Appealing against a bankruptcy petition - please help!?

[Thomas221]

A business has filed a Creditor's Bankruptcy Petition on failure to comply with Statutory Demand for a' liquidated sum payable immediately' and I am unsure what to do

- I will provide some brief facts below and any help is greatly appreciated:

 

I am Director of a Limited Company and in order to fulfil a contract which we took on,

I had to open an account with some suppliers.

 

The suppliers could not open an account with the company because of some small past problem that we had had,

but agreed to open the account in my personal name (so as to get over the red tape, although both parties knew the account was for the business).

 

Given huge losses that my company suffered on the job due to sabotage,

I haven't been able to pay the suppliers for their equipment yet (the sum owed is just over £20k).

 

I am, however, due for a tax rebate which would more than cover the amount,

in the next couple of weeks (although the Inland Revenue cannot give an exact date)

and also have a bond account with a bank which could also cover the amount owed (although this is not due to be paid back until next year).

 

Around 4 months ago, the suppliers filed a statutory demand notice which I did not comply with or set aside,

as I was working on getting the money from the inland revenue as soon as I could.

 

They have now issued a Creditor's Bankruptcy Petition on failure to comply with Statutory Demand for a liquidated sum payable immediately and I am unsure what to do.

 

Given that the account with the suppliers is in my personal name, a

m I liable to lose my house (even though the account was always understood as being for business purposes)?

 

Can they even try to make me bankrupt in this way?

 

Is there any way that I can delay for just a few more weeks until the money from the IR comes in

(I can show proof that this is on its way and would sign documents to say it will be transferred straight to the suppliers as soon as I receive it)?

 

On what grounds can these petitions usually be appealed?

 

The deadline for appealing the bankruptcy petition is in a couple of days and so I am really desperate to get some help.

 

Many thanks

[42man]

Any dispute should really have been raised at demand stage, but you can still highlight the dispute at the petition hearing, was the demand served personally ? Can you get into negotiation with the company about paying off this sum ?

[Thomas221]

Yes the demand was served personally - I should have disputed it earlier . I have tried to tell them that I am getting a tax rebate etc, but it seems that they are not interested - they are a big company and are going after their money aggressively.

[42man]

Is there a date for the hearing ? Is it likely you will get the tax return before this ? If not then you may possibly be able to adjourn....

[Thomas221]

Yes the hearing is towards the end of next week and it is unlikely that I will get the money before then. If it could be delayed by a month or so then I would 99.9% have the money to pay - is this not possible?

[42man]

If it was me in your position then I would seek an adjournment (for as long as possible) - be honest and upfront about your situation, you may be liable for some costs too BUT bearing this in mind, you should tell the judge that you have highlighted your situation to the creditor who is making you bankrupt, but they are maintaining their aggressive stance and being 'unreasonable' in not waiting slightly longer for you to pay them. He may take this into account and reserve any costs.

[42man]

The only other option you may have is for a potential 'abuse of process' i.e. they filled out the forms incorrectly or they haven't lodged a process servers affadavit (of how they had served the stat demand).

[Thomas221]

Many thanks for your help. Do I have to do this via the 6.19 form? If so, do you know where I can get this form from? Or is this more of an informal plea/submission? If the latter, how is it to be made?

[42man]

This should be attached to the petition (or written in to the petition)

[Conniff]

You will need some official paperwork of the rebate from HMRC to show the court

[42man]

I notice re-reading your posts that you can also provide proof. If you get a good judge then you may be ok as far as costs go. I will stress that you need to show your stance in this and that you have been open and honest with the creditor and that they are maintaining their aggressiveness.

[42man]

I am not 100% up on business insolvency but the forms are here - http://www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency/About-us/forms/england-and-wales

[Thomas221]

Sorry I am a bit unclear as to how to make this argument. Are you saying that I just turn up to court as prompted (without submitting anything in the meantime), and show them my tax rebate info and make my case there (for the cse to be adjourned). Or do I submit documentation before the hearing date (along with proof of rebate) in order that the scheduled hearing is adjourned? If the latter, what forms must I use? Many thanks

[42man]

I have attended without any paperwork before and requested an adjournment which I think you will be fine with. You can state to the judge that you would like more time to negotiate with the creditor....