A Watford company has been shut down after tricking people into signing up for bogus subscriptions.

Paragrim Ltd, trading under the Mediacraze.net website, was found to have deliberately misled consumers into providing bank details for what they assumed were everyday online purchases, such as car parking or television streaming services.

The business, based at an address in Nascot Place, duped victims into logging into the site, before they later discovered they had been signed up to monthly £29.99 direct debit payments which were tricky to unsubscribe from.

An Insolvency Service investigation led to a winding-up order for the company being made at the High Court in December, and the Mediacraze.net website is no longer active.

The decision came after it found "no evidence" that Mediacraze.net “provided any actual services or that the company was trading legitimately”.

The agency’s chief investigator Mark George said: “The actions of Paragrim Ltd in manipulating customers were highly deceptive and dishonest.

“Unsuspecting consumers were signed up to a membership scheme which they did not want or indeed think they were paying for, leaving them out of pocket.

“The Insolvency Service will not hesitate to take robust action to protect consumers and we would encourage everyone to be vigilant against scams such as this one.”

Consumers were apparently often misdirected to the website after scanning QR codes on their mobile phones and then charged an initial small fee for a five-day “free” trial without their permission. Afterwards they would be paying the £29.99 a month.

Paragrim was based at an address in Nascot Place, Watford, but the investigation revealed that it was being managed on behalf of a Canadian businesswoman. It did not co-operate with the Insolvency Service’s investigation and the agency is continuing to look into the scam.

Searching for Medicraze online produces many forum posts from people who had been duped or were warning others after avoiding falling victim to the site.

Sky subscriptions, restaurant menu QR codes, and parking charges were among the false services people claimed had redirected them to Mediacraze.