Êø²õ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ëd ²¦¼¼¤Î Life ¼Ú¤ê¤¬¤¢¤ëd me ¡ò4,500 for ³¨ work: Will I ever get paid?
- Our reader did work for bungalow park ²ñ¼Ò¡¿·ø¤¤ ¤ÎľÁ°¤Ë its ¹ÔÀ¯?
- He has been told his invoice can't be paid ¸¢Íø now - but will it ever be???
- Lawyer explains the ¾õ¶·¡¿¾ðÀª for unsecured creditors of Êø²õ¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ëd ²ñ¼Ò¡¿·ø¤¤s?
I'm a painter and decorator and in the spring and summer of 2023, I did some work for ²¦¼¼¤Î Life, an Áàºî¼Ô of bungalow ¥³¥ó¥Ó¥Ê¡¼¥È¡¿Ê£¹çÂÎs and holiday homes.
I was paid in part, but am still ¼Ú¤ê¤¬¤¢¤ëd ¡ò4,500. ¤¹¤°¤Ë after my work finished, the company went into ¹ÔÀ¯.?
I spoke to the ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ôs but they said I didn't have a ¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ë because I invoiced for my work before the company went into ¹ÔÀ¯.
Is there any way I can still get my money?
I'm ÆÃ¤Ë annoyed because the company's former director, Robert Bull, seems to still be living the high life even though he was Àë¸À¤¹¤ëd ÇË»º¼Ô¡¿ÅÝ»º¤·¤¿. ƿ̾¤Î¡¿ÉÔÌÀ¤Î
Chasing »Ùʧ¤¤¡Ê³Û¡Ë: Our rea der was ¼Ú¤ê¤¬¤¢¤ëd ¡ò4,500 for work he did for ²¦¼¼¤Î Life before it went into ¹ÔÀ¯ - now he is wondering if he will ever be paid
Helen Crane of This is Money replies: I am sorry to hear you are ¼Ú¤ê¤¬¤¢¤ëd so much money.?You told me that the sum of ¡ò4,500 is 'a fortune' for you as a ñÆȤΠÃçÇã¿Í. Essentially, it means that you worked for several weeks without »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶â.
The ²¦¼¼¤Î Life ¹ÔÀ¯, which was Àë¸À¤¹¤ëd in August 2023 because the ²ñ¼Ò¡¿·ø¤¤ was unable to »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶â its ¡ò308million ÉéºÄs, ÆÃ¤Ë sticks in the craw for you because of the public persona of the ²ñ¼Ò¡¿·ø¤¤'s former director, Robert Bull.
A larger-than-life character known as '¡ÊƬ¤¬¡Ë¤Ò¤ç¤¤¤ÈÆ°¤¯ the ·úÀ߶ȼÔ,' he made his fortune by transforming static caravan parks into bungalow villages for people who ¼êÇÛÃæ¤Î¡¤¤ª¿Ò¤Í¼Ô to downsize. He built up this ¾¦Çä¡¿»Å»ö ¤Ë°ú¤Â³¤¤¤Æ a previous ÇË»º in 2016.?
Astonishingly, just months before he was Àë¸À¤¹¤ëd ÇË»º¼Ô¡¿ÅÝ»º¤·¤¿ for the second time in December 2023, he featured at number 88 on The Times' UK Rich ̾Êí¡Ê¤ËºÜ¤»¤ë¡Ë¡¿É½¡Ê¤Ë¤¢¤²¤ë¡Ë and was ³µ»»¤Î to be ²ÁÃ͡ʤ¬¤¢¤ë¡Ë ¡ ò2billion.?
He lives in a ¡ò10million mansion in Southampton - featuring its own bowling alley - and until things ¡Êµ¡¤Î¡Ë¥«¥à ¾×ÆÍ¡¤ÄÆÍîing É餫¤¹¡¿·âÄƤ¹¤ë late last year, his fianc? often ÃÏ°Ì¡¤Ç¤Ì¿¤¹¤ëd pictures of the pair on social ¥Þ¥¹¥³¥ß, enjoying lavish holidays and Ä󵯤¹¤ë¡¿¥Ý¡¼¥º¤ò¤È¤ëing by their collection of supercars.
But lawyers in a ÇË»º ò´ê¡Ê½ñ¡Ë against Mr Bull said his '¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ës to be very ËÉÙ¤Ê were wrong,' Bloomberg Êó¹ð¡Ê¤¹¤ë¡Ë¡¿²±Â¬d.?
He has since has had his collection of cars and other items repossessed,?¤Ë¤è¤ì¤Ð the Times, though he still lives in his large home and says he wants to make a ¾¦Çä¡¿»Å»ö Éüµ¢. To you, that just doesn't seem fair.??
I asked a ¹çˡŪ¤Ê ÀìÌç²È to explain how the ¹ÔÀ¯ ²áÄø ºîÉÊ, and whether or not you could ºÇ½ªÅª¤Ë get paid for the work you did at the ²¦¼¼¤Î Life park.
Sophie Campbell-Adams, a solicitor at ˡΧ ²ñ¼Ò¡¿·ø¤¤ Britton and Time, said: 'When a company goes into ¹ÔÀ¯, ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ôs are Ǥ̿¤¹¤ëd to manage the company instead of the directors.?
'The ÌÜŪ of their Ǥ̿ is to try to save the company from insolvency. If that is not possible, they will ¾¡Íø¡¤¾¡¤Äd the company up - in other words, sell its »ñ»ºs and »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶â creditor s.
'Most ¹ÔÀ¯s result in a ¾¡Íø¡¤¾¡¤Äd-up in the long run. ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ôs continue Ëǰסʤ¹¤ë¡Ëing the company for a ³Î¤«¤Ê period in the hope of ãÀ®¤¹¤ëing a higher return on the company »ñ»ºs than if they were sold straight away. This is for the Íø±× of all creditors.'
²¦¼¼¤Î's ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ôs are a ²ñ¼Ò¡¿·ø¤¤ called James Kowper Kreston, which was Ǥ̿¤¹¤ëd on 15 August 2023.
Weeks of work: But our reader only got paid for a small ÎÌ of his ³¨ and decorating
A Ç㤤¼ê has not been ÀßΩ¤¹¤ë for the company, and the ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ôs have now sold the ²ñ¼Ò¡¿·ø¤¤'s main »ñ»ºs, its Âç¿Ã¤ÎÃÏ°Ì of 35 bungalow parks across the UK.
In January of this year, they were acquired by a company called ³°¸ò´±¡¿Âç»È Regency Group for an ¸øɽ¤µ¤ì¤Æ¤¤¤Ê¤¤ sum of money.
That will have been a µßºÑ for µï½»¡Ê¼Ô¡Ës living on former ²¦¼¼¤Î Life parks, and the staff who work on them, as it means the ¾ì½ê¡¿°ÌÃÖs will continue to operate.
But for ²¦¼¼¤Î's creditors, ´Þ¤àing small ¾¦Çä¡¿»Å»ös such as yourself, there are still µ¿Ìäs about whether they will get their money.
While money was made from the sale of the ¾ì½ê¡¿°ÌÃÖs, ²¦¼¼¤Î had ÉéºÄs totalling ¡ò308million when it went into ¹ÔÀ¯ - and under the insolvency »ÙÇÛ¤¹¤ës, these must be paid off first.
As Campbell-Adams explains: '°ÂÁ´¤Ê¡¦Êݾڤ¹¤ëd creditors (who entered into ³Î¤«¤Ê ¶¨Äês) are ¤¹¤ë¸¢Íø¤òÍ¿¤¨¤ëd to be paid first when a company is Éé½ý¤µ¤»¤ë up. Mortgages are a prime example.
'There are also preference creditors, such as company ½¾¶È°÷s, who get paid after °ÂÁ´¤Ê¡¦Êݾڤ¹¤ëd creditors. ¶¡µë¼Ôs who are ¼Ú¤ê¤¬¤¢¤ëd money for goods and services are unsecured creditors and get paid last.
Sadly, this means that ñÆȤΠÃçÇã¿Ís such as yourself often get a raw ¼è°ú¡¤¶¨Äê.
Unsecured creditors should still be able to make a ¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ë with the ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ôs, though. This means that, once the °ÂÁ´¤Ê¡¦Êݾڤ¹¤ëd and preference creditors have been paid, they could be able to get a ³ô of what is left over.
The big caveat here is that there is ¤¤¤Ä¤«s no money left over. Companies go into ¹ÔÀ¯ because they are unable to »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶â their ÉéºÄs, and while ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ôs do their best to raise Éղà ´ð¶âs through selling »ñ»ºs, it is rarely enough to give everyone ȼ¤¦¡¿´Ø¤ï¤ëd what they are ¼Ú¤ê¤¬¤¢¤ëd.
You say that you were told you couldn't make a ¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ë with the ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ôs because you invoiced ²¦¼¼¤Î before 15 August 2023.
I believe there was a miscommunication here. What I think the ²ñ¼Ò¡¿·ø¤¤ was ¸½¼Â¤Ë telling you was that ¡ò4,500 invoice couldn't be considered for »Ùʧ¤¤¡Ê³Û¡Ë ¸¢Íø away, and that you would need to wait until the ÄûÀµ¤¹¤ë point in the ¹ÔÀ¯ ²áÄø was reached.
Campbell-Adams Äɲ乤ës: 'Whilst they are running the company, ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ôs can enter the company into ·ÀÌós with third parties, which is why ²¦¼¼¤Î Life can still »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶â for goods and services after 15 August 2023.
'However, as soon as a company is placed into ¹ÔÀ¯, creditors are ˸¤²¤ëd from Äɵ᤹¤ëing ¹çˡŪ¤Ê Áʾ١¿¿Ê¹Ôs against the company.?
'This is known as a statutory »Ùʧ¤¤Í±Í½¡¿°ì»þÄä»ß period. Companies that become creditors after ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ôs are Ǥ̿¤¹¤ëd can still bring a ¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ë because the ÉéºÄ is the ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ôs' doing.'
̤ʧ¤¤¤Î: The invoice was submitted before the ¹ÔÀ¯, which means it cannot be considered for »Ùʧ¤¤¡Ê³Û¡Ë until the ¸¢Íø ¹Ô¤¦¡¿³«ºÅ¤¹¤ë¡¿Ãʳ¬ in the ²áÄø is reached
You have learned that ÀÁÉé¶È¼Ôs working on ²¦¼¼¤Î ¾ì½ê¡¿°ÌÃÖs at the moment are ¸ºß paid, while you are still waiting for your money. That is because they were Ǥ̿¤¹¤ëd by the ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ôs, and not by ²¦¼¼¤Î.
You told me you think that is ¹âÅÙ¤Ë ÉÔ¸øÊ¿¤Ê, and given your ¾õ¶·¡¿¾ðÀª I can see why you feel that way.
'The ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ôs have told me they won't »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶â me because I invoiced them before they got ȼ¤¦¡¿´Ø¤ï¤ëd, to me that shouldn't »öÊÁ,' you said in your email to me. 'Because I'm a ñÆȤΠÃçÇã¿Í they think they can just fob me off but I'm ·èÄꤹ¤ëd to get my money.'
Unfortunately, the ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ôs don't have a choice in this »öÊÁ. As the ÉéºÄ was incurred on ²¦¼¼¤Î's watch, before the ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ôs became the company's directors, they don't have the ¹çˡŪ¤Ê Åö¶É to »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶â you ¸¢Íø now.
The ¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ës of all creditors can only be considered once the company is Éé½ý¤µ¤»¤ë up and the ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ôs know how much money, if any, is left in the ¥Þ¥ê¥Õ¥¡¥Ê.?
To »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶â you now would be ÉÔ¸øÊ¿¤Ê on all the others like yourself who are also waiting to see if they can get their cash.
You could ask the Ë¡ÄºÛȽ½ê for µö²Ä to begin ¹çˡŪ¤Ê Áʾ١¿¿Ê¹Ôs against ²¦¼¼¤Î, but this would be expensive - probably costing m ¹ÛÀÐ than the ¡ò4,500 you are ¼Ú¤ê¤¬¤¢¤ëd. µö²Ä would also likely be ÈÝÄꤹ¤ëd, ¤Ë¤è¤ì¤Ð Campbell-Adams.?
'A company enters ¹ÔÀ¯ because it does not have enough money to »Ùʧ¤¦¡¿Ä¶â all of its creditors, she says. 'Therefore, the Ë¡ÄºÛȽ½ê needs to consider the Íø±×¡¿¶½Ì£ of all creditors so µö¤¹ing one creditor to ¹ðÁʤ¹¤ë would be ÉÔ¸øÊ¿¤Ê on the others.'
Sadly, your only ÁªÂò is to wait until the company is Éé½ý¤µ¤»¤ë É餫¤¹¡¿·âÄƤ¹¤ë and see what, if any, money is left for unsecured creditors.
Says Campbell-Adams: 'The best ÁªÂò is to Éþ½¾¤µ¤»¤ë¡¿Äó½Ð¤¹¤ë the ¾ÜºÙ¡Ê¤Ë½Ò¤Ù¤ë¡Ës of his ¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ë to the ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ô (known as proof of ÉéºÄ) and ask if it is ¼õÂ÷¤¹¤ëd his company is an unsecured creditor.
'If they ¼õÂ÷¤¹¤ë this, then he should ask for periodic updates and check in with the ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ôs. He could Äɵ᤹¤ë a ¡Ê¿ÍÌ¿¤Ê¤É¤ò¡ËÃ¥¤¦¡¤¼çÄ¥¤¹¤ë against the company after 12 months if the ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ô Ãæ»ß¤¹¤ës »ö¼Â¾å¤Î¡¿ÂåÍý and has not ±äŤ¹¤ëd their »Ø¼¨¡¿¶µ¼ø¡¿¶µ°é. This is very rare in practice.'
I ÀÜ¿¨¤¹¤ëd ²¦¼¼¤Î's ¹ÔÀ¯´±¡¿´ÉÍý¼Ôs, James Kowper Kreston, to ask whether unsecured creditors like yourself would be likely to get any of the money they are ¼Ú¤ê¤¬¤¢¤ëd - and I am sorry to say it was not good news.
They told me that, in the »öÎã¡¿´µ¼Ô of ²¦¼¼¤Î Life, it was very ¤¢¤ê¤½¤¦¤â¤Ê¤¤ that any meaningful ÎÌ of money would be left over for unsecured creditors at all.
However, the ²ñ¼Ò¡¿·ø¤¤ ¼¨º¶¤¹¤ëd that you Éþ½¾¤µ¤»¤ë¡¿Äó½Ð¤¹¤ë a form on its website, so that you would receive updates about the ¹ÔÀ¯, and be ÄÌÃΤ¹¤ëd if the ¾õ¶·¡¿¾ðÀª changed.
I understand that this is a disappointing ·ë²Ì for you.?
You told me:??'Robert Bull is still living his high life, Á´¤¯ aware he is Çѵõing people's lives. He shouldn't be µö¤¹d to get away with it, but for some ¿äÏÀ¤¹¤ë¡¿Íýͳ the ˡΧ seems to be on his Ì£Êý¤¹¤ë. It's not ¸¢Íø.
'Maybe ¡ò4,500 isn't much to them, to me it's a fortune.'