Advice on Equipment ownership

[Airia]

Wonder if anyone can advise on the 'possible' scenario:

Company sells a piece of industrial equipment to a customer. Payment terms 30 days.
Part payment of equipment received within 14 days (Approx 20% of total invoice value).
No further payments received (Now upto 60 days from invoice date).
Company finds out that customer has gone into administration.
Customer starts trading again next day under new name & ownership.
Some weeks later 'New' customer calls company to advise of equipment failure.
Company attends 'New' Customers site and the 'diagnosis' (ahem) is major equipment failure and removes equipment from 'New' customers premises.

Can 'New' Customer insist on equipment return, or should Company hold out for outstanding & final payment for equipment sold?

Many Thanks

 

[LicensedToTrade]

You need to clarify a few things first of all.

Who is the legal owner of the equipment? Did you sell it to the individual who owns the original company and the new company or did you sell it to the original company?

If you sold it to the individual then forget about which company he owns it is irrelevant. In this case as there are outstanding payments your credit terms (if you have any) should void warranty on goods with outstanding payment.

If you sold to the original company then you need to find out how the equipment came to be owned by the newly formed company... is there evidence of a transfer of assets from the original company to the new one? If not then there is no proof that this company owns the equipment.

If there is proof that the original company sold the asset to the new company then you are also covered as your warranty or guarentee should only apply to the original owner as the asset has now become second hand any responsibility to repair or replace lies with the original owner and the new owner (who in this case are the same person).

I don't see you having any responsibility to the customer in this case.

EDIT: I should also add that you have no right to just take the asset hostage as it now belongs to the 'new' owner. Any outstanding debt is between you and the original company. If you do not return it then you are stealing from the new company.

 

[Allan123]

If you do not return it then you are stealing from the new company.

Gets right up my nose does that, but what can you do eh?

Persoanlly I'd keep hwat's yours, they where happy to do the dirty on you so give them a taste of their own medicine.

They would have to be really game to try it on and have you give it back!

 

[Billmccallum]

The important issue is the terms and conditions you had in the original sale...

IF you held title of the goods until they were fully paid for then the goods would still be owned by you and could not be sold to the new company.