication against the Level 2 provider, Webdata Ltd, (‘the Level 2 provider’), which was heard on 11 October 2019 (case reference: 154913). The adjudication concerned a subscription-based alert service, ‘Lotto Alerts’ (‘the Service’) operated by the Level 2 provider. As part of the adjudication against the Level 2 provider, the Tribunal recommended that the Executive consider initiating the process which may lead to the prohibition of Mr Mitev pursuant to paragraph 4.8.3(g) of the Code.  The Tribunal decided to prohibit Mr Mitev from providing, or having any involvement in, any premium rate service in the UK for a period of five years from the date of publication of this decision. The Tribunal did note that some minor refunds were made in the underlying case. The Tribunal did not identify that this amounted to sufficient mitigation to reduce the duration of the sanction. It considered that the impact of Mr Mitev’s prohibition was justified to ensure public protection and confidence in premium rate services. Considering all the facts of the case, including the severity of the breaches that had been upheld by the previous Tribunal, the Tribunal decided that a five-year prohibition was both proportionate and appropriate and would protect consumers from similar conduct by serving as an appropriate deterrence against the adoption of non-compliant service models. Administrative charge recommendation: 100%
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