Defending a claim as a deed not actually a deed....

[PallasAthena]

Personally I do think these personal guarantees should be titled and clearly labelled as deeds as most lay people if they don't get legal advice won't necessarily understand what they are signing up for.

Although according to your Post #1 your partner was recommended to get legal advice and this is recorded in the document but he/she chose not to.

I don't know whether there is any general rule of law that "they can only go after the personal guarantor once they have exhausted attempts to get money from the company" and maybe atticus or R0b can comment on that. I would have thought that the agreement itself will state what the creditor is required to do before they invoke the directors' personal guarantee.

How many directors of the company gave a personal guarantee? Have they all had court claims brought aginst them?

[R0b]

Just to clarify my earlier point about the language being stated in the document in the presence of ... does not automatically validate the fact that deed is valid. You could still try to argue that the witness was not present and if the witness is still known or there are contact details listed, the court may require the witness to be summoned to court to verify whether he or she was in fact present at the time of signature.

[atticus]

Re post #16, there is no such general rule.. Many guarantees cover the situation in which guarantors pay and there is a later payment from a liquidator, in which case there may be some money returned to guarantors.

And yes, there is a right to seek contribution from other guarantors.

[atticus]

I think I read somewhere that they can only go after the personal guarantor once they have exhausted attempts to get money from the company, and that the onus is on them to provide evidence that they have done this.

You may indeed have read that. Unfortunately it is not correct, unless - most unusually - the wording of the guarantee requires it.

[sunnydays]

Thank you, I was looking at the financial conduct authority rules I think and other sites, will have to go back and try to find where I found anything about that - as anything re what they should have done and have failed to do may have some mileage in it.

[sunnydays]

Although according to your Post #1 your partner was recommended to get legal advice and this is recorded in the document but he/she chose not to.

I don't know whether there is any general rule of law that "they can only go after the personal guarantor once they have exhausted attempts to get money from the company" and maybe atticus or R0b can comment on that. I would have thought that the agreement itself will state what the creditor is required to do before they invoke the directors' personal guarantee.

How many directors of the company gave a personal guarantee? Have they all had court claims brought aginst them?

Yes, I appreciate your point, but if I'm honest it is such a big thing, this 12 years liability that imho it should be made more obvious to people. Alot of lay people have no legal knowledge and even small business owners (particularly those in financial problems and needing to get a loan) wouldn't have the extra money for legal advice. I think it may be a requirement with these guarantees now though and you can see why.... Personally I'm quite good with attention to detail but even I may have missed the bit re the deed if I had signed it to be fair to my partner.

2 directors - the claim is after 2 people.