Outstanding Invoice Help

[Leather Bazaar]

Hello all,

I'm sure this has been covered on here before but I can't seem to find any threads.

A friend and I supplied goods to a local company who put on events in the city back in 2012 and we never got paid for the goods we supplied other than their deposit that they paid.

In 2012 after the event the directors/organisers stopped the doing the event and seemed to vanish so me and a friend where left wondering. We used a debt collector to try and recover the cost but we received threats that if we were to pursue this matter they would wind the company up and no one could get paid. They also made claims that the goods provided where not what they ordered however we have the email to say they where happy and wanted to proceed.

It has now come to light that the company does still exist and is up to date with account etc. as per the information on companies house.

One of the people involved (responsible for ordering the goods) has now left the country and cannot be contacted and the other person involved, who can be contacted seems to think the debt that is still outstanding isn't his problem despite our invoice being to their company not the individual. He has told me that he isn't and never was listed as a Director of the company but a contact who has access to the extra information on companies house tells me that he is and still is.

We want to try and recover the costs and I think we're still allowed to as you can pursue the matter for 6 years from the date of the invoice.

The company address is a PO Box in the same area where one of the directors lived. If we send a Letter Before Action to that address, who would sign for it? Would they have to sign for it themselves or someone at the Post Office?

They are planning on putting another event on this year and when we warned people about being involved with them and that if they are asked to supply anything to take payment in full this lead to the current contact person we have getting in touch with us. Apparently their business now works towards charitable aims.

We have an ace up our sleeve and that is the local press are very keen to run our story on the event and the people involved but we haven't told them this as yet.

I'm wondering if what we are doing is correct and legal, sending a LBA before action and then our debt collection company will prepare and issue the paperwork to serve a summons on them.

Just wondering if anyone has any other advice as to what I can do to rectify this...

Sorry for the ramble but I thought more info is better than none!

Thanks,
Ben

 

[thelegalstop]

Hi Ben,

Thank you for sharing this with us here on the forum, we're here to help you out!

Answering your questions:
1. You can send the letter before action to the company's registered address. You can still use PO box for recorded delivery and get the proof of posting, free of charge at any Post Office.

2. It's vital to consult a professional (your debt collection company can help you with this) on how to manage the legal work. You should be able to pursue this claim in the Small Claims Court. If the invoice and agreement were signed with the ltd company, they will still be liable for the outstanding debt. If they had had some issues with the order, they should have reported it earlier, and your email is a written evidence that they were actually happy with it.

3. About the local press, if you are certain that they can help you with good publicity, it's worth using this argument. Again, I would urge you to consult a professional on how to put it right, but sometimes companies are more likely to pay up if they risk bad PR.

I would advise you against rushing with it to the papers at this point, but do keep it as a weapon in your armoury.

Lastly, I think you may have good chances of recovering the outstanding debt, if the company is still solvent (you say that their accounts are OK on Companies House and that they are holding another event, so they may have positive cash flow right now). Just make sure that your paperwork is professionally drafted and managed.

Best of luck and let us know if you have any questions!

 

[Leather Bazaar]

Thank you for the reply The L Stop!

I have drafted a letter ready to send and a copy of the invoice.

Our debt collector as given us brief advice but it sounds like you're much more knowledgeable.

Is there any way in which we can contact you and show you what we intend to send them and the evidence we have? Their emails etc.

In one email they said they would pay if we reprinted all of the banners and delivered them, we refused this as 1) they had already agreed their designs and 2) it would have cost us even more money and risk not getting paid at all.

I'd be happy to send the details of the company in question for you to look at too. One of the previous organisers are now saying the event that is coming up next month is nothing to do with the company owing us money, despite the events being the same as previous years and in the same style and context.

I did some digging around today and found that the PO Box they use is active, has mail sat waiting in it and that it was only opened this year. I've also spoken to people who 'sponsor' this event and asked what they have sponsored and some have donated money to them to pay for things such as road closures for their event! One company didn't even know they where sponsoring them!

I can send over some info as I think I/we need all the help we can get!

Thanks,
Ben

 

[thelegalstop]

Hi Ben, I sent you a PM.

 

[14Steve14]

If its a PO box address at the post office/sorting office, dont they have to give you the delivery address if you ask. I just seem to remember something like that when I used to have one.

If it was a business to business transaction I would also look into the late payment regulations as you may be able to add interest and costs.

Good luck in recovering what is legally yours.

 

[john1989]

A company cannot have a PO Box as its registered address.

Have you checked to see what the registered address is?

 

[Leather Bazaar]

Hey guys,

When we have looked on the Companies House Web Check, it simply says registered address/office and then their PO Box address. After some digging around I did find that they had changed it to that from an address in London, when I checked the address in London apparently it is a well known forwarding address that people use and is known for people who run scams to use.

We're told if we take a photo of the letter we're sending in the envelope with with the stamp on this is proof that it has or will be sent.

I've done the letter before action and will be sending it today with a copy of the invoice, I have outlined the reason for sending it again and warned them that they will have 14 days to pay or make contact or legal proceedings will occur.

If the director of the company is no longer in the UK but the company is active, who would then be responsible? I know they have a secretary as listed on Companies House.

The help and and support The Legal Stop has given so far has been great! And thanks for the help too guys!

It's clear that the event organizers are aware of this as when someone put a negative comment on social media about them following an article in the local media they where very quick to message them.

Who knows!

Thanks again guys!

Ben

 

[thelegalstop]

Hi Ben,

Thanks for your kind words.

As I mentioned in my pm, the PO Box is followed by an address thus that is the registered address of the company where the letter before action should be sent to.

Under UK law you cannot have a simple PO box number as a registered address, however if the PO Box number if followed by a physical address then it is acceptable.

It is irrelevant if the director is abroad or if they claim that they did not receive the letter, as long as you have proof of postage under the postal rule the letter is deemed received and it is the responsibility of the director to ensure that he/she deals with all matters regarding the company.

Good luck with your claim!

 

[Big G]

Hi,

The advice supplied by The Legal Stop is spot on.

Can I just ask how they paid the deposit to you? If it was by cheque or bank transfer then you should be able to retrieve their bank details and once Judgment is obtained you could use this to apply for a third party debt order.

With regards to service of the LBA and other documents The Legal Stop are correct. However, you can also effect service by way of email if you have an email address for them? Just make sure you request a read receipt.

Good luck.!

 

[MOIC]

What was the sum of the unpaid invoice?

What were the goods/ services you supplied?

Did you have then full terms and conditions of sale, on the invoice/contract?

Do you have a record of all the statements/contacts you made to request outstanding monies, as well as all their replies from the time the account was overdue?

The above just makes the picture clearer for forum members to understand in more detail the problem and what steps you have taken over the past 3 years to retrieve the outstanding debt.

The advice given so far has been good.

Good luck.