Defendant Debt Recovery Solicitors Liverpool

You may challenge a Statutory Demand where you believe the debt is not due, as long as there are genuine grounds for dispute. A disputed debt for the purposes of a Statutory Demand is a debt claimed by the Creditor which the debtor says is not owed.

A good petitioning debt is one which is a liquidated sum, payable now or in the future, and the debtor has no reasonable prospect of paying. It must be a specific amount and one which has been fully and finally ascertained.

The effect of an unsatisfied Statutory Demand is to create a presumption of Insolvency. If you dispute the debt and have genuine grounds to challenge it, then your position is that the debt is not due, and your Company is not Insolvent. In such circumstances, then it is likely that the Statutory Demand route is not the right route to recover the debt.

For corporate debtors, the minimum amount of debt which can be demanded by way of Statutory Demand is £750.

Once the Statutory Demand has been served on your company you need to take immediate steps to deal with it. You will have to either arrange with the Creditor to pay the debt or defend the petition.

This process is technical and the consequences of getting it wrong can result in your business suffering closure as a result. When a Winding-Up Petition is presented against your company - and subsequently advertised - it can have a devastating effect on your ability to trade. This is because other creditors or suppliers may believe you cannot pay your debts and they may cease to continue trading with you.

If time permits, we would send a letter to the creditor setting out the grounds on which the debt is disputed and that issuing a Winding-Up Petition is not appropriate. We would seek a solicitor's undertaking that the Winding-Up Petition will not be issued. If it has already been issued, then we would seek an undertaking that it will not be advertised.

Where a Winding-Up Petition has been issued at the High Court, it follows that the Petitioning Creditor must also advertise this in The Gazette. This is because, as mentioned above, the unsatisfied Statutory Demand creates the presumption of Insolvency, i.e. that a Company cannot pay its creditors. Therefore, in view of the Winding-Up Petition being issued, the Petitioning Creditor is effectively notifying your Company's other creditors, including your bank, that it has fallen into a difficult financial situation, and your Creditors need to take steps to protect themselves against any loss stemming from the Insolvency. This could include seeing your Company's assets frozen.

Where the Company bank account has been frozen, owing to your lender being notified of the Petition via the Gazette, then you will need to apply for a Validation Order to authorise the bank to release funds to make any payments that fall due from the frozen account.

The application must follow a specific form and so legal assistance is required. The application must be made at the same Court where the Petition is being heard. For example, if the Petition has been issued at Leeds District Registry, then just because you are based in Liverpool is irrelevant – the application must go to Leeds, even though your home District Registry, as Debtor, is Liverpool.

The Court will consider the application and its enclosures, which should include things like a cash flow forecast and a list of proposed payments detailing why they should be paid. The Variation Order will usually only be granted where the Court is persuaded the Petition will be dismissed, either because the Company is solvent and so the Petition is not appropriate, or where a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) has been agreed.

If, following our letter, the Undertaking is not provided within the time requested, then we shall apply to the Court seeking an Injunction restraining the Petitioning Creditor from issuing a Winding-Up Petition, under the Insolvency Rules.

If the application succeeds, that will effectively 'buy' you more time to determine whether the debt is due, in which case, payment arrangements should be made, or whether the debt is disputed. If there are genuine grounds to defend the debt, then we will ask that you gather all necessary evidence together in order to present to the Court and seek the Petition be struck out. If such a finding is made, we are able to seek our wasted costs from the Petitioning Creditor so that you are not out of pocket for their actions.

If the Creditor does not agree to withdraw the Petition, then a Defence needs to be filed with the Court at least 5 days before the Hearing. The Defence is a vital legal document, and so care should be taken to ensure it is properly drafted in the appropriate form. For this, you should seek legal assistance. The purpose of the Defence is to challenge the claim referred to in the petition. If any part of the claim is not in dispute, then you should take steps to pay this and any costs.

You must ensure you are clear as to what you have agreed to pay and whether this is in full and final settlement and whether it includes legal costs.

Even if you pay the Creditor, where the Petition has been advertised does not necessarily spell the end of the matter. This is because another Creditor who is able to issue a Petition against your Company can adopt the existing Petition.

As soon as is possible you should try to reach an agreement with the Petitioning Creditor over terms of a payment plan and to get them not to advertise the Petition.

If a payment plan can be agreed, then you must also seek agreement to have the Petition withdrawn as it is unlikely the Court will allow an adjournment beyond 12 weeks to facilitate a payment plan.

If the Petitioning Creditor will not agree to a payment plan, then you may ask the Court for time to pay. However, this is a discretionary remedy, and without any agreement with the Creditor, the Court is only likely to adjourn for six weeks.

If you are unable to settle the debt within the period agreed, then you have no option but to enter a formal insolvency procedure.

This will take effect by considering one of the following options:

• Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) which will allow your company to continue to trade
• Administration, whether trading, non-trading or Pre-Pack
• Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation (CVL)

Yes. In such an instance, you would allow the Petition to succeed, and the Court would simply grant the Winding-Up Order for the Company to be placed into compulsory liquidation.

The Official Receiver will then make contact with you to take control of the company's assets and require you to provide information via a Questionnaire, before summoning you to a meeting. At the meeting, the Official Receiver will look into the reasons for the insolvency and find out what has happened to the assets. You should seek legal assistance with completing the Questionnaire and ensure all accounting records are up to date.

If your company receives a Winding-Up Petition, we would always recommend you perform a business and financial review to establish continuing viability. If it is the case that the company will be viable if sufficient funds are provided, or that it requires restructuring, then contact us, and we shall be able to liaise with one of our trusted partners who can advise you on this. This can also include looking at a number of options including a Company Voluntary Arrangement or Pre-Pack Administration.