Company I contract for gone into liquidation owing me money...HELP!!

mb3006

I am a LTD company and I work as a contractor for several different companies. Unfortunately I got a letter yesterday saying that one was going into voluntary liquidation. I know they are converting from a PLC to a privately owned company and changing their name but will continue trading after wiping off everything they owe me (and others). I have 3 invoices which are outstanding for almost 2 months in the sum of £725 (a small amount for some but enough to have me awake from 3.45am this morning with worry and not able to get back to sleep!) and one invoice for work I did last week in the sum of £850. I suppose my question is...is there anything I can do? I know they will not have been paid yet for the work I did last week so can I somehow have that paid directly to me rather than going through them? Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

chalkie99

Sorry to hear your bad news,

Unfortunately, I don't think there is much you can do except get yourself on the creditors list but the reality is you will be lucky to get anything back at all.

What sort of work do you do? If you are supplying products do you have a retention of ownership title on your invoices which might (and only "might") allow you to retrieve those that are not paid for?

As regards trying to get a third party to pay you direct, that will be a non-starter I am afraid. Their contract will be with your customer and the administrators will be chasing them for payment and they will not want to be paying twice.

If you end up contracting to the new set-up perhaps you can increase your prices a bit to try and recoup some losses.

Sorry it's probably not what you are hoping to hear.

Wywth

mb3006 wrote: »

I am a LTD company and I work as a contractor for several different companies. Unfortunately I got a letter yesterday saying that one was going into voluntary liquidation. I know they are converting from a PLC to a privately owned company and changing their name but will continue trading after wiping off everything they owe me (and others). I have 3 invoices which are outstanding for almost 2 months in the sum of £725 (a small amount for some but enough to have me awake from 3.45am this morning with worry and not able to get back to sleep!) and one invoice for work I did last week in the sum of £850. I suppose my question is...is there anything I can do? I know they will not have been paid yet for the work I did last week so can I somehow have that paid directly to me rather than going through them? Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

If worrying over the non-payment of 3 invoices totalling only £725 from almost 2 months ago prevents you from sleeping, why have you let it go for so long, and why did you supply a further £850 worth of business just last week? :huh:

As above, get yourself on the register of creditors.

prowla

mb3006 wrote: »

I am a LTD company and I work as a contractor for several different companies. Unfortunately I got a letter yesterday saying that one was going into voluntary liquidation. I know they are converting from a PLC to a privately owned company and changing their name but will continue trading after wiping off everything they owe me (and others). I have 3 invoices which are outstanding for almost 2 months in the sum of £725 (a small amount for some but enough to have me awake from 3.45am this morning with worry and not able to get back to sleep!) and one invoice for work I did last week in the sum of £850. I suppose my question is...is there anything I can do? I know they will not have been paid yet for the work I did last week so can I somehow have that paid directly to me rather than going through them? Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Sadly, this is one of the risks of contracting, and you'll probably be at the back of the queue...

I don't know if there is any legal recourse to what appears to be a sleight of hand on the part of the company.

If you went via an agency, then your contract is with them and not the client.
EDIT: Sorry - I see that your comments imply that it is the agency. In that case, the end client will not have paid them yet (and they may not legally have to), and you may well be able to investigate whether the client will deal directly with you, and they may even do it retrospectively.

However, the next time any tax man or official tries to tell you that you are a disguised employee, you can pull this one out of your bag to demonstrate the difference!

prowla

Wywth wrote: »

If worrying over the non-payment of 3 invoices totalling only £725 from almost 2 months ago prevents you from sleeping, why have you let it go for so long, and why did you supply a further £850 worth of business just last week? :huh:

As above, get yourself on the register of creditors.

It is not uncommon to be 2 months in arrears: invoice at the end of one month and be paid in the next payment run (which could be at the end of the next month).

Not many people will happily go "Ho-hum - it's only seven hundred quid I've lost there".

Wywth

prowla wrote: »

It is not uncommon to be 2 months in arrears: ...

But it is to be losing sleep over it ...

I wouldn't class an invoice as outstanding if it was not yet due for payment.

chalkie99

Wywth wrote: »

If worrying over the non-payment of 3 invoices totalling only £725 from almost 2 months ago prevents you from sleeping, why have you let it go for so long, and why did you supply a further £850 worth of business just last week? :huh:

As above, get yourself on the register of creditors.

I have to say that, looking at the OP's post made only a few weeks ago, I wonder why they are losing sleep too.

mb3006 wrote: »

My husband and I are thinking of buying a holiday home in Calpe, Spain. We are hoping to get it for around 100,000 Euros (but we'll see!!). We have £40,000 deposit and would need to raise the equity for the remaining £50,000ish. Our existing mortgage on our residential property in England is £170,000 on a property value of approx £320,000. Income is sufficient to borrow more than we need.

paddyrg

If they were trading whilst insolvent, could it be wrongful trading which lifts the veil of incorporation? Basically if they carried on using your services once they knew they couldn't pay for them, things change and they *MAY* become personally liable but you need to speak to your accountant about this - I could have got this quite wrong where precision expert advice is what you need

Mistral001

mb3006 wrote: »

.....and one invoice for work I did last week in the sum of £850. I suppose my question is...is there anything I can do? I know they will not have been paid yet for the work I did last week so can I somehow have that paid directly to me rather than going through them? Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

If you have sent them an invoice for the work done last week you have been on the ball, so do not be too hard on yourself.

Whether they have been paid or not for the work you have done is totally irrelevant with regard to the % you will get from them as a creditor I should have thought. If they do offer to pay you by some means, then consult a solicitor or an accountant before you accept it.

mb3006

chalkie99 wrote: »

I have to say that, looking at the OP's post made only a few weeks ago, I wonder why they are losing sleep too.

Because situations can change very quickly!

mb3006

Wywth wrote: »

But it is to be losing sleep over it ...

I wouldn't class an invoice as outstanding if it was not yet due for payment.

I thought outstanding meant it was still to be paid...I didn't say overdue