where do i begin

what_have_we_done

Thanks in advance for all the help on this board,
Heres my story any help appreciated


4 years ago me and hubby set up business with BIL and his wife property, all was going well buying and selling, then suddenly BIL left his wife for a tart.

We had ALL the security for the business put onto us,

Had mortgage of £42,000 at the time upped that to £120,000 for money to buy 1st property etc BUT also had a second charge on our own house, which is still on

have found out that BIL's other company which he had with his wife is now in Administration (does this mean bankruptsy)

Is there any way we can get any of our money back from BIL or is it a case of we've got to forget about it and start again,

we've still got one property in the bus. name as the value of thats gone down so we cant really close the bus. down at the moment, and cant afford to sell it as we'll lose about £35k on it

Id love to close bus. down as i dont want to be associated with this idiot!!

We will NEVER speak to him again after what hes done to us

I normally post on MSE under another name but dont really want people knowing what a cockup we've done.

thanks everyone and please be kind i know we've been stupid with all the onus being on us

Dithering_Dad

If you only have 1 property left in the business, where has your other capital gone?

Is your company set up as a limited company or a partnership?

what_have_we_done

BIL took 40K out of business for dep on house with tart

and company is ltd

sorry for sending pm DD dont want you to think im a troll or anything else, didnt really want to post on here as i cant believe how stupid we've been

rayday2

Its not a case of being stupid from what I can see, we tend not to have our radars on so well where family is concerned.

Sorry I can't help I just don't like the thought of you being so down on yourself when from the outside it looks like you have been a victim if anything.

Dithering_Dad

With a limited company there are only three ways you can withdraw money, Salary's, Director Loans and Dividends. For loans and dividends you need to have the agreement of all directors, so as long as you or your OH is a director (and didn't sign a loan form or dividend declaration form), then your BIL has comitted fraud and you can pursue through the courts.

I'd see a solicitor and also speak to the Inland Revenue as your BIL is using a limited company as a personal bank account and this is not legal.

Also. you said that you have 'all of the security of the company placed on you'. How was this done? I'm assuming that you or your OH is a director with 50% of the company shares and your BIL was a director with 50% of the shares, this means that he is liable for half of the company. He can't just walk away from this with the cash.

I'd also check that your BIL hasn't left the company with no funds to cover its liabilities such as VAT and Corporation Tax - this is also illegal.

You're lucky in a way because you set everything up within the structure of a limited company, it means that you have everything documented and there is already a very strong legal framework in place about what directors can and cannot do with company money.

p.s. Rayday is right, you've not been silly. You've actually been defrauded - forget that he's your BIL, he is a director of a limited company and he has defrauded that company. Speak to a solicitor ASAP. You might also want to contact Companies House and the Inland Revenue to get advice.

I didn't receive a pm?