Official Receiver advice.

ethan

ethan

ethan

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I'm an innocent party in all of this but I have received a letter from am Official Receiver asking if I can confirm receipt of a couple of grand from an ex employer/relative who claimed they gave me the money as a gift nearly three and a half years ago.

The employer liquidated their company owing me about eight grand I never received in upaid wages and holiday entitlement.

What's really strange about this is the employer is using a surname I don't recognise on the bankruptcy order and the receiver is asking me to corroberate the debtors claim.

I'm under the impression the receiver or one of the creditors is trying to offload some of their responsibility for the debt to me.

Would anybody know what is going on with these things when a Receiver is asking me to confirm something I know nothing about?
 
I know nothing about such issues, but a question I would have is: if you've been 'gifted' cash from a bankrupt business (particularly an unincorporated one) or the owner thereof, is it possible the money acts a little bit like stolen goods in that it was never really yours and you have to return it?

Actual wages would always be fine, but a gift might not be (I don't know)
 
If you know nothing about it then surely the answer to can you confirm receiving this money is no I know nothing about it, or am I missing something?
 
I'd get proper advice and double-check everything - I've seen cases like this where they've tried to get any and anyone on the hook for some or all of the debt (maybe not quite the same with the OR).
 
It sounds like there's more to this than you're letting on. I believe you when you say you're an innocent party, but it just sounds weird.

Did he chuck you a couple of grand and say he'll pay you the rest when he gets it or something?
 
Engage a solicitor now as there may well be more to this than your OP.

Question is did you receive a couple of grand gift?

Do you have proof the company owes you about eight grand I never received in unpaid wages and holiday entitlement?
 
My knowledge of OR’s is by association and what I’ve picked up here and there. But I imagine that the OR is trying to establish if the bankrupt is hiding assets/money so they don’t get repossessed to settle the debts of the bankruptcy.

I suppose the question is, if it was given in respect of owed wages was it actually treated as such; tax and NI paid for example.

From your description though it sounds like it could be more complex as if you were owed by the liquidated company (which I assume you claimed for from the Government) then there’s an order of paying creditors which your friend could have bypassed by giving you the money.
 
I would second the speak to a lawyer advice.

It might be if the company owed you money and you weren't paid, but the company if claiming they paid you the OR is looking into it as there is a discrepancy or liability on the books.
It could to my very limited understanding be good for you if the OR is considering you as a creditor, as from memory pretty much the first people in line for assets from a company that is going bankrupt or being dissolved are the employees (present, and past) with the taxman coming second.
It could also be bad if the OR thinks you may have received funds off the books or something.

It could also be they've got you mixed up with someone else if the name on the order is different.
 
Who is the Official Receiver dealing with here? Is this a Bankruptcy or a Compulsory Liquidation? You mention a liquidated company, then you mention a surname you dont recognise relating to a bankruptcy!? The title of the proceedings (somebody in bankruptcy etc.. followed by a Court Number) should be at the head of the letter, right below the 'dear sir' bit.
 
I think this it's a case of one of the (or both) directors trying to stitch me up to avoid paying their creditors.

Looking over the liquidation report it seems the liquidator mentioned the directors transferring huge amounts of monies from holding accounts to their own for which they werent entitled.

I think they were fined for paying below the minimum wage and there were also HMRC issues. I once overheard a conversation from the director to their accountent negotiatating a strategy to prevent HMRC baliffs from turning up.

It was a sickening and distressing place to work for- having being closed down by the Government.

They should have gone to prison.

It's a complete nonsense for the director to suggest I was given money because it's not true. What is worrying me is how I can prove it? Looking at the letter from the Receiver I would have thought it would have been prudent to have gathered the evidence for the claim from the director - and in the circumstances not taken their word for it?

I actually rang the Receiver's office yesterday stating I didn't know anybody with the surname they've given and they appeared somewhat confused by the letter with a view to them ringing back.
 
Smoothness said:
Who is the Official Receiver dealing with here? Is this a Bankruptcy or a Compulsory Liquidation? You mention a liquidated company, then you mention a surname you dont recognise relating to a bankruptcy!? The title of the proceedings (somebody in bankruptcy etc.. followed by a Court Number) should be at the head of the letter, right below the 'dear sir' bit.
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The letter stated the bankruptcy occurred a couple of months ago. I'm assuming it's to do with my previous employer who liquidated their company 3.5 years ago and were ordered to cease trading by the Government.
I don't recognise the name on the receivers letter.But in the scheme of things the director could have been using aa previous name or have remarried.
 
Bank statements would show the transfer of money, but not why it was done. From your description of the other side I'd suspect theirs are "missing" - do you have yours ?

I would certainly be taking a position that your understanding is that the money was partial payment of the unpaid wages and holiday entitlement and NOT any form of gift. You were also assuming that tax and NI had been handled by them as is normal under payroll. Accepting a gift when they owe you money isn't logical after all. Finally, please add me as a creditor for the remainder of the unpaid wages and entitlement.
 
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I would be very nervous about terms such as "gifted", especially if there's a list of creditors that these guys owe. My guess is they are trying to explain why sums of money aren't where they should be and why there's no HMRC / NI payment record for outgoing money.

If it's a ltd company the directors are required to act in the best interests of the company and the gifting of money or assets in light of a list of creditors may well expose you to being pursued for it.

Are you listed as a creditor?
 
LOAM said:
I would be very nervous about terms such as "gifted", especially if there's a list of creditors that these guys owe. My guess is they are trying to explain why sums of money aren't where they should be and why there's no HMRC / NI payment record for outgoing money.

If it's a ltd company the directors are required to act in the best interests of the company and the gifting of money or assets in light of a list of creditors may well expose you to being pursued for it.

Are you listed as a creditor?
Click to expand...

No. I wasn't aware due to my ignorance of the law with regard to such matters.

Saying that, It ought to be relatively easy to show I wasn't paid - unlike the rest of the workforce who were Tuped over to a different company. Their wages were protected by the the local authority who paid the other company who took them direct to make sure they weren't innconvenieced when they transferred. The local authority were aware of the kinds of people they were dealing with.

I was to ill to transfer. I have a permanent and untreatable neurological condition that makes life difficult .

The director was aware of this and saw it as an opportunity to take advantage and get away without paying.

It looks like they are trying to stitch me up again claiming money was given to me (when it wasn't) to avoid having to pay their creditors.


There was another person who wasn't paid either out of 83.
 
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I think you really do need to take some proper legal advice Ethan. There's too much scope to miss something on a forum and leave you in a mess.
 
I wouldn't bother with a solicitor certainly don't spend any money, if you didn't receive the money, just say so, they would then have to show some sort of proof which they won't have because they didn't give you the money, did they?

If you're in the right stand your ground, the harder they push the more likely they are to prove you're in the right. They'll probably just bugger off tbh.

Oh yeah don't forget to put in a claim for the 8k you're owed.
 
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Like others have said, it very suspect.

If I were reading between the lines, they are probably just fishing. My guess is they are hoping you will self implicate yourself. Then they can try to claim the value from you.

I’d hazard a guess, your salary payments have been mixed in with other undocumented payments. If your employer acted in bad faith, there is no reason to believe they would have paid and documented your salary, NI, etc. correctly too. I expect they are simply following the money.

Please note, this is a complete uneducated guess based on limited understanding of the events.

Legal advice is sensible. You can probably get free advice at Citizens Advice, they maybe able to put you in touch with a pro bono lawyer. LBC radio also does a free phone in legal hour each week. You’d probably need to get the story boiled down but they might be able to give a good sense of opinions
 
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