Obtaining money from a company trying to dissolve

I am trying to get back money for goods I paid for and did not receive with some difficulty

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I paid for a van in March 2020 and paid £6,650 for it.  In April it became apparent that the van wasn't coming and the company refunded me £3,000 with the rest to follow, which after months of excuses never turned up.  I have now gone down the route of sending letters to the company with the threat of court action if no money was received and I have today been sent an e-mail from them telling me that they have applied for the company to be dissolved.  Now the twist in this is that the guy I dealt with (a director) says that he is looking to close the business, find other employement and pay me as and when he can.  He says he has no assets and cannot pay any other way, however I don't know if this is true.  I could ask him to take on the debt personally, however if he's correct in saying he has no assets then chances are I end up in the same position in a few months, taking him to court.  My other option is to continue to take the company to court, however I don't know if this would stop his company disolving.  Basically I don't know where to go from here.  Any advice?

Replies (8)

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By cbp99
29th Jul 2020 14:40

You will need to object at Companies House. And you might need to keep renewing your objection. Be aware that Companies House have no interest in keeping the company going on your account.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/company-strike-off-dissolutio...

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By zebaa
29th Jul 2020 17:48

If the directors will put his offer in writing that may be as good as it gets. I suspect you may be flogging a dead horse and I think you know this too.

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By Paul Crowley
29th Jul 2020 18:01

You got £3,000 so the guy is probably not a crook.
It is the company that owes and as a result you will probably not see the balance no matter what is promised.

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RLI
By lionofludesch
29th Jul 2020 18:14

Just to point out the obvious - this is an accountancy forum. You have a legal problem. The advice you receive here will probably be better than you'd get from the Man Down the Pub, but we're not lawyers. Or, at least, most of us aren't.

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By Tax Dragon
29th Jul 2020 18:16

Good luck.

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Lisa Thomas
By Lisa Thomas - Insolvency Practitioner
30th Jul 2020 13:58

The Company owes you money and if dissolved that will be the end of the debt, you cannot legally pursue it unless you pay to reinstate the Company and start Court proceedings which will not be cost effective based on the amount you are owed.

The Director is not personally liable unless he gave you a personal guarantee, although it sounds as if he may have now done that.

Your best bet is to keep your finders crossed he pays you personally based on his morals.

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Replying to Insolvency Practitioner:
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By kev8279
30th Jul 2020 14:35

Thanks for the informative reply. He's only just started the process to dissolve and I know I could object and take the company to court but I don't know if they have any assets. The guy seems to be willing to accept the debt personally but it makes me wonder why he'd do that and dissolve his company. If he's willing to accept it personally, I just wonder if he thinks he'd be better off going this route. He seems genuine but at the same time he's made no offer of payment in almost 4 months

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Replying to kev8279:
Lisa Thomas
By Lisa Thomas - Insolvency Practitioner
03rd Aug 2020 14:24

The Company should not have any assets (or insufficient to cover the cost of Liquidation) if it's going down the dissolution route so it's unlikely that it does.

The 4 month delay is probably down to him playing lockdown by ear to decide whether or not to continue or call it a day. A lot of businesses were suspended.

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