Brandon Hire/travis perkins personal guaruntee SD claim help please

[Steve1953]

Hi There

 

Can anyone assist.

 

On 3rd March 2005 a lady, who hired in plant at our company, filled in and asked me to sign a credit application form with Brandon Hire.

 

On a typically busy day, this document was signed under a clear heading marked; E. Agreement. In smaller print it said please read and sign below and below that, in tiny print was a paragraph describing a personal gaurantee.

 

This was signed in a hurry without being read, and I had no idea that I had signed a gaurantee.

 

The companies traded in 2005 to a value of £250 and all sums were paid and there was no further trading until, Jan 2011.

 

Many years had passed our company moved location by 70 miles and all this was forgotten.

 

In Jan 2011 a senior key accounts manager from Brandon Hire attended our office and came with a substantial document marked Tender Submission.

 

This document described every aspect of trade between the companies including dispute resolution and there was no mention of Historic or new

gaurantees.

 

Our company ceased trading in December 2011.

 

On 2nd March 2012. I received a demand for tens of thousands of pounds from Brandon Hire based on the document signed in 2005.

 

I was completely shocked. The gaurantee was obtained by slight of hand and is not dated, it has no end date and is limitless in value

and may be valid?

 

Also Brandon Hire, some time after 2005 on their credit application forms, item E, changed the word Agreement to the word Gaurantee but refuse to reveal why?

 

Please help?

[Illusion]

I went through the same situation with TP last year. My company stopped trading and they came after me personally for o/s debt based on a 'Personal Guarantee' signed many years before. I refused that I personally owed the debt nor would I pay it, TP took me to a Bankruptcy hearing and it was dismissed by the Judge.

 

You are not the only one to be gobsmacked to learn you have apparently signed a PG without your knowledge.

 

At any point in the documentation you signed is there a separate paragraph clearly identified and titled 'Personal Guarantee'?

Does the documentation explain that it's intent is to obtain a PG and that you may wish to seek legal advice before signing?

Did any representative of this company conduct their duty of care by clearly informing you of the intended nature of the document?

From the point you signed the document what was the credit limit, was it unlimited immediately?

When Brandon Hire changed the wording of their document did they contact you to advice you of this and did they ask you to update your account and sign their new documentation?

Why did you have to sign the document, did they specifically detail that only an Owner/Director/Personal Secretary could sign the paperwork?

Did they contact you after receiving your signed document to clarify that it had not been fully completed i.e. not dated?

 

A bit confused though, you say you traded in 2005 and all outstanding monies were paid at the time and didn't you trade again until 2011? Who racked up tens of thousands of debt between 2005 and 2011?

 

Try not to get too stressed, I did and the Bankruptcy got kicked out. I could have saved myself a lot of sleepless nights!

 

p.s Could you post the actual wording of what you say described the Personal Guarantee?

[Steve1953]

Thank you or your prompt response and I would add the following,

 

The document I signed in 2005, does not have a seperate paragraph marked 'Personal Gaurantee'.

 

The document does not explain, its intent to obtain a PG, and does not suggest that I should seek seperate legal advice.

 

Brandon or their servants, did not explain the nature or the intent of the Credit application form, to me.

 

We were not advised of a credit limit.

 

When Brandon Hire changed this form, from 'Agreement' to 'Gaurantee'. They did not contact me and the original form signed in 2005 has not been up-dated.

 

A Manager of Brandon Hire met our lady who hires in Plant. That Lady asked me to sign the credit application form after she had filled in the rest of the form.

 

Brandon did not contact me to say that the form had not been dated, but a fax header confirms the date in 2005.

 

In 2005 there was trading of £ 250 all of which was paid.

 

There was no trading at all between 2005 and Jan 2011.

 

In 2011 our accounts lady gave the new trading, a new account number . But Brandon used the same account number from 2011.

 

By 2011 I was almost retired, but in 2011 Brandon pushed for all the companies business and that was in tens of thousands of pounds between Feb2011 and December 2011.

 

I hope all this helps

 

Best Regards.

[Illusion]

Not sure what position you're in but, I was prepared to fight TP to the wire. Their argument was that I had signed a PG and therefore owed the money in full, plus interest and court fees etc, mine was that the document was void and I owed them nothing.

 

In your shoes, I would put it to them that:

 

The relevant document does not clearly indicate a 'Personal Guarantee', 'Credit Guarantee' or any kind of Guarantee, the wording is unclear and at no point whatsoever did you intend to sign any documentation that could be construed as such.

 

Regarding their responsibility in this, no representative explained the intended nature of the document and did not ascertain whether you were aware of any implications and did not indicate that you may wish to seek legal advice before signing, dictated that you must sign the document, did not establish your ability/assets that you could pay the money back personally before giving you the paperwork to sign and gave an unlimited account on this basis.

 

THEN, they undertake a decision to pursue you regarding your signature on a 2005 document that they have acknowledged is ambiguious as they have since changed the title/wording of their previously flawed document, yet they failed to protect themselves by having an up to date document signed, or establishing any assets as protection when you started trading with them again 6 YEARS LATER in 2011, while also ensuring you were fully aware of any new contract entered or existing contract in place.

 

I can appreciate you must be pretty upset, I know I was. I would had had no problem if I had known they intended to obtain a PG from me at the time of signing, but to realise you have apparently signed such without being aware is overwhelming. TP were very aggressive and had me in Court within weeks. As I was livid, my case pretty much summed up as follows;

 

Under the basisof “undue influence”, “misrepresentation”, “mistake” and/or “duress” encompassed under the Unfair Contract TermsAct 1977, the signature was obtained fraudulently in 2007, TP themselves were responsible for financial neglect, and to pursue debt based on this document with knowledge of the above constitutes Criminal Fraud.

 

I spoke with 4 solicitors,

all of which believed TP easily had the advantage.

 

 

Before I went into the courtroom,

the TP solicitor called me aside and said based on my defence they were going to have the Bankruptcy case dismissed by the Judge.

 

 

When he stated this to the Judge she said 'Duh, really?!' and dismissed it.

 

 

I felt that they had deliberately been dishonest about obtaining my signature for a PG by just acting like it was a simple form to complete before they would consider whether a Trade Account could be opened with them.

 

 

can't say how things would turn out for you, but really wish you the best of luck with it all.