IVA and CCJ's

[ianmillington]

I am sorry but I believe the advice you have received may be wrong. You have a warrant of Execution issued against you and bailiffs are coming on the 6th of August. You are therefore insolvent as you cannot pay your debts as and when they fall due and the fact that there may be enough equity in your property to pay your debts could be irrelevant, depending on how much you owe.

You have a relatively small creditor who can destroy your business if you don't take action. If you owe enough to make the exercise worthwhile you should look into doing an IVA the old fashioned way by way of interim order, which will stop the bailiffs in their tracks pending the outcome of the creditors meeting. You don't have much time so if you are going to do it you need to organise a face to face meeting with an IP tomorrow as the application ought really to be in Court by Monday. So I can get this into perspective, how much do you actually owe?

On the other hand you could give the bailiffs walking possession on Wednesday and drip-feed them but the creditor seems determined to get the money in one go and so that might not happen or, at least, not on terms with which you can cope. My advice to you is that, so long as your total debts justify it, the creditors strong-arm tactics may well require a tough shield, and an interim order could fit the bill.

Ian


Ps - can I just add that I cannot recommend you remove goods to circumvent the seizure. I you ultimately were to go bankrupt, which you fear you would although there's a long way to go yet, that would be an offence under Section 357(3) Insolvency Act 1986 for which the maximum penalty is 2 years or a fine or both. So get professional face to face advice as a matter of urgency.

[zoe]

Suzanne
What is the debt for as Ray has quoted the local Council - is it for business rates - if so this will not be a CCJ. could you please clarify
thanks

[stressed_suzanne]

Hi Zoe, it's for a supplier. It is a CCJ. I offered instalements both before and after the CCJ - 100 a month. Last Monday the 'middlemen' said they'd try again with the creditors to accept the 100. Then Saturday we get a letter saying that the bailiffs will be visiting 6th August. Plus I have to pay them 300 for the first hour and 200 for every subsequent! Talk about kicking you while you're down!

Ian, the total debt comes to about 75k. It's not as if I ignored the company. After the CCJ before they agreed a payment I had sent them 100 in May and June and planned to in July. Some days I can put my tough shield on, other days I am a useless quivering wreck!

[ianmillington]

Hi Suzanne

With debts totalling £75k (presumably unsecured) including business debts and a warrant of execution being levied, I must confess the advice to do a DMP seems to me to be somewhat unorthodox. So long as you will be able to make a contribution your seems the very type of case that the IVA was designed for back in 1986. Yours is not the typical case you will find on this forum.

If so you should get in front of a local IP asap - a chat over the phone will be no use to you.

[stressed_suzanne]

Yours is not the typical case you will find on this forum.

Being different? Story of my life [:D]

Yes the debts are all unsecured.

So, approaching the courts could at least delay the bailiffs?

[zoe]

How much was the order for you to pay made by the court????

[zoe]

This is direct from the HM courts website

Paying by instalments
If you can pay the warrant in two or three weeks, the bailiff may not take your goods.
But if you need more time to pay, you may need to ask for the warrant to be suspended (stopped) and for an instalment order to be made. If you already have an instalment order which you have not been able to pay, you can ask the court to reduce the amount of the instalments.
Fill in Form N245 to ask for an instalment order. The procedure for asking for an instalment order is the same as we have explained on page 1 to ask for a varied order. You will also have to pay a fee. This diagram shows you what might happen to your request.
If the warrant is suspended but you still do not pay as you said you would, the claimant can ask the court to 'reissue' the warrant. This means that the bailiff will visit you again and may take your belongings to sell at auction to pay the debt.


http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cour ... 6_0405.pdf

Has it been back to court?????????

[ianmillington]

An interim order would, so long as you were intending to propose an IVA. It is perfectly legitimate practice for the IO to be obtained before the proposal is drafted, so long as the Court can be given a thumbnail sketch of the proposal and it can be finalised within the next couple of weeks. Whether this is the right course of action depends on lots of other factors that have not been discussed here such as the viability of your business etc.

You won't get the answer unless you sit down with an IP who is well versed in putting together IVA proposals as a business rescue procedure. Such a proposal will be radically different to one put together for a "consumer debtor", for example any proposal you make will have to facilitate your ongoing trade. Also, if you owe any monies to HMRC there are other issues that will need to be taken into account.

I'm not necessarily saying that an IVA is the right procedure for you, but you need to find out. Zoe makes a very valid point about time to pay, but is this debt the tip of the iceberg?

Ian

[Wizzard]

I've no idea where I got the idea it was a Business Rates debt Suzanne. For that, my apologies, but I still stand by previous statement on removing the computer and the till, and the goods which are not paid for are exempt from removal unless the law has changed in the last 4 years.

[ianmillington]

I think it will differ from case to case Ray.

I have read on the net the following "The Bailiff cannot remove any items, which the debtor needs, including vehicles, for personal or professional use or to satisfy the basic domestic needs of the debtor and their family". That very closely resembles the criteria for exclusion from the bankruptcy estate. Tools of trade, books etc would clearly be excluded. My personal opinion is that it won't cover the till but the practicalities are that the bailiffs will probably be looking for stock.

ian

[stressed_suzanne]

Hi Ray, I do have a problem with business rates but it isn't this particular bill! Maybe you read it somewhere else I've posted And I have def read they can't take anything I haven't yet paid for as long as I can show the invoices as proof.

Thanks for the link Zoe - really interesting reading. Will save it just in case.

Thanks Ian for all your advice. I've had a further chat with the IP company and I think it was crossed wires. Like you said I'm not a normal case.

Will let you all know how it goes.

[Viki.W]

Good luck Suzanne, I'm thinking of you and I hope it's all sorted soon. X

[ianmillington]

Good luck, come back if you need any help.