Paying back money to a company who no longer exists...

xJox_2

I have been paying money back weekly to a photographer who did some website pictures for me about a year ago, when i was trying to set up my own business. I didn't actually start to trade though. I've just found out that the business is no longer trading and the business bank account is closed. He now wants me to pay the money in cash, am i by law entitled to stop paying him as the money is now going straight into his back pocket not to the company. He is hounding me by calls, texts and through networking sites for his money which i don't feel comfortable with.

Can anyone help??

Thanks
Jo

iolanthe07

I am guessing he wants you to pay in cash because money paid into his personal bank account (if his business one has been closed) is just eaten up by penalty charges. If he was a sole trader then he and the company are really the same entity, and if you owe the money then I expect you are obliged to pay it. However, he has absolutely no right to harass you, and you should tell him so firmly and come to a reasonable arrangement to pay off the debt.

jonesMUFCforever

Was he a sole trader? or a limited company?

If he was a sole trader then I don't see the problem in paying him either in cash or by cheque. It would be then up to him where to bank it.
If it was a limited company then the administrators would tell who and how much to pay.

Ignoring him is not an option IMO.
If you were owed money for work done would you not feel the same way?

[Deleted User]

It's highly likely he has any administrators, if it's just a one-man limited company (which I'm guessing it is, given he's a photographer). My bet is that it's wound up because he ran out of money in some way (inland revenue etc) and so there's unlikely to be much in the way of administrators and the like.

If it's a LTD and your contract's with that, then you don't need to pay anything further.