Collection of debt

gargargar

Looking for some advice on payment of an invoice outstanding. It is about 9 months due. We are getting nowhere with client. It is around 5k and just wondering what our options are? We are getting the 'next week/payment run...' line each time we call. The client had been in financial difficulties (examinership) but they are through it now.

antoinolachtnai

The client doesn't have any spare cash. If you are not servicing the customer at present then very likely you are not a priority for payment.

If the customer was through examinership, then your debt could have been written down. You should have been informed if this happened, but you might not have been.

It is a good idea to take notes of what exactly is said to you and when. Promising to pay next week and then not paying without a good reason is a legally problematic thing to do, but there is not much you can do on it.

I would go and see them, see what the situation is and see if they could pay you 500 euros a week.

mrawkward

Did they incur the debt before or after examinership?

gargargar

The debt was before examinership, but while we contacted initially by the examiner, we never received any monies. We were told it would take a couple of months. We didn't hear anything. Then when we contacted the company later it was out of examinership and they said they thought we were paid?!

mrawkward

Not good. You could talk to the examiner as it looks like sloppy work on his part, he has very specific and onerous responsibilities in respect of creditors/communications etc. If you are still not happy, you can make a complaint to the Office of the Director of Corportate Enforcement.... nobody ever wants to be at the wrong end of an argument with him!!

gargargar

mrawkward wrote: »

Not good. You could talk to the examiner as it looks like sloppy work on his part, he has very specific and onerous responsibilities in respect of creditors/communications etc. If you are still not happy, you can make a complaint to the Office of the Director of Corportate Enforcement.... nobody ever wants to be at the wrong end of an argument with him!!

That's a very interesting idea. It hadn't occurred to us. Could be a good starting point.

antoinolachtnai

gargargar wrote: »

That's a very interesting idea. It hadn't occurred to us. Could be a good starting point.

I would really make sure you have tried all the alternatives before you go that route.

You would need legal advice before proceeding but my own view is that you can't really reopen the examinership. You knew about the examinership and there were advertisements in the newspaper giving notice of the hearings. If you had a problem the place to raise it was in Court. Alleging malpractice by the professionals involved is going to result in a lot of paperwork for you and maybe even a court appearance. Even if successful it is unlikely in and of itself to get you your money. You would still have to go back to Court to sue for negligence. A lot of trouble to go to for a five grand debt.

mrawkward

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

I would really make sure you have tried all the alternatives before you go that route.

You would need legal advice before proceeding but my own view is that you can't really reopen the examinership. You knew about the examinership and there were advertisements in the newspaper giving notice of the hearings. If you had a problem the place to raise it was in Court. Alleging malpractice by the professionals involved is going to result in a lot of paperwork for you and maybe even a court appearance. Even if successful it is unlikely in and of itself to get you your money. You would still have to go back to Court to sue for negligence. A lot of trouble to go to for a five grand debt.

Which is why I advised the OP to first talk to the examiner as to why they were kept out of the loop etc. If his response is unsatisfactory, take it to the ODCE. No money spent yet, but at least the OP will have some missing info/facts upon which to decide the next step.

antoinolachtnai

mrawkward wrote: »

Which is why I advised the OP to first talk to the examiner as to why they were kept out of the loop etc. If his response is unsatisfactory, take it to the ODCE. No money spent yet, but at least the OP will have some missing info/facts upon which to decide the next step.

For sure, I agree. But I would try to collect from the company in the first instance.

The company may say the debt has been disposed of in the examinership, in which case there will be a problem.

If that is the case it would be worth asking the examiner what happened, for sure. There is no use in the creditor saying they were kept out of the loop. The examinership was advertised, the creditor knew about it and had the opportunity to be represented in Court. Maybe the examiner didn't send all the letters he was supposed to send, or maybe they were misdirected but that doesn't necessarily mean the examiner will be found to be at fault and even if the examiner is found to be at fault, doesn't mean there will be compensation.

Sorry to be pessimistic but it is not a good situation. Best chance is that the company just agrees to pay in instalments.

mrawkward

The examiner will give him a copy of the court ruling which sets out who gets what and when. That the OP is so unaware of the situation seems rather odd/lazy! Due to the costs involved in this process, most small unsecured creditors get nada in my experience. As I said, not good.

gargargar

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

There is no use in the creditor saying they were kept out of the loop. The examinership was advertised, the creditor knew about it and had the opportunity to be represented in Court. Maybe the examiner didn't send all the letters he was supposed to send, or maybe they were misdirected but that doesn't necessarily mean the examiner will be found to be at fault and even if the examiner is found to be at fault, doesn't mean there will be compensation.

We were in contact a few times with the examiner. They said they noted our claim and the process could take 8-10 weeks. They would be in contact in due course. We have correspondence from them. Next we heard the company were out of examinership.

mrawkward wrote: »

That the OP is so unaware of the situation seems rather odd/lazy!

A little harsh! It was about 5k which was not significant for us to be all over the examinership. We were in contact and told to hold tight.

We are going to contact the examiner to see the ruling as someone suggested. If we are unhappy with the we will contact the ODCE.

mrawkward

A little harsh, perhaps! However comment was based on the info you provided or lack there of, until now