HMRC Threat of Winding Up

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CinnamonGirl

  • #1
    Hello Everybody

    I am new to this forum and would appreciate help. HMRC have sent me a letter threatening a winding up petition for unpaid VAT, the sum is just over £9k. Since then a further VAT return has become due, making the total VAT owed just over £12k. I have since paid £2500 off the debt, and have sent a further cheque for £2000, so total owed is just over £7k at present.

    I spoke to an advisor at HMRC a couple of days ago and was told that there was no notes on company file regarding any current pending legal action. I am going to continue paying off large sums in order to make this situation go away. What I am really asking is how likely are HMRC to issue the petition all the time I am paying off the outstanding debt? Should the petition be served, would that amount to any kind of defence? Furthermore, even though the HMRC advisor said there did not appear to be any pending legal action, should I still be expecting a nasty suprise?

    I look forward to hearing from you as this is causing sleeplessness nights.
     
    Spongebob

    Spongebob

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    Dec 9, 2008
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  • #2
    Threatening to initiate winding up proceedings is a standard tactic of HMRC when chasing debts. It is designed specifically to induce sleepless nights in company directors.

    At this stage it is simply a threat - this is why no action is pending on their records. While money is coming through they are not going to upgrade their threat to actual action.
     
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    C

    CinnamonGirl

  • #5
    No specific arrangement in place, they said they were unwilling to do that until the latest vat return had been paid. The two lump sums I have paid to date have now covered that. I am concerned about calling again to arrange anything in case it rocks the boat even more.
     
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    Robert Moore

    Robert Moore

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  • #6
    Sorry to hear of your situation. It sort of depends on the letter. Did it look like this? If so then they will move to wind the company up. You may pay the amount before the hearing and then all will be ok. The main thing is to try and avoid the petition being advertised as if that happens then the bank account is frozen causing a headache.
     
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    C

    CinnamonGirl

  • #9
    Would they try and distrain on goods before going for the winding up petition then? I have dealt with that before and I have established a time to pay agreement off the back of that before. Ironically everything else debt wise is pretty much under control, it's just this vat thing that has got out of hand
     
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    Alan R Price

    Alan R Price

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    Jul 5, 2010
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  • #12
    CinnamonGirl

    For the amounts involved and given the efforts you are making to pay the debt they will simply not petition or send in a bailiff. It would be useful to get their written confirmation of a time-to-pay agreement. They would not petition while there was an outstanding distraint because the petition would defeat the distraint.

    You seem to have been in a similar situation before and this is usually an indication of some recurring or deep-seated problem within the business itself. Have you considered business coaching? I have been working with a coach for six years and he has helped me grow my business and put in place all the systems and controls to keep things under control. 1-2-1 coaching may be a little beyond your financial resources at the moment but many coaches run group sessions at a fraction of the cost. The results are usually seen on the bottom line within a few weeks. There is also grant funding available to cover the cost of coaching for small businesses.
     
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    CinnamonGirl

  • #13
    Hi
    Thank you for your advice it really is appreciated. I can't deny the business has had a turbulent history, and truthfully speaking it has been largely due to a lot of events that have been out of my control. Would you mind if I message you personally as I am really quite interested in these coaching sessions that you refer to. I can also then elaborate on how we got to this position.
     
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    Alan R Price

    Alan R Price

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    Jul 5, 2010
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  • #14
    CinnamonGirl said:
    Hi
    Thank you for your advice it really is appreciated. I can't deny the business has had a turbulent history, and truthfully speaking it has been largely due to a lot of events that have been out of my control. Would you mind if I message you personally as I am really quite interested in these coaching sessions that you refer to. I can also then elaborate on how we got to this position.
    Click to expand...

    Feel free to give me a call - I will be happy to have an informal chat on the phone. I shan't post my number here but have a look at our website - www.marshmanprice.co.uk. When you call mention this forum.
     
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