They seek him here, they seek him there . . .
THE long-running saga of a Cowal funeral undertaker with a track record of dirty tricks has taken yet another unsavoury turn.
Richard Sage, a flamboyant character, came to Dunoon after a career in England which had earned him two hefty jail sentences; his activities had also earned him the attention of national press and radio programmes.
Despite his assertions that he should not be judged on the past, he was still pursued by the media after his arrival in Dunoon, and featured in the BBC programme Watchdog.
Notwithstanding his previous involvement with the forces of law and order, and just as the BBC was transmitting the programme, Strathclyde Police was giving the undertaker a contract to deal with the bodies of victims of accidental deaths in Argyll. This allowed Mr Sage to purchase two high-profile vehicles carrying the rather bizarre legend: ‘Cowal Funeral Home Ambulance’. The contract was subsequently - and inexplicably - cancelled.
Mr Sage has now moved on to pastures new - or more accurately disappeared, and behind him he has left a lot of unanswered questions and even more unpaid debts.
Last Friday we were made aware of a case whereby Mr Sage has once again failed to fulfill a contract, despite already taking payment in full.
It should have been the happiest day in the lives of one Dunoon couple. However, had it not been for the kindness of others, Mr Sage could have spoiled their wedding irrevocably.
They had booked a limousine through Cowal Funeral Directors’ sister company, Cowal Limousines, for their big day. Unbeknown to the couple this company was owned by Mr Sage.
On the day of their wedding they called first thing in the morning to double-check that everything to do with the cars was going ahead as planned. When they were unable to get through, however, they became very concerned.
Unfortunately they were right to fear the worst, as no cars turned up to take the wedding party to the registry office. Luckily, the couple’s neighbours all rallied round and used their own cars to transport the group to their destination.
During the ceremony other friends called Co-operative Wedding Cars who confirmed that Cowal Limousines were no longer trading.
In an extremely gracious act, however, Co-op decided to pick the newlyweds up from the registry office in one of their own limousines and take them to the Park Hotel, completely free of charge, where they enjoyed their evening reception.
This particular story had a happy ending. Others, however, have not been so lucky.
Further enquiries led us to several disgruntled ex-employees of Mr Sage. All parties wish to retain their anonymity, so for the purposes of this report we have given them pseudonyms.
Mrs Smith started work at another of Mr Sage’s premises, Clydebank and District Funeral Services, in August last year. She was employed as a book-keeper but right from the very start she was wary, as she had to fight for her wages every week, before being paid in cash, usually late.
On Monday November 6, she turned up for work, as normal, to find that the locks had been changed and the premises were shut. As she was standing outside she received a text message on her mobile phone from Mr Sage saying: “Sorry for being so late. Take tomorrow off. Not opening Clydebank office due to problem with shop. Will call later in morning and explain. Will deal with wages at mid-day.”
On checking the details of the text Mrs Smith saw that it had been sent at quarter-to-one in the morning.
Mrs Smith tried calling, e-mailing and sending texts to Mr Sage, all to no avail. She did not receive any calls but received several texts from him. The texts said either that he will call her, that the money was going to be paid into the bank that afternoon, or that the money has been paid in already. None of these ever happened.
A few days after our initial conversation, Mrs Smith called us again, saying that she had received a letter from Mr Sage, informing her that her employment had been terminated and that she would receive all monies owed to her shortly. Again, this never happened.
Mrs Smith then contacted ACAS and put the matter into the hands of her lawyer.
She said at the time: “Since all this happened I have been on the internet a lot and have found out some pretty unsavoury things about Mr Sage’s past. I am now at the end of my tether and just want my wages.”
Last month a tribunal hearing took place. Mr Sage, however, failed to turn up resulting in the decision automatically being ruled in the favour of Mrs Smith.
“Now I have the job of finding Mr Sage and getting what is rightfully due to me,” she said.
Mrs Smith contacted us again recently to update us on her plight.
Two weeks ago she received information that he had set up another undertaker’s business in Croydon, using the name Direct Funeral Services.
She was unable to get hold of Mr Sage on the listed telephone number, and when she phoned back the following week the line was completely dead. The website that had been set up had also mysteriously disappeared.
Mrs Smith is, however, not giving up. She is even more determined than ever to catch up with Mr Sage.
Mr Jones worked for Cowal Funeral Service from September 2005 until April last year. “When I left I gave Mr Sage a week’s notice,” he said, “But he told me not to work it, and to leave right away.”
Mr Jones also said that when he started with the company he was paid monthly by cheque. “But they were always bouncing, and it was never his fault, always the bank. So we asked to get paid weekly in cash instead, and even then it was often the Monday before he came up with our wages.”
Commenting on Mr Sage’s claim that he had received ‘hundreds’ of letters of thanks from grateful clients, Mr Jones said: “How come? In the eight months I worked for him we buried three people – so who wrote all the letters?
“We had plenty of phone calls, but they were people who were owed money by him, often from abroad. We also had visits on at least two occasions from Sheriff Officers, but there was nothing to confiscate, because nothing in the office was actually owned by the company.”
Mr Black claims to be owed approximately £370 in pay, notice and outstanding shortfalls in wages. He takes up the story: “I had worked there for about six months when, on a Wednesday, I was asked by Mr Sage to prepare two wedding cars for the weekend. When he stressed that they had to be sorted out that day I didn’t think too much about it and presumed that he had something else arranged for me over the next couple of days. As it happens, at 4.55 that afternoon he told me that he was letting me go, with immediate effect.”
Mr Black too, has all but given up any hope of recovering the monies he feels he is owed.
We were recently contacted by researchers from Watchdog, who after receiving more complaints themselves are, once again, back on the trail of Mr Sage.
Do you have a similar story, or do you know of the whereabouts of Mr Sage? If so, please contact Editorial Department on 01369 706854.


Supermarket rumours denied
RUMOURS that a major supermarket has bought the former gasworks site in Hamilton Street, Dunoon, were scotched this week by the company which is preparing the site for eventual sale.
National Grid Properties, formerly SecondSite Property, is responsible for cleaning up the site, part of a £370m clean-up undertaken on similar derelict sites across the UK.
Years of pollution have necessitated a major clean up of the land, which is still ongoing.
Explaining the lengthy period of suspension of the last phase of environmental improvement works planned for completion at the site, a National Grid Property spokesman said: “Although our contractors returned to the site last winter, they found weather conditions made a full resumption of work impossible.
“Because of the high levels of rainfall in the area, they experienced difficulty in operating plant and equipment on the site due to ground conditions.
“The decision was taken to demobilise, and a resumption of work is expected to take place in May.”
Responding to local rumours that the site had been sold to a major supermarket operator, the spokesman emphasised: “The site is not yet advertised for sale. Whilst we are aware that interest is strong, we are focused on completing the improvement programme. The next step will be to advertise the site via our property agents whose role it is to generate maximum interest in its development potential.”
However, there are reports that a European-based supermarket chain has bought a residential property adjacent to the site.


Ardyne Point presentation
THE project which developers hope will see the former oil rig yard at Ardyne Point, near Toward, transformed into a thriving community will come before South Cowal Community Council (SCCC) next Wednesday.
This is the second time the plan has come before SCCC; the reaction on the first occasion was largely favourable, but now the scheme is more developed, to the extent that an outline planning application is due to be submitted by the middle of the month, and it is the detail of this application which is to be discussed.
The presentation will be made by consultants Turley Associates.
An Environmental Impact Assessment is being finalised, and so far no contentious issues have arisen.
Other aspects covered in the application will include a design statement, a drainage assessment and a traffic impact assessment.
The proposed mixed-use development will see the area around the former yard transformed with the creation of a whole range of facilities.
As well as residential properties, these would include a Marina and associated facilities, a hotel, restaurant and public house, as well as a retail outlet.
There will also be office space for businesses, and improvements to the existing fish farm.
The potentially contentious item is provision of a ferry terminal. Western Ferries have for many years expressed a wish to run a ferry from Ardyne to Bute, probably Port Bannatyne. They have said that they would be willing to provide the ferries, but not the infrastructure. If the Ardyne scheme was to provide such a terminal, then the company would require only the Port Bannatyne link to give it a route from Bute all the way to Gourock.
However, it is unlikely that residents of Innellan and Toward would view favourably the increase in traffic on the roads in the area.
The presentation to the community council next week will provide an up-date on the project so far, summarise the Environmental Impact Assessment findings and will show the outline application proposals.
The meeting is due to start at 7pm in Innellan Village Hall and interested members of the public are welcome to attend.


International outrage over missing journalist
BBC correspondent Alan Johnston, whose family hail from Lochgoilhead, remains missing after being feared kidnapped in Gaza City on March 12.
Despite intensive international efforts to secure his release there has still not been any statement issued, or any talk of a ransom.
Palestinian journalists have voiced their frustration at their government and presidency for their apparent lack of effort on behalf of the missing correspondent. They have boycotted the government and presidency offices with a view to hopefully getting them to do more to ensure his safe release and have, so far, held three 24-hour strikes.
Other events have been held both at home and in the West Bank.
In Gaza, 300 journalists stood with their mouths gagged and in London dozens of media personalities signed an open letter in a national newspaper urging him to be freed quickly and unharmed.
International appeals include statements from the Arab League and the European Union and non-government groups such as Amnesty International and Reporters Without Frontiers. The International Press Institute, a media watchdog, also expressed “grave concern” about Alan Johnston’s fate.
Mr Johnston has lived, and worked in Gaza for the past three years and is described by the BBC as a highly experienced and respected reporter. He joined the BBC World Service in 1991 and has spent eight of the last 16 years as a correspondent, including periods in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.