Firms car seized?

Lusty

It's a bit late now as its been taken back but I'll explain the scenario anyway.
My mate had a BMW series 5 which was a firms car.
The firm went into administration six weeks ago and he's still owed two months money.
I advised him to get some legal advise before letting go of the car as now he is a creditor.
What would have been the likely outcome had he dug his heels in?
Possession is nine tenths of the law and all that!
Thanx in advance.

Browntoa

in this case , as you say , it was the Firms car and not his and they are fully entitled to take it

ceridwen

I'm pretty sure there is a "pecking order" for creditors of a firm. From this - I have the feeling (though I cant be sure) that employees (okay - ex-employees then...) come pretty much top of the list.

If I were in that position.....hmmm....I'd be checking out what the priority order is for creditors of my ex-employer/how much money I guesstimated they owed/how much I guesstimated their assets as being worth.

After that.....errrr....my first thought would be to "lose my memory" as to where I had parked the car until the dust had settled and aim to take what I was owed in salary/etc from the value of the car and then give the rest back to the "pot" anonymously for distribution to the other creditors - as I'm an honest person, so wouldnt think of taking any part of the car's value that I wasnt owed.

BUT - I do have the feeling though that the car might end up being reported as stolen by administrators of the firm - even though it hadnt been IYSWIM - so it might well be the case that I would land up being forced to hand back the car in order not to get a criminal reputation I dont deserve. So - I guess your friend didnt intend to hand the car back - but couldnt see how to hang onto it without being wrongfully branded a "criminal" for doing so.

So - I guess he probably gave a few heavy kicks at the cars tyres and literally threw the keys back at them straight over the top of the car (not my fault if I'm not much good at throwing!) - but felt forced to hand it back. Thats what I would probably have done myself in the event.

mountainofdebt

If the firm went into administration then the assets of the firm (of which the car would have been) presumably would then be needed so that the creditors could be paid off so.

As far as the pecking order is concerned I think that HMRC & the administrators get their money first and then everyone else gets a proportion of what's left.

If your mate is owed salary then there is a scheme where he can claim it from the government - presumably the administrators will have more details.

Lusty

Thanx people.I thought this was worth inquiring about as I thought the money he'd get from the government would be the legal minimum which amounts to a token amount.

maninthestreet

Does the firm actually own the car, or is it leased?