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Hi there, hopefully somebody can give me some advice this evening.
Right here goes, I setup a business as a Sole Trader and it had been going well for the first couple of years. Last year we moved into bigger premises which is leased. Now with the current recession we have been hit this year and work is down considerably from the previous years. Anyway as of the 1st September we changed legal status to be a Limited Company.
Now before we had changed legal status I had fallen behind with my rates so Bristow & Sutor were passed my rates account from the local council and they called on me to take a payment. Now being a vehicle workshop it was easy for them to walk in and be seen by my employees, so obviously I wanted to resolve this quickly as I didn't want to alarm my staff anymore than they already had been.
I agreed a payment plan, and he handed me a notice of seizure which he said wouldn't be acted upon unless I failed to pay.
Now as the business continued to trade we were hit harder due to our customers lossing their jobs etc which meant they had to cancel work so ultimately I missed a payment. So one day they arrived again, but this time I was out. So they left a letter with an employee, I was then given the letter that afternoon on my return. So I called the chap and he basically told me I needed to pay £1000 cleared funds. At the time I didn't have it all, but managed to borrow some funds to then call him back and pay the funds on card plus the usual .50 pence fee for card payments. He told me he would send me the paperwork in the post.
Anyway when I got the paperwork through the post I found that he had made an arrangement for me to pay circa £430 per week. I was shocked as I knew that as it stood with work loads that we wouldn't always be able to afford that sum. And also that my outstanding bill was circ £6000.
So at this point I thought hang on I am paying rates for the Sole Trader account upto April 2013 but I will also pay rates as the Limited company from 1st September until April 2013. So I called the Bailiffs office and explained, the lady on the phone basically said you need to pay the £430 per week or else we will come back.
So at that point I called the council, who asked me to email them the information. So I sent the lady at the council and email outlining that we were a Sole Trader but as of the 31st August 2012 that no longer existed and that as of 1st October the company was now a Limited company and asked that they update their records and setup the Limited Company back up with direct debit/standing order and could they also update Bristow and Sutor.
I had emails back from the lady which ended up confirming that all had been updated along with Bristow and Sutor. I also had written confirmation from the Council of the new amounts for Sole Trader and new Limited Company.
I then was visited today by another Bailiff, and I thought great I can now get my monthly payments reduced. They confirmed that I had received credits so that my bill was now circa £2500 in total. But they demanded that I pay it all today, to which I said that I simply cannot do it. And showed him the emails I had from the council.
Anyway the end result is that he has given me 24 hours to find the money or he will be back to seize property from the business!
What can I do to stop this, I thought that now the business is Limited and effectively the sole trader account passed on all property etc to the Limited Company that they wouldn't have any rights to take anything. All equipment is also secured against loans that I had to setup the business and I was told they can't take any of that, along with the fact they can't take tools of my trade that I need to make a living, but they say that isn't true and that they can take what they like.
Again being a workshop with doors open for cars to come in and out it is difficult to stop them walking in.
Any advice would be great,
Thanks,
Right here goes, I setup a business as a Sole Trader and it had been going well for the first couple of years. Last year we moved into bigger premises which is leased. Now with the current recession we have been hit this year and work is down considerably from the previous years. Anyway as of the 1st September we changed legal status to be a Limited Company.
Now before we had changed legal status I had fallen behind with my rates so Bristow & Sutor were passed my rates account from the local council and they called on me to take a payment. Now being a vehicle workshop it was easy for them to walk in and be seen by my employees, so obviously I wanted to resolve this quickly as I didn't want to alarm my staff anymore than they already had been.
I agreed a payment plan, and he handed me a notice of seizure which he said wouldn't be acted upon unless I failed to pay.
Now as the business continued to trade we were hit harder due to our customers lossing their jobs etc which meant they had to cancel work so ultimately I missed a payment. So one day they arrived again, but this time I was out. So they left a letter with an employee, I was then given the letter that afternoon on my return. So I called the chap and he basically told me I needed to pay £1000 cleared funds. At the time I didn't have it all, but managed to borrow some funds to then call him back and pay the funds on card plus the usual .50 pence fee for card payments. He told me he would send me the paperwork in the post.
Anyway when I got the paperwork through the post I found that he had made an arrangement for me to pay circa £430 per week. I was shocked as I knew that as it stood with work loads that we wouldn't always be able to afford that sum. And also that my outstanding bill was circ £6000.
So at this point I thought hang on I am paying rates for the Sole Trader account upto April 2013 but I will also pay rates as the Limited company from 1st September until April 2013. So I called the Bailiffs office and explained, the lady on the phone basically said you need to pay the £430 per week or else we will come back.
So at that point I called the council, who asked me to email them the information. So I sent the lady at the council and email outlining that we were a Sole Trader but as of the 31st August 2012 that no longer existed and that as of 1st October the company was now a Limited company and asked that they update their records and setup the Limited Company back up with direct debit/standing order and could they also update Bristow and Sutor.
I had emails back from the lady which ended up confirming that all had been updated along with Bristow and Sutor. I also had written confirmation from the Council of the new amounts for Sole Trader and new Limited Company.
I then was visited today by another Bailiff, and I thought great I can now get my monthly payments reduced. They confirmed that I had received credits so that my bill was now circa £2500 in total. But they demanded that I pay it all today, to which I said that I simply cannot do it. And showed him the emails I had from the council.
Anyway the end result is that he has given me 24 hours to find the money or he will be back to seize property from the business!
What can I do to stop this, I thought that now the business is Limited and effectively the sole trader account passed on all property etc to the Limited Company that they wouldn't have any rights to take anything. All equipment is also secured against loans that I had to setup the business and I was told they can't take any of that, along with the fact they can't take tools of my trade that I need to make a living, but they say that isn't true and that they can take what they like.
Again being a workshop with doors open for cars to come in and out it is difficult to stop them walking in.
Any advice would be great,
Thanks,
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