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The Insolvency Proxy Service - do your
customers owe you money?
27 February 2008
Recent high profile business failures such as
The Works, Dolcis and Stead & Simpson, along with warnings and
statistics from the Bank of England and Experian, have highlighted
the increasing threat of insolvency. This may have caused you
to review the risk of your own debtor book.
In cases where the organisations you supply
have become insolvent, you may receive Proof of Debt and Proxy
Forms from Insolvency Practitioners. Whilst Proof of Debt
Forms tend to be completed, Proxy Forms are often discarded.
Forwarding these forms to us could be more beneficial to your
organisation.
We can arrange for an Insolvency Practitioner
to attend the creditor's meeting on your behalf, usually at no cost
to you. The Insolvency Practitioner can raise any of your
concerns in respect of the proposed Insolvency Practitioner and/or
the Directors.
With sufficient support, your choice of
Insolvency Practitioner could replace the Insolvency Practitioner
proposed by the Company's Directors. This would allow your
organisation to be represented at the meeting by someone who has
had no prior dealings with the Directors.
To keep you informed of proceedings, the
Insolvency Practitioner would also be able to provide you with a
free report of events at the meeting.
I should make it clear that any Insolvency
Practitioner who assists in this way will not be a Partner or
employee of Browne Jacobson LLP but an independent
practitioner. We will be happy to operate as liaison or, if
you prefer, you can deal directly with the suggested Insolvency
Practitioner.
The proxy service is just one element of the
cost effective debt recovery service that we offer at Browne
Jacobson. Other areas where we can assist you include:
- Negotiating the return of goods
- Payment of their price if you have reserved title to goods
supplied to a company that becomes insolvent
- Advising you on whether you can retain a customer's goods until
payment is made
For more information please contact Dominic Offord
or Vicki Dunstall.
The content of this bulletin is provided for
the purposes of general interest and information. It contains only
brief summaries of aspects of the subject matter and does not
provide comprehensive statements of the law. It does not constitute
legal advice and does not provide a substitute for it.