What are my rights as a creditor in an insolvent estate?

what are my rights as a creditor

 
With insolvency cases continuing to rise, it is important that creditors are aware of their rights should a company enter an insolvency process, the steps that can be taken to minimise the debt to be written off and the knock-on impact on their cashflow.
 
Firstly, it is important that creditors know where they rank in the order of priority. If you supply goods and/or services you will effectively sit at the bottom of the pile if a distribution is made to creditors. In addition, given the bulk of any HMRC claim will be paid ahead of the general body of creditors due to their secondary preferential status, in most insolvencies, any distributable funds are extinguished, leaving little chance of a payment to the ordinary trade creditor.
 
To reduce the chance of suffering a bad debt as a creditor may require an assessment of your internal procedures.  As part of that assessment, PBC offer the following advice and services, both in anticipation of a customer entering into insolvency or when an insolvency event occurs, including:
 
1)    Retention of Title Claims:  Assisting you with making any claim or reviewing your current terms.
2)    Explaining, in simplistic terms, the no doubt bewildering specific terminology (which by law insolvency practitioners must use) in reports received and representing creditors in insolvency proceedings.
3)    Provide training to credit control so they understand the different insolvency procedures but, more importantly, can spot the warning signs. As they say “prevention is better than the cure”.
 
If you require any advice or assistance on any insolvency-related issue, then please contact PBC Business Recovery & Insolvency to discuss and advise on your situation on 01604 212150 or email to enquiries@pbcbusinessrecovery.co.uk.  Alternatively, visit www.pbcbusinessrecovery.co.uk for further information

A look at personal guarantees

A look at personal guaranteesA recent survey by Wirefund revealed that over half (55%) of SME business owners do not know what a personal guarantee is. This certainly matches our experience at PBC as we see many cases where company directors cannot remember whether they signed personal guarantees or not.

 

What is a personal guarantee?

In the last decade, there has been a trend among creditors, including banks, finance providers, landlords and, increasingly, trade suppliers, to ask for personal guarantees. As the name suggests, this is a contractual promise to pay the liabilities of another. If you’re seeking a small business loan, for example, you might be asked to provide a personal guarantee of the loan. Such guarantees are unsecured, which means they are not tied to any specific asset such as property. For the lender, such guarantees make a loan agreement more secure, as responsibility for paying it back falls not just to the borrowing company but to the individual directors involved as well.

 

Why do they matter?

The unsecured nature of the guarantee means that you will be personally responsible for repayment of the loan in the event it cannot be paid back by the business itself. All your personal assets, therefore, are at risk, from the family home to cars. If you do not have sufficient assets to cover the debt, then you may be made bankrupt and with it encounter all the ongoing difficulties associated with a poor credit rating. It is also worth pointing out that if several directors give a personal guarantee to the same creditor, then the creditor does not have to take action against all of them and can instead choose to pursue just one.

 

It is clear that personal guarantees carry significant implications, and certainly, the courts have tended to take the view that the guarantor undertook the commitment with full knowledge of the facts. It is easy to sign up in haste in order to secure funding. However, it is important to seek advice in advance to ensure the full ramifications are understood should the guarantee be called upon. You may also want to consider personal guarantee insurance to provide some protection in the event of difficulties.

 

Options

Should you find yourself in a position whereby your company is failing and you are left with personal liabilities, then there are a range of options to consider from personal insolvency procedures through to negotiation of a settlement. We offer a free, confidential, no-obligation initial consultation to discuss the issues you are facing.