I am taking legal action against a builder. The builder's ltd company status is showing as 'Active — Active proposal to strike off' on the Companies House web site.
Companies house info also states that 'Compulsory strike-off action has been suspended against the company' (probably at the request of HMRC? )
Companies House have accepted my request to prevent the company from being dissolved until mid November 2019 or until my legal action is complete.
The company was formed in Jan 2017 and has never submitted any accounts.Their accounts and confirmation statement are overdue since November 2018.
I have the company's bank statements from March-April 2018 showing payments from me being paid into the ltd company. During this 4 week period there was also a cash withdrawal of around £3200.
Given that no accounts have been submitted, would HMRC be interested in investigating the company if I were to make this information available to them?
Will be glad to provide more info if needed.
Replies (27)
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I wonder how you managed to get the bank statements. I have a gut feeling of some potential illegality going on
"Disclosed documents may only be used for the “purpose of the proceedings in which they are disclosed” (CPR 31.22) except in certain circumstances including where the court’s permission is granted (CPR 31.22(1)(b)). CPR 31.22 covers, not just use of the documents themselves, but also any information derived from those documents."
http://www.allenovery.com/publications/en-gb/Pages/using-documents-discl...
"This case serves as an important reminder about the restrictions which apply to CPR 31.22. If a party receiving disclosure wants to use a disclosed document for a purpose other than the current proceedings, they must fall within the exceptions which are that they seek permission from the court or disclosing party and the person to whom the document belonged or the document has been read or referred to in court."
https://www.lewissilkin.com/en/insights/use-of-disclosed-documents-to-th...
Possibly, though an HMRC investigation is unlikely to help your situation any.
I would suggest that as you are in the process of pursuing legal action, you refrain from taking additional actions, or at least consult your solicitor before doing anything potentially damaging to your case.
In my opinion, threats are generally not a good approach in these situations.
You can either do a thing or not do it. If it's in your best interests then just do it, no need for threats. If it's not in your best interests then don't do it and don't threaten to do it either, that's a threat you don't want to follow through on and a weak position to take.
I don't think an HMRC investigation would help your position, at best it's likely to introduce another creditor into the mix, weakening your own potential for financial redress.
Has a whiff of blackmail about it. I'd be careful. You describe yourself as 'nice old me', but I'm not sure you are as nice as you think you are.
It's one thing to file a report to HMRC. That's up to you. Using the threat as leverage doesn't paint you as the nice guy. On the contrary. I'm not even sure you have grounds for the report to HMRC. How could you be confident that they are underpaying tax?
Let me ask, briefly, about your suspicion.
What has led you to believe that the company has made a taxable profit on which tax is due? How much profit or tax do you suspect that might be? The lack of filed accounts is a failure of process, but it is uncertain that any tax is due. Unless you know different.
Your personal and negative experience aside, what do you know about their processes that would directly lead to an underpayment of tax? I am not really sure you even have grounds for suspicion.
You clearly have grounds for feeling aggrieved, but you should pull back from filing a mendacious report, which could backfire on you.
Do you have a recognised contract with the builder (and how about invoices? ) if not forget it! the company will be cleaned out and the amounts involved though significant to you are not to the authorities i suspect
No they simply don't have the resources to look at this its obviously significant to you but they sadly have bigger fish to fry. Roughly how much is your claim and is the builder the director also and has he operated previous companies?
Beware Companies House re that assumption, there if often very little linking up of the individual's (say miss middle initial ) various interests.
I regularly trawl through Co Hse to get a feel for prospective commercial property tenants and it is amazing the number of times one initially finds no linked other director positions but then when a slight variant in name is used lo and behold-ten companies under a slightly different name.
Often even occurs in situations where there is no variant at all in the individual's name...... but then when a slight variant in name is used lo and behold-ten companies under a slightly different name.
It may sound heartless but you've entered into a contract with a company that has never filed accounts which comes under the category of "caveat emptor".
I'd only part with money to a company in this situation on the basis that I could afford to lose it.
HMRC are not interested in anything that doesn't involve "easy targets" which usually means imposing computer generated penalties.
I'd just write it off to experience and move on.
What do you hope to achieve from this.
If you are owed money from the company and have a judgement or settlement agreement get someone to enforce it to get your cash.
If you get HMRC involved (if you are lucky enough they want to) that is another beak in the trough.
I would focus on getting my cash and forget the rest. A lot of cowboy builders operate like your guy they set up a new company every 18 months, never file anything, because they never file anything HMRC never know how much they are owed so don't pursue it really.
I wager the directors have already set up another company and couldn't care less what you do .
In answer to your question No
Don't quit yet! There is a way to put pressure on builder. Apply to lift the veil of incorporation there have been a couple of recent cases where this has succeeded