company gone in to adminastration

Bob82

Hi I have had some bad news today. I run a small garage and have undertaken a repair on a vehicle that owes me around £2000 to be told today by the owner that his ltd company has gone in to administration today and I will not be paid if I submit the invoice. How do I stand as I still have the vehicle in my custody, is it aloud to be snatched off of me owing the money?

kazwookie

Is the car a company car and registared as such, or does the owner of the car pay the bill via his company but he personally owns it, or is it a leased car?

J_B

Bob82 wrote: »

and have undertaken a repair on a vehicle that owes me around £2000 to be told today by the owner that his ltd company has gone in to administration today

kazwookie wrote: »

Is the car a company car and registared as such, or does the owner of the car pay the bill via his company but he personally owns it, or is it a leased car?

As said, you need to know who owns the car.
If it is 'the owner' then the fact that his Ltd Co has gone pop is of no consequence.
If the Ltd Co owns the car ....

Aquamania

Bob82 wrote: »

Hi I have had some bad news today. I run a small garage and have undertaken a repair on a vehicle that owes me around £2000 to be told today by the owner that his ltd company has gone in to administration today and I will not be paid if I submit the invoice. How do I stand as I still have the vehicle in my custody, is it aloud to be snatched off of me owing the money?

Who placed the order with you? Presumably the limited company, else why mention it?

No one (unless authorised by a court order) is allowed to come and snatch the vehicle from you.

What do your terms and conditions of business say about non-payment of a bill? Any respectable garage I've been to says they won't give the vehicle back unless/until the bill is paid. (or agreed credit facilities exist)

If you are refusing to pay while you dispute the bill, the garage has the right to keep your vehicle until the debt is paid

https://www.daslaw.co.uk/blog/vehicle-servicing-and-repairs

Can a garage keep your car?

A garage that has repaired your car has what is known as a 'lien'. This is the right to keep the car until they’ve been paid for all work done.

• If you take your car away without authorisation you risk both civil proceedings and criminal prosecution.
• Apart from legal proceedings or leaving your car while any dispute is sorted out, the only option is to pay the amount demanded, marking the invoice as 'paid under protest'.

https://www.theaa.com/driving-advice/legal/car-repairs#retain

You will need to contact the administrators for payment.

But I doubt they will pay you, so then it's down to negotiation.
My guess is that the administrators will suggest you obtain the best price for the vehicle (you'll have to discuss the best process on how to do that), take off what is owed to you (including any reasonable extra costs you incur in doing so) and return the remainder to the adminstrators.

Alternatively, you have the right to take off the parts you have fitted (which I guess this is a body repair based on the cost), which would almost certainly render the value of the vehicle less than it is currently worth less the £2k owed - so that would be silly in this case.

Note you cannot sell the vehicle unless the administrator agrees (or you get a court order allowing you to)

More information on your rights to retain the vehicle, and apply storage charges if appropriate, can be found here:
https://www.fsp-law.com/can-a-dealer-keep-the-customers-car/

Bob82

Thanks for the reply’s basically it is a catering van and it has had some engine repairs done. I was instructed by the owner originally with no mention of his company. I have never met him as I collected it from his friends house who was hiring it at the time.

My payment terms state all parts fitted remain my property until full payment is received.

How do I go about putting a lien on the vehicle and if there is a Lien can it still be removed with a court order from the administrator?

lincroft1710

If there is finance outstanding on the van, then it may belong to the finance company rather than the catering business owner.

bris

You have a Lien on the car so simply don't give it back.


The administrator will take over the running of the company so they will become liable for it's debt. They will then decide whether to pay you or tell you to sell it to recover what is owed.


if you get more for it then the administrator will want the balance, if you get less then you will become a creditor and like get nothing more.

daveyjp

You also need to check the insurance situation. As the vehicle is in your care its your insurance which may be covering the vehicle.

You may however be able to charge a fee for storing and insuring the vehicle until the bill is paid.

Mistral001

You need legal advice on this one. The person who instructed you to repair the van will no doubt have received legal advice.

Your best outcome will be if you can prove that your contract is with the person who instructed you to repair the van and not with his company, in which case he will be held personally responsible for the costs of repairs.


Is there any mention of "Ltd" on the van's signage?