// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Is bankrupt competitions boss behind new scheme?
Ex-Level Up Giveaways director Anton Hall, pictured in this composite image, has been running new pay-to-enter competitions
When Ami Shuttleworth and her fiance Chris Smith were told they had won £10,000 in a pay-to-enter competition, they immediately knew how they would spend their prize.
"We were over the moon, our wedding was going to be paid off," recalls the 34-year-old mother-of-one from Middlesbrough.
Mel Higgins, 33, also had big plans for the £5,000 she was told she had won.
"I was going to pay off my credit card and whatever was left I was going to put into my business," says the driving consultant from Chippenham.
"I cried my eyes out because I thought, 'this is going to change my life'."
Yet, like many others who were successful playing with Level Up Giveaways, neither of them received a penny of their winnings.
The firm, based in Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire, was wound up at the High Court in August 2025 over unpaid debts, with its sole director, Anton Hall, also made bankrupt in November 2025 as part of separate proceedings.
The BBC understands the company owed tens of thousands in unpaid prizes to its customers before it stopped trading.
Admin assistant Ami says she "saw red" when she found out 37-year-old Hall is now involved in a new prize draws venture.