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Hi
I have a small business and it is coming up to the end of the first year trading.
Things have not been as good as we had hoped and I have been unable to pay our business rates. The total owing is 25k. My other bills have been mostly kept up to date. I have not been taking any salary or monies at all during the last 10 months.
The business is still viable i believe and i would hope that within a year I might be able to pay backa good chunk of this.
I was speaking with the council and they agreed to call me to discuss an arrangement. I received no call and today have had a letter from an enforcement agent. I called the council to find out why this has happened and they said I have been left 2 messages, (which i had not received), and it had been passed on. They advised me to speak to the person i was talking to at the council but in the meantime contact the agent to show you are willing to talk.
I called the agent and offered them 5k to be paid back by the end of March and then £1k a month until it is cleared. They said that would not be acceptable and that a 12 week period is the most they would wait. They then said that someone would come round in around a week to make notes of all the assets in the business.
I explained that there aren't really many assets as most of the equipment is on lease and we would probably have to close the business and she said that that would not stop them coming round and carrying out their work. They would then have to look into my personal assets.
I have been told that they should accept an offer of an arrangement if it is reasonable. What is considered reasonable. There is no way I could pay more than £1k a month.
Anyway, thanks in advance for any help or advice given.
Hamish
I have a small business and it is coming up to the end of the first year trading.
Things have not been as good as we had hoped and I have been unable to pay our business rates. The total owing is 25k. My other bills have been mostly kept up to date. I have not been taking any salary or monies at all during the last 10 months.
The business is still viable i believe and i would hope that within a year I might be able to pay backa good chunk of this.
I was speaking with the council and they agreed to call me to discuss an arrangement. I received no call and today have had a letter from an enforcement agent. I called the council to find out why this has happened and they said I have been left 2 messages, (which i had not received), and it had been passed on. They advised me to speak to the person i was talking to at the council but in the meantime contact the agent to show you are willing to talk.
I called the agent and offered them 5k to be paid back by the end of March and then £1k a month until it is cleared. They said that would not be acceptable and that a 12 week period is the most they would wait. They then said that someone would come round in around a week to make notes of all the assets in the business.
I explained that there aren't really many assets as most of the equipment is on lease and we would probably have to close the business and she said that that would not stop them coming round and carrying out their work. They would then have to look into my personal assets.
I have been told that they should accept an offer of an arrangement if it is reasonable. What is considered reasonable. There is no way I could pay more than £1k a month.
Anyway, thanks in advance for any help or advice given.
Hamish
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