individual or limited company

[mispatient]

I opened a limited company, and traded as a shop in rented premises. The shop had to close before the lease ended. I signed the lease in my name and now I am being sued for 6 months unpaid rent. I cant pay it. They wont accept that the debt is the companys. They are pursuing me, threatening court appearance, bailiffs, bankruptcy and legal charge on my property. Any advice please.

[weststreet]

Originally Posted by mispatient

. I signed the lease in my name and now I am being sued for 6 months unpaid rent. I cant pay it. They wont accept that the debt is the companys. .

Hello mis

It's not clear from what you wrote. Was the lease between your company & the property owner, or between you as an individual & the property owner ?

[mispatient]

I personally signed. I signed tho as the director of my company. Whenever I paid the rent it was on a company cheque.

[weststreet]

Originally Posted by mispatient

I signed tho as the director of my company.

So the signed lease was between Mispatient Limited & Shop. You signed the lease purely as a director on behalf of Mispatient Limited ? This is the important bit - who the lease was between. If you have a copy of it, the parties will be named on the front.

Another question. If the above is true. did you personally guarantee the rent ?

Who made payment isn't that relevant. I work for a property company and we accept payment from 'permitted payers' eg Weatheralls might manage the Boots portfolio.

It's purely based on who the legal entity the lease is with. If a lease is with a limited company, then we deal with the Receiver if the company goes bust. We couldn't/wouldn't pursue the directors unless personal guarantees were involved ( and we never take them ). So if you are 100% sure the lease was with MISPATIENT LIMITED and you gave no personal guarantee - I can't understand why you are personally being held liable.

Simply direct them to the Receiver dealing with the company. They could just be trying it on in case they can scare some money out of you.

I repeat if you are 100% sure the lease was between MISPATIENT LIMITED & .......... and you gave no personal guarantee, they can't do anything. A company is a seperate legal entity. The things you mentioned, Court, bailiffs. bankrupcy and legal charge are the usual creditor/DCA threats but are only possible if it is your debt. If the lease was with Mispatient Limited it is a company debt and they deal with the Receiver.

Best of Luck

[mispatient]

No, I think I am up the creek without a paddle. I signed in my own name. In my head it was on behalf of the company. They asked me for a guarantor, so I gave my brother in law. I have since been told that as he wasnt afforded legal advice at the time that he could not be held liable.
I did not give any personal guarantee but from what you say I did in a way by signing the lease in my personal name and not the company name.

[weststreet]

Ok mispatient now I understand. That isn't good. But it explains why they are chasing you for the arrears. Since you as an individual signed a lease for a set period of time, you personally are responsible for the rent for that period, even though the shop ceased to trade.

I know you said earlier you can't afford to pay. I don't know what your financial situation is like but probably not good if your business failed. If the debt is vaiid, and it sounds like it is, I think you need to get advice/help asap. Try the CAB as a starter. There's also an excellent debt site that I've listed below. It's a bit like here, you can post a question ( explaining your situation ) and those with better experience of debt matters will explain your options to you. I know they have debt counsellors and Insolvency Practitioners on there who really know their stuff.

http://www.debthelpuk.co.uk/forum/

Sorry that it's not sounding great - but get as much info as you can. You can't pay what you haven't got. But if your landlord is going to pursue this, you need get advice re your best way to deal with it.

Good Luck

[dw190]

Originally Posted by mispatient

No, I think I am up the creek without a paddle. I signed in my own name. In my head it was on behalf of the company. They asked me for a guarantor, so I gave my brother in law. I have since been told that as he wasnt afforded legal advice at the time that he could not be held liable.
I did not give any personal guarantee but from what you say I did in a way by signing the lease in my personal name and not the company name.

As has already been said it doesn't matter whether you signed in your own name but if the lease is in your name or the company's.

On the front of the lease it should have
ABC Leasee
XYZ Leasor

Is it your name on the front or the company's name?

[mispatient]

Yes, the lease is in my name, not the company.

To weststreet.....thankyou for the information, I will have to set about looking further into with legal help.

[andrea clark]

I have the opposite problem. A company that did some poor work for me years ago disappeared leaving me with an unfinished job and repairs. I paid most of the bill and asked if they would adjust the balance to reflect the problems. Four and a half years later, court papers have arrived from the individual who owned the company, at his home address, chasing for the balance although the contract and the bills are in the name of his ltd company. He has in the meantime applied to have the company struck off and has ot been at his place of business for some three years. Can he do this or can I argue that my arrangement was with the ltd company?