Statutory Demand under section 268(1)(a) of insolvency act

Kiwimjm

Hi,
I have just received a Statutory Demand from my old employer the sum of just over a grand on overpayment. Their mistake on commission. I paid back £700 just before Xmas but advised I was going through a painful separation from my wife. I have just come out the other side and have moved back to my home city of Leeds. I was hoping someone could give me some advice on how to deal with this as there is no way at he moment I can afford to pay this debt off under the terms they are demanding, immediate payment in full!!! I would not even know about this threat if my wife had not forwarded my mail with now just 9 days until their deadline. Is there any way I can prevent them from making me bankrupt. Seems crazy for such a small amount. Can a company do this unilaterally. ? Surely everyone deserves a chance to plead their case before a judge prior to such an extreme can be implemented?
Also this is the first formal notice I have received ( and only because my wife forwarded it onto me ) again I ask surely this is not possible?

rizla_king

If you pay it off in full there is no way you can be made bankrupt. If you even pay off enough to bring it down below £750 you could have the demand set aside as then being below the bankruptcy threshold. They would be a bit looney to try for that money anyway.

Kiwimjm

I did think it was a bit crazy ..so if I get it down to £750 they cannot proceed regardless??? That is good news. On a more general basis can you really be made unilaterally bankrupt when you have no idea such a notice has been made (which could have been the case with me) ?

rizla_king

No. The statutory demand is not making you bankrupt. There would need to be a bankruptcy petition served on you as well later on, which would then have a court hearing you would attend.

antonic

Once a S(tatutory) D(emand) is served you have 21 days to defend it or get the amount owed down to below £750 (as others have said).

Failure to do so will normally lead to the issuing of a Bankruptcy Petition against you .

spacey2012

Do you have any other debts ?
Sometimes these people can do you a favour.

[Deleted User]

If you step back and think for a moment, it would cost your old employer nearly a grand to petition for your bankruptcy, which from their point of view would be doubling the debt with no guarantee they would even get their fee back, so I believe it would be extremely unlikely they would go down this route. Statutory demands are just a bullying tactic. Write to them, explain your situation and offer what you can comfortably afford; after all they would be getting something(better than nothing at all), and it would be resolved over time.