Unpaid invoice and limited company has shut
Discussion
One for the legals to help me if possible.
Have an outstanding invoice for £1600 that I have been chasing since January.(invoiced dated for goods in October)
The company I dealt with was/is a Limited one and I have been informed it closed at the end of December. I have sent 5 reminders and one of possibility to take further action.
The phoneline has been disconnected and post has now started to be returned with 'not at this address'.
Is it worth going the legal retrieval route or am I just throwing good money after bad?
How do I stand when a Limited Company go down?
KevF said:
One for the legals to help me if possible.
Have an outstanding invoice for £1600 that I have been chasing since January.(invoiced dated for goods in October)
The company I dealt with was/is a Limited one and I have been informed it closed at the end of December. I have sent 5 reminders and one of possibility to take further action.
The phoneline has been disconnected and post has now started to be returned with 'not at this address'.
Is it worth going the legal retrieval route or am I just throwing good money after bad?
How do I stand when a Limited Company go down?
If it's bust then you're queuing up for a few pence in the pound once the liquidators are done.Have an outstanding invoice for £1600 that I have been chasing since January.(invoiced dated for goods in October)
The company I dealt with was/is a Limited one and I have been informed it closed at the end of December. I have sent 5 reminders and one of possibility to take further action.
The phoneline has been disconnected and post has now started to be returned with 'not at this address'.
Is it worth going the legal retrieval route or am I just throwing good money after bad?
How do I stand when a Limited Company go down?
Google them and find out what's happened and if a liquidator has been appointed. Then call them.
Whats the company name. I'll do a check & let you know.
If he's purely ceased trading he still owes the money.
As said, let me know the name & I'll do some digging into the state of thier accounts/assetts, etc. You can then make a more informed decision as to whether the monies are worth chasing.
If he's purely ceased trading he still owes the money.
As said, let me know the name & I'll do some digging into the state of thier accounts/assetts, etc. You can then make a more informed decision as to whether the monies are worth chasing.
Soovy said:
KevF said:
I have found out that the Director has just closed the business...not gone into liquidation. Essentially, has just ceased trading and walked away.
Seems to me that it's still a going concern then and you're owed the money.Have you spoken to the Director
I do know that they are not trading as one of the old employees has approached me for business as he was made redundant and has set up on his own...
You can get the name/address of the director from companies house. Maybe write to him directly.
Speak to James at Gemini - http://www.debtcollectioncompany.co.uk - he will be able to give good advice and help you recover the debt. He's got good results for many PHers including myself.
Speak to James at Gemini - http://www.debtcollectioncompany.co.uk - he will be able to give good advice and help you recover the debt. He's got good results for many PHers including myself.
Cheers John.
If he has ceased trading but the company has assets (highly unlikely) it may be worth pursuing.
However he has probably ceased trading because he can't afford to pay his creditors, and is either waiting for one of those creditors to wind the company up (at their considerable expense) or he will apply to companies house to be struck off.
My advice is forget it (on the face of it) you will probably get a judgement if it goes to court but big deal, you wont get paid and be out of pocket by the court fee.
If he has ceased trading but the company has assets (highly unlikely) it may be worth pursuing.
However he has probably ceased trading because he can't afford to pay his creditors, and is either waiting for one of those creditors to wind the company up (at their considerable expense) or he will apply to companies house to be struck off.
My advice is forget it (on the face of it) you will probably get a judgement if it goes to court but big deal, you wont get paid and be out of pocket by the court fee.
James,
I thought that would be the case...have done a search which is how I have come up with the registered office.
But thee might be a light at the end of the tunel as I have found out about half and hour ago he also has another business that is still doing well.
I might try and appeal to his better business side and talk to him directly at this business and see if I can 'persuade' him to pay the invoice.
I thought that would be the case...have done a search which is how I have come up with the registered office.
But thee might be a light at the end of the tunel as I have found out about half and hour ago he also has another business that is still doing well.
I might try and appeal to his better business side and talk to him directly at this business and see if I can 'persuade' him to pay the invoice.
I wish you luck. However, if he has made the conscious decision to cease trading and is dodging his creditors, your chances of getting anything are about zero. People start up a limited company for a reason and unless you can prove fraud you don't really have any sensible recourse.
If you think this might be a recurring problem, perhaps you should look at non recourse factoring.
If you think this might be a recurring problem, perhaps you should look at non recourse factoring.
What is the status of the business on companies house webcheck?
http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/7157788d4d2492f0...
If it's a limited co then as Soovy says it's still trading until he closes it in an approved manner. He must be in breach of his fiduciary duties as a director - I'm not sure who you'd report him to now though - hopefully someone else can suggest.
I wouldn't give up yet. If he hasn't officially liquidated the business there may well be assets and he's trying to avoid them being diluted by the debts.
If all his creditors give up because he's disappeared then he's in a better position.
If you've got all the paperwork in place I'd serve proceedings via Money Claims online onto the registered office listed at companies house, he won't get the proceedings presumably but that's his problem at this stage, I think it's only £40 and it's easy to do yourself.
You'll get a judgment against the company (assuming he doesn't respond) so at least you've got a better claim against them than you have now. You can then decide whether it's worth trying to enforce it but at least the judgment will stay in place.
I wonder if Eric or someone can say whether there is any obligation on the Accountancy that is shown as the registered office to track their client?
http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/7157788d4d2492f0...
If it's a limited co then as Soovy says it's still trading until he closes it in an approved manner. He must be in breach of his fiduciary duties as a director - I'm not sure who you'd report him to now though - hopefully someone else can suggest.
I wouldn't give up yet. If he hasn't officially liquidated the business there may well be assets and he's trying to avoid them being diluted by the debts.
If all his creditors give up because he's disappeared then he's in a better position.
If you've got all the paperwork in place I'd serve proceedings via Money Claims online onto the registered office listed at companies house, he won't get the proceedings presumably but that's his problem at this stage, I think it's only £40 and it's easy to do yourself.
You'll get a judgment against the company (assuming he doesn't respond) so at least you've got a better claim against them than you have now. You can then decide whether it's worth trying to enforce it but at least the judgment will stay in place.
I wonder if Eric or someone can say whether there is any obligation on the Accountancy that is shown as the registered office to track their client?
KevF said:
But thee might be a light at the end of the tunel as I have found out about half and hour ago he also has another business that is still doing well. I might try and appeal to his better business side and talk to him directly at this business and see if I can 'persuade' him to pay the invoice.
There is a precedent. I know someone, who had a bill unpaid by company closure, eventually to be paid by the former Director's new company. It was purely because the creditor was very patient and low-key, and after 2-3 years he got his money. It all depends on your personal relationship and whether the chap thinks he might need you again one day. 'Friends come and go but enemies only accumulate'.Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff