A principal who confers authority on an agent to receive money but fails to maintain systems to ascertain the purposes for which money is received cannot escape liability to account merely because it did not know the money was being misapplied. The expression 'carrying on business' in consumer protection legislation does not require a profit motive; activities carried on irrationally but systematically and with the hallmarks of business fall within the statutory definition. Under s 40(5) of the Travel Agents Act 1986, the onus of proving lack of knowledge or consent rests on the director, and failure to give evidence is fatal to discharging that onus.
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