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Are you owed money by and individual, business or employer?

Are you struggling to get money which you are owed by someone – either an individual or a company?

Are they telling you they haven’t got the money? But you think they do have money and/or other assets somewhere – they just don’t want to pay you.

Is that person already bankrupt / that company already in liquidation?

If they’re not and they owe you £5,000 or more, you may be able to get them formally put into bankruptcy / liquidation. This would not only cause them considerable inconvenience, it would also increase your chances of getting your money back.

(If you’re not sure whether they are bankrupt / in liquidation, we can find out for you.)

These circumstances are unusual and complicated, so you will need specialist advice.

We can give you that specialist advice. And our initial advice is free.

How can we help you?

Clarke Bell are Licensed Insolvency Practitioners with over 20 years’ experience in dealing with debtors (i.e. people who owe money) on behalf of their creditors (i.e. the people who are owed money) to recover the money they are owed.

We are not bailiffs or debt collectors.

As Licensed Insolvency Practitioners, by getting appointed as the Trustee in Bankruptcy of your debtor / the Liquidator of the company in Compulsory Liquidation, we can help you to get your money back.

As a creditor, if you are owed £5,000 or more, you can get us appointed us as the Trustee / Liquidator. (We would show you how to do this.)

In these legally appointed positions, we would have the full weight of the law behind us to make rigorous investigations into the affairs of your debtor – including looking for any hidden assets they may have.

{Initially the Bankruptcy / Compulsory Liquidation would be dealt with by the Official Receiver (OR) who is an officer of the court. Where there are significant assets or it is a complex matter, the OR would normally appoint an Insolvency Practitioner to deal with the case. It is your nomination, as a creditor, that can get us appointed – but it cannot be guaranteed.}

If the person / company who owes you the money is already in Bankruptcy / Liquidation, and there is already an appointed Trustee / Liquidator, then you will need to contact that Insolvency Practitioner. It is unlikely that we will be able to help you in this situation.

What does the Trustee / Liquidator do for you?

The main role of the Trustee / Liquidator is to sell the assets of the bankruptcy estate / liquidated company, collect the proceeds and distribute them to anyone who is owed money from that bankrupt / liquidated company.

Our aim as Trustee / Liquidator would be to enable you (and all the creditors) to receive as large a share of the assets of the bankruptcy estate / liquidated company as possible.

As Trustee / Liquidator we may apply to court for an order restoring property which a bankrupt / company has disposed of in a way that is not fair to their creditors (e.g. if, before bankruptcy, a property was transferred to a relative of the bankrupt for less than its full value).

In certain circumstances, as Liquidator we may take action in the court against the directors or former directors personally for the benefit of the creditors of the company (e.g. if there was any wrongful trading).

Did you know?

If someone is a Bankrupt / director of a company in Compulsory Liquidation, it means that they have a legal duty to co-operate with their Trustee / Liquidator.

They are compelled to do so by Court Order.

If they fail to co-operate with us, they are in contempt of court. This is potentially punishable by imprisonment.

Typical situations

The types of things that we have seen are where the debtor:

  • just won’t pay up – maybe because they think you’re so rich that you don’t really need it
  • has just “done a runner” – maybe abroad
  • claims to have no money – although you are pretty sure they do have assets somewhere
  • makes a habit of ripping people off
  • already has judgements against them, but none of them get enforced – because the judgements are against companies with no assets. So, even if you spend your time and money to win a judgement, they would threaten to liquidate the company unless you accept a derisory offer

Would you just be putting good money after bad?

There is a commercial decision that needs to be taken as to whether it is worth you spending more time, money and effort on getting your money back.

We would never encourage you to put good money after bad. If we don’t think it would be in your best interests to pursue the matter, we will tell you. In some cases it is better just to walk away and ‘accept defeat’ – however frustrating this might be for you.

It is important to be aware that if we are successfully appointed as the Trustee / Liquidator, there are no guarantees that we will be able to recover all of your money.

However, we are so confident in our abilities that our fee is calculated as a fixed fee (to cover statutory requirements) and then a percentage of the amount that we realise. So, if we realise £Nil, our fee would be £Nil.

Consequently, it is in our interests to recover as much as we can for you.

In order to be appointed as the Trustee in Bankruptcy or the Liquidator, there are certain legal fees that will have to be paid to cover the cost of putting the debtor / company into bankruptcy / liquidation. The solicitor we use charges (approximately):

  • £2,500 (including VAT and Disbursements) for obtaining a Bankruptcy Order
  • £3,500 (including VAT and Disbursements) for obtaining a Winding-up Order

So, in these situations there are costs that will need to be incurred in order to try to get back the money you are owed.

However, in many circumstances, it is money well spent.

0161 907 4044

Do you want us to help you to recover money you are owed?

If so, just give us a call or e-mail [email protected]
Our initial advice is free.
We will tell you if we believe you would get your money back; and guide you through the necessary process.

For your free expert advice 0161 907 4044

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