Small claims - company against a company

[razbox]

Hi folks,

I have a limited company (me as only shareholder and employee) to collect royalties for a film. The distribution company has not been sending me quarterly royalty statements for a year, and hence not paying me for a year. They refuse to reply to my emails.

I think I am owed £10k. Can I take them to court via Money Claims Online even though it would be limited company against limited company? The website is confusing:

Register as an Individual
You should register as an Individual if:

• You wish to make a claim against someone who owes you money.
• You wish to respond to a claim that has been made against you.

Register as an Organisation
You should register as an Organisation if:

• You are a Solicitor and wish to register as a user of the MCOL service.
• You are an Organisation that wishes to issue or respond to a claim online.

thanks

[Eddie Strohacker]

razbox said:

Hi folks,

I have a limited company (me as only shareholder and employee) to collect royalties for a film. The distribution company has not been sending me quarterly royalty statements for a year, and hence not paying me for a year. They refuse to reply to my emails.

I think I am owed £10k. Can I take them to court via Money Claims Online even though it would be limited company against limited company? The website is confusing:

Register as an Individual
You should register as an Individual if:

• You wish to make a claim against someone who owes you money.
• You wish to respond to a claim that has been made against you.

Register as an Organisation
You should register as an Organisation if:

• You are a Solicitor and wish to register as a user of the MCOL service.
• You are an Organisation that wishes to issue or respond to a claim online.

thanks

Yes, absolutely, that's exactly what it's for. The bold bit describes your situation. Register & claim. Can you prove you're owed what you think though, in the absence of statements?

[razbox]

Duh! I didn't read that bit clearly enough!

Yes, I have a rough idea as it should be similar to prior years.

Thanks!

[anonymous-user]

When you say refusing to reply to your emails, is that what is really happening?

Have you rung them / visited the office?

[matjk]

before you start, who are you chasing? do you know their background? Are they even in business still? Do they have assets?
If you PM the name of the company I can run a credit check on them that will give you a guide to who you are trying to get money from.
If they already have lots of CCJ's and are limited the odds of getting money out of them is slim to none.
Can you withdraw services, im guessing you cant as you would have done this ages ago. What incentive do they have to pay?

[razbox]

They won't accept visits and the CEO refuses to reply to my emails or allow his staff to talk to me. He did this for six months last time before he finally paid me a year's worth of royalties. A real jerk.

[razbox]

matjk said:

before you start, who are you chasing? do you know their background? Are they even in business still? Do they have assets?
If you PM the name of the company I can run a credit check on them that will give you a guide to who you are trying to get money from.
If they already have lots of CCJ's and are limited the odds of getting money out of them is slim to none.
Can you withdraw services, im guessing you cant as you would have done this ages ago. What incentive do they have to pay?

PM'd you - thanks!

I can't withdraw services as they're distributing the film for which I get royalties. The contract was signed by the former directors of my company and it is a 2 page mess...

[razbox]

DELETED: Comment made by a member who's account has been deleted.

A good one. No need to cough!

[essayer]

Double-check the Civil Procedure Rules - there might be additional procedures you have to follow when claiming as a business (although they might only apply if you are attempting to claim against an individual)

[razbox]

essayer said:

Double-check the Civil Procedure Rules - there might be additional procedures you have to follow when claiming as a business (although they might only apply if you are attempting to claim against an individual)

Will do, thanks

[Eddie Strohacker]

Mcol is a doddle to use. Write out the claim, providing supporting evidence as required & fire it off. The court sends it to the other party & they either admit it, deny it or ignore it. If they do the latter, you automatically gain judgement. If they deny it, then it's heard before a judge who will decide.

Usual common sense rules apply, don't sue someone who's skint, you're throwing good money after bad & be sure you're in the right & can show you are. That way, you're onto a winner. In theory. Enforcement is a whole different ball game, but you have to take each step at a time. Sue first, collect second. It's a deliberately simple process designed to offer appellants easy access to the force of the law, so fill your boots. nothing burns quite like a bad debt. Good luck.

[razbox]

Eddie Strohacker said:

Mcol is a doddle to use. Write out the claim, providing supporting evidence as required & fire it off. The court sends it to the other party & they either admit it, deny it or ignore it. If they do the latter, you automatically gain judgement. If they deny it, then it's heard before a judge who will decide.

Usual common sense rules apply, don't sue someone who's skint, you're throwing good money after bad & be sure you're in the right & can show you are. That way, you're onto a winner. In theory. Enforcement is a whole different ball game, but you have to take each step at a time. Sue first, collect second. It's a deliberately simple process designed to offer appellants easy access to the force of the law, so fill your boots. nothing burns quite like a bad debt. Good luck.

Will do, thank you!

[matjk]

send you a credit report, looks like a bit of a basket case, as per usual they have multiple companies, one looks ok with decent credit score, but your one is all but defunct. My bet is the actual LTD that owes you has nothing, but has found a way of creaming of your royalties into its other business