I am owed in excess of £5,000 by an individual
A creditor seeking to recover a debt of over £5,000 from an individual, can present a bankruptcy petition.
The debt must meet the following conditions:
- It is unsecured and liquidated.
- It is due and payable immediately, or payable at some certain future point.
- The debtor appears to be unable to pay the debt, or have no reasonable prospect of paying the debt.
- There is no outstanding application to set aside a statutory demand served for the debt.
Upon satisfaction of the above, a petition can be filed on behalf of the creditor by an instructed lawyer. Upon presentation of the petition, a deposit to cover part of the costs of administering the bankruptcy estate and a court fee must be paid, which total approximately £1,270, together with any additional fees levied by the instructed lawyer. The costs in presenting a petition and following it through to a bankruptcy order are significant; therefore, all other recovery matters should be investigated before this course of action is entered into. We would recommend that you contact one of our specialists to ensure that this is the right solution for you before presenting the petition.
Upon the making of a bankruptcy order, the official receiver is automatically appointed trustee in bankruptcy, and unsecured creditors have the opportunity to appoint their own insolvency practitioner. This is in order to realise any assets and investigate any recoveries that may enhance the dividend return to creditors, which is subject to the various voting procedures.
This is your opportunity to ensure that your best interests are being represented in the process, and you should actively engage in nominating an insolvency practitioner to be appointed trustee in bankruptcy. We would be more than happy to consider representing you should the circumstances require it.
Dean Nelson, Nicholas Lee, Michael Roome and Andrew Stevens are all licensed in the United Kingdom to act as Insolvency Practitioners by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Brett Barton is licensed by the Insolvency Practitioners Association to act as an insolvency practitioner. They are bound by the Insolvency Code of Ethics which can be found here.
When acting as Receivers or Administrative Receivers, they act as agents only, without personal liability. In an Administrator role, the affairs, business, and property of the company are managed solely by them.
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