I resigned my position as director from a small Ltd company last December and was advised that as the accounts had not been filed for last year, that eventually the company would be dissolved by Companies House. I recently checked the Companies House website and it is now stating 'COMPULSORY STRIKE OFF SUSPENDED (DISS16(SOAS))' Does anyone have an idea what this means and what the implications are for me as a former director? Many thanks

Yesterday, my parents in the UK received a telephone call from Westcot Credit Services asking for me but they were advised I am no longer at that address. Westcot said they would mark the file acordingly and not contact them again. This morning my parents received a letter dated 29.05.09, as follows:- Client Ref.XXXXXX Client: Metropolitan Collection Services HSBC Bank PLC Balance: £5,192.90 Dear Mr XXXXX, Why are we writing to you? Westcot Credit Services Limited is a specialist debt collection company and this letter gives you notice that we have been instructed to collect the outstanding balance on the above account. The above address was provided to us by Experian, as a possible forwarding address for you. Experian is a credit reference agency and holds data on credit and financial agreements, electoral roll information and other public domain data. This data shows a link between a previous address and the above address. What should you do now? Either - 1. If you have any reason to believe this is not your account you should contact us on 0870 902 0587 or write to us at the above address, quotin the Wescot Debt.No. We may be able to assist you in obtaining further information about thi link and advise you what to do if it is incorrect. You can also simply return the mail to us marked not at this address. WE CONFIRM THAT WESCOT HAS NOT REGISTERED ANY DEBT AGAINST YOUR NAME OR THE ABOVE ADDRESS IN RESPECT OF THIS MATTER. Or. 2. Contact us immediately to arrange payment. You can pay by credit or debit card either on line at www.paywescot.co.uk or by calling us on 0870 902 0587. You an also all us on the same numer to arrange to pay by standing order or Giro. Alternatively, you can pay by cheque or postal order, made payable to Wescot Credit Services Ltd. quoting the Wescot DebtNo. on the reverse. We can be contacted 7 days a week as follows:- Mon-Fri. 8am - 9 pm Sat.8am - 4 pm. Sun. 9am - 4 pm. IF YOU IGNORE THIS LETTER THE ACOUNT WILL BE REFERRED TO OUR COLLECTIONS TEAM FOR FURTHER ACTION. At the end of last year I resigned from the Company and heard nothing until yesterday. It is clear that Metropolitain and HSBC have ignored all of my previous requests for information, as well as my notification that I am living abroad and have now instead passed the debt to Westcot who have decided to harass my elderly parents. Shall I just ask my parents to mark the letter ''NO LONGER AT THIS ADDRESS, RETURN TO SENDER''? Or should they just ignore the letter? Or do something else? Should I write to Westcot from my overseas address (a PO Box) and advise them to stop harassing my parents and correspond with me here? Does anyone have any advice on what action I should take? Thanks in anticipation.

Well the Bank have referred me to Metropolitan to answer all my requests and Metropolitan are refusing to provide any information to me - just repeating the mantra that I should pay off the entire debt run up by my colleague and wont enter into any dialogue with me. Very helpful lot these debt collectors!! I'm really torn on the course of action to take: 1. do I resign rom the company and walk away, and hope that as I'm abroad the debt collectors cant/wont chase me for the debt? 2. If 1, can the debt collectors obtain a judgement against me which will prevent me obtaining any credit when I return to the UK 3. Do I stay as a director, appoint an IP and liquidate the company? 4. Do I stay as a director, try and chase creditors and sell assets (a difficult/impossible job seeing as I'm abroad) and then try and negotiate on the balance owed to the bank? 5. Contact the police about my disappearing co-director and raise my suspicions on his possible impropriety? All advice gratefully received.

Noted. Do you know what implications this will this likely have on my own personal credit rating if and when I decide to return to the UK?

Excuse my total ignorance but I'm assuming that an IP is necessary to wind up the business? If however I resign as a director am I still responsible for appointing an IP or does this rest with any remaining directors/the company secretary? I'm also assuming the IP will review the company finances and provide me with advice, but could they represent my interests and negotiate with the Bank/debt collectors? I think the bank may well have cocked up and not followed instructions detailed within mandates and allowed payments which strictly speaking should not have been made - this is something I will pursue. Chasing debtors for payment is something I can do remotely and which I'm actively pursuing, but its the lack of any written contact received either from the Bank or the debt collectors that concerns me and whether they can take enforceable legal action in my absence? My biggest problem is one of logistics and the fact that I currently live and work abroad and can only pop back for a few days at a time and probably not long enough to track down the assets whereabouts and attempt to sell them.

On a general note regarding he finances, do the MD and Company Secretary have any responsibility for debts as they have effectively been managing the business or does it all come down on me as the bank guarantor, in spite of the fact I have been living and working abroad for the past two years? Thanks for your help!

It certainly does!! Thanks in anticipation.

I'm looking for some help and possibly recommendations for a good, reasonably priced solicitor who can help with my predicament. I am (currently) a director of a small Ltd company. I have been working abroad for the past 2 years and my friend (or so I thought!) and co-director has been running the business. In a nutshell, the co-director has disappeared and is proving uncontactable and has left around £13k in debts (for which I appear to be the sole bank guarantor). I am living and working overseas (not connected with the UK business) and the Bank (HSBC) has allegedly been trying to contact me for several months although I have not received any correspondence from them. I returned to the UK on holiday last month and met with the Bank who were going to investigate, but they have since closed the account and now I have a debt collection agency chasing me personally for the outstanding £13k. There are other issues surrounding the bank account for which I signed as guarantor and cheque signatory, my name was mysteriously removed as signatory (this is something I only just found out about) and this may have contibuted to the debt being run up by my business partner; and I have the feeling that the bank has not been as diligent as they could have been. There are monies owed to the company, and the company has assets (vehicles etc) which may cover some of the debt owed to the bank, but I really just want to break my ties with the company but at the same time limit my liability. All advice gratefully accepted.