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If a customer owes you money for unpaid invoices, there are a number of ways of pursuing them to recover your money. Ultimately, you can take them to court or initiate an insolvency process against them. Either way, their assets will be assessed, and you can hope to receive at least a proportion of what you’re owed. But what if some of their assets are too well hidden to be found? It’s easier to do now than ever befo

If you’re an SME owner who’s plagued with late-paying customers, you’re not alone. According to recent research by the Institute of Directors, almost half of all SMEs are in the same predicament. The Scale of the Problem Out of 787 business owners surveyed by the IoD, 48% reported having had problems with late payments since April 2017. Many cited “excessively bureaucratic” payment syste

Takeovers are a fact of business. They’re sometimes good for the customers of the companies involved, sometimes less so, but business never stands still. Debt collection is no exception, although it tends not to get the media attention given to media, engineering or major retail companies, and two significant takeovers have recently been announced in the sector. Two Recent Takeovers Cabot Credit Management, con

Are you a supplier of services or goods, or perhaps a landlord? If so, the chances are you’re being used as an unofficial bank. Maybe you think that’s not you. Well, maybe it’s not, if everyone pays you on time as soon as the payments are due, but then you’re in a very small minority. Late Payments Statistics show that most SMEs are being paid as and when it suits their debtors, and that their aged debts have increas

  Personal debt fell sharply in the wake of 2008’s financial crisis, but figures from 2016 show it’s growing again fast. Mortgage borrowing and unsecured loans have risen, with the average household owing a record figure of £12,887 even without mortgages. Record Household Debt Both the British Bankers’ Association and the TUC have highlighted sharp rises in personal debt in the closing months of 2016, with the B

In order to obtain an order from the court that a director is personally liable for wrongful trading under section 214 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (the ‘Act’) the Liquidator or Administrator have to not only prove the elements of wrongful trading, but they must demonstrate how the wrongful trading caused an increase in the company’s net deficiency. That is its losses. That is the company should objectively have been p

It’s an unfortunate reality, especially in difficult times that any SME could find itself insolvent. This isn’t necessarily the end of the world. Properly managed, a business can survive insolvency or, at worst, the owner can walk away sadder and wiser. Improperly managed, though, you could find yourself in serious trouble. Insolvency A company is insolvent when either it can’t afford to pay its bills by their due da

Earlier this year, Justice Secretary Michael Gove announced that planned cuts to the legal aid system were to be shelved. This was some relief to both the legal profession and to people facing substantial bills for court cases, but it didn’t reverse the swingeing cuts brought in three years ago. What Is Legal Aid? It’s a basic principle of our legal system that justice should be available to everyone, but it usen’t t

Following a report by accountant Teresa Graham, the rules for pre-packaged sales of insolvent businesses have been updated, and the oversight of the practices has been altered. Changes in the Statement of Insolvency Practice (SIP) were introduced on 1st October and 1st November 2015, while the pre-pack pool was introduced on 2nd November. Pre-Pack Insolvency Pre-pack insolvency is an approach to Administrations where

A bailiff (‘enforcement agent’) may visit your home if you don’t pay your debts, eg a Council Tax bill, parking fine, court fine, county court or family court judgment. This will happen if you ignore letters saying that bailiffs will be used. You might be arrested if you don’t pay criminal debts, eg fines or penalty notices. A bailiff may also visit your home for other reasons, eg to serve court documents or give not