HSBC Business Credit Card Dues - They are chasing me personally

TomJLee

My business is in liquidation and my Ltd company's last month's credit was not paid as OR had frozen the business current account. The company's business current account had sufficient balance to clear the last month's dues but before it was cleared OR had frozen the account. If the bank account wasn't frozen it would have been paid.

Now HSBC are after me to recover the company's business credit card dues.

First of all if I had known that the Business credit dues become personal liability then I had never taken it. I don't remember anyone informing the same.

I asked them to send me their terms for business credit card with my signature on it, they sent a general t&c document and I can't de-cypher the cryptic terms which covers the business credit card.

Another sick situation is that you can't pay the credit card dues in any other ways. It had to be debited from your company's current account. If they had policy to accept the payment in any other ways then I would have done it before OR had frozen the account.

I haven't used the money personally but it was used for company's expenses.

HSBC have passed the account to debt recovery agency.

Do I stand any chances if I refuse to pay the personally and see HSBC in the court with the same above arguments?

izools

If the card is registered to the limited company name and you are simply a named cardholder then you can't be held personally liable and HSBC are not in a position to do what they are.

If, however, you were a partner or sole trader of the business as far as the application was concerned then you are legally liable.

I had this trouble helping my OH when his company was dissolved a few years ago. Hugh Symons took him to court and had a CCJ for a scary amount granted against him as an individual. I then did the background research and obtained copies of the original paperwork and successfully had the CCJ repealed... Eventually.

On the flip side, however, a mobile phone contract which he thought had been set up in the limited company name had not, although the paperwork made reference to the name of the limited company, the contract was between him as an individual and O2, so he had to pay the bill (rather, default, by the time I'd got the paperwork from O2) out of his own pocket.

Good luck!

davec1960

izools wrote: »

If the card is registered to the limited company name and you are simply a named cardholder then you can't be held personally liable and HSBC are not in a position to do what they are.

True unless the OP has given a personal guarantee in which case he is liable.

The contract he signed may include a clause that by signing the OP has given a PG. He needs to check the contract for this.

izools

davec1960 wrote: »

True unless the OP has given a personal guarantee in which case he is liable.

The contract he signed may include a clause that by signing the OP has given a PG. He needs to check the contract for this.

Absolutely. It was a nightmare getting copies of the original contracts from my OH's old business accounts to verify the liabilities, thankfully it really paid off in the case of Hugh Symons but his personal reference is what left him personally liable to pay O2.

But it's definitely a matter of checking the original paperwork rather than just asking the lender - they will lie.

TomJLee

Tx all for the reply.

izool
As you said, the card is registered in the company name and my personal name is printed on the card.

I've checked the Guarantee document and I don't see that credit card is mentioned in it's "the debt" clause.

I'm sure that they might have covered it under other terms which might not be obvious to me.

In any case I would like to contest this case and until and unless courts orders I'm not going to pay.

HSBC have passed the case to collection agency.

So what should be my next action? Shall I wait for HSBC/their agents to file a case in the court?