Online Book Company, a service used by charities to create in-memoriam books, has been ordered to wind up by the High Court.
The provider was working with charities like Guide Dogs, British Ornithological Trust, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and more when it ceased operating last year.
Civil Society understands that many charities that worked with the company have been unable to contact the company since the death of its director, Jonathan Haward.
Of the charities Civil Society spoke to, none had received any information about the company’s order to wind up or what would happen to their beneficiaries’ data.
The Online Book Company’s records on Companies House show the organisation was ordered to wind-up by the business and property courts in Bristol on 25 April, under the provisions of the Insolvency Act 1986.
British Ornithology Trust: ‘These stories must not be lost’
Michael Naidu, head of income generation at British Trust for Ornithology, said: “Many of BTO’s supporters have given their time, expertise and resources over decades to contribute to our long term monitoring and research.
“The BTO online book of remembrance hosted many beautiful and inspiring stories of the passion and influence our supporters had in their lifetimes. These stories must not be lost, so that these amazing people who gave so much to BTO can continue to inspire the next generation of birders and ornithologists.”
Guide Dogs also had an in-memoriam page with the company which stopped working shortly after the death of the director last year. It has had no contact with the Online Book Company since.
A spokesperson for Guide Dogs said: “We’ve signposted bereaved supporters to the firm’s Guide Dogs-branded Book of Remembrance for the past 13 years, and apologise to those whose memorials are no longer viewable because this third-party website has become unavailable.”
The charity said it was looking at alternative providers and was directing anyone who wished to pay their respects to a beloved person or dog to use their own tribute fund pages.
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