Liquidation Advice

[ECSWalker]

Hi. We put our company into liquidation last year, and now a year later the liquidator is asking for various bank statements, credit card statements, etc that we don't have.

The landlord locked us out of the unit before we'd had a chance to collect everything, and as you can imagine when we returned a good portion of the office furniture/paperwork was missing. The liquidator gave the landlord everything in the offices by way of a disclaimer I think.

I've been as cooperative as I possibly can be providing everything we could to the practitioner we appointed, only for another practitioner to be replace them. I assume practitioners talk. Would it usually take 12 months for the liquidator to ask for something we don't have, considering they sent a team to collect what remained themselves?

My concern is if I haven't got access to these documents any more and my responses are such, am I technically being uncooperative, and could it prove difficult for me?

Thanks

 

[SillyBill]

Bank Statements/CC statements are available online...if not ring the bank/CC provider. Astonished you haven't done so already TBH. Sounds like you have not taken responsibility adequately, you should have downloaded them from the banking app/CC app portal the moment the locks were changed.

 

[Scalloway]

Can younot get copy bank statements from thébank?

 

[ECSWalker]

We provided everything to the original practitioner including bank statements, absolutely everything. Within about 4-5 days after submitting everything in their client portal we got shut out of everything to do with the bank and the credit card company. We transferred a £40k tax rebate to their a/c literally the day before we were locked out.

Am I wrong in thinking that if a new liquidator is appointed the new one doesn't get that information?

 

[PeterWhimster]

Hi. We put our company into liquidation last year, and now a year later the liquidator is asking for various bank statements, credit card statements, etc that we don't have.

The landlord locked us out of the unit before we'd had a chance to collect everything, and as you can imagine when we returned a good portion of the office furniture/paperwork was missing. The liquidator gave the landlord everything in the offices by way of a disclaimer I think.

I've been as cooperative as I possibly can be providing everything we could to the practitioner we appointed, only for another practitioner to be replace them. I assume practitioners talk. Would it usually take 12 months for the liquidator to ask for something we don't have, considering they sent a team to collect what remained themselves?

My concern is if I haven't got access to these documents any more and my responses are such, am I technically being uncooperative, and could it prove difficult for me?

Thanks

Why cant you get copies of bank and card statements from the relevant bank and card issuer?

 

[Frank Wessely]

Hi ECSWalker,

Once a company enters liquidation the Banks and Credit Card companies are quick to restrict access to online portals. From that point your executive authority ceased and the Liquidator became the company’s sole legal agent. You wouldn’t have access now to the company’s online banking and credit card accounts.

The liquidator should simply contact the various financial institutions and request whatever is required. They will provide it. However in my experience that could take weeks or months.

Often I am provided with bank statements and then we have to go further back in time to review other historic transactions.

It sounds as though there are gaps in the financial information you provided and yes, it can be a year down the line when further requests are made.

The old liquidator should have passed all company records to the new liquidator immediately on the changeover. I am curious why the change occurred - did the old liquidator change firms or retire? In which case the new liquidator would usually be at the same firm. Or were there unhappy major creditors who voted to remove and bring in their own choice of liquidator?

Your obligations to assist the new liquidator continue. Just do all that you can to cooperate.

Thanks.

 

[ECSWalker]

Hi ECSWalker,

Once a company enters liquidation the Banks and Credit Card companies are quick to restrict access to online portals. From that point your executive authority ceased and the Liquidator became the company’s sole legal agent. You wouldn’t have access now to the company’s online banking and credit card accounts.

The liquidator should simply contact the various financial institutions and request whatever is required. They will provide it. However in my experience that could take weeks or months.

Often I am provided with bank statements and then we have to go further back in time to review other historic transactions.

It sounds as though there are gaps in the financial information you provided and yes, it can be a year down the line when further requests are made.

The old liquidator should have passed all company records to the new liquidator immediately on the changeover. I am curious why the change occurred - did the old liquidator change firms or retire? In which case the new liquidator would usually be at the same firm. Or were there unhappy major creditors who voted to remove and bring in their own choice of liquidator?

Your obligations to assist the new liquidator continue. Just do all that you can to cooperate.

Thanks.

Hi Frank

Thanks for your reply. Exactly as you say, the original liquidator was voted to remove.

Cheers

 

[Lisa Thomas]

The Liquidator should be able to get the statements they need from the bank. You should no longer have the ability to obtain these.

Why the liquidators have taken a year to now ask you for this information is beyond me.

It should have been one of the first things they dealt with as soon as they were appointed.

Not least because they have to carry out their statutory investigation into the director's/director's conduct and submit their findings to the Insolvency Services within 3 months.

And for that they need to have reviewed the bank statements...

 

[ECSWalker]

It's really strange, he's asking questions now that the other firm asked within the first few days of being appointed. Does this mean he can't submit a directors conduct report then? Or should/would he have done that within the three months regardless?

 

[Frank Wessely]

Hi ECSWalker,

The left hand and right hand have not been properly communicating.

It appears that he is well out of time to submit the Conduct Report. I assume that was completed by the first IP.

But he could submit a supplementary notification if there were sufficient grounds.

Thanks.

 

[Lisa Thomas]

Ah I missed that the I was replaced. The first IP should be cooperating with the replacement, but if this is not happening then the replacement IP can get the statements from the Bank.

It seems you have been caught in the middle.

 

[ECSWalker]

Ah I missed that the I was replaced. The first IP should be cooperating with the replacement, but if this is not happening then the replacement IP can get the statements from the Bank.

It seems you have been caught in the middle.

Hi Lisa. Thank you for your comments. Quick question. Is it common practice for a liquidator to disclaim any interest in the leased premises and let the landlord remove all of the office equipment, ie pc's, desks, tv's, storage, etc, and then turn around and ask for an asset list of said equipment?

 

[Frank Wessely]

No. The list should have been prepared by the liquidator's agents before the disclaimer.

Thanks.

 

[Lisa Thomas]

Hi Lisa. Thank you for your comments. Quick question. Is it common practice for a liquidator to disclaim any interest in the leased premises and let the landlord remove all of the office equipment, ie pc's, desks, tv's, storage, etc, and then turn around and ask for an asset list of said equipment?

It's common to disclaim leases and it's common to abandon any assets with no commercial/material value for the landlord to dispose of.

But if an inventory was required, I would expect that to be asked for before abandoning with the landlord so agree with Frank.