Pro-Fit Windows & Doors Yeovil - Pro Aluminium Ltd - Voluntary Liquidations and Pheonixing to avoid repaying deposit

[Camino55]

Can anyone help us?

We paid nearly £9000 to a local company trading as 'Pro-fit Group' as the deposit for a conservatory. They never built, delivered it or it transpired even attempted to order it from their own suppliers.

After 5 months of waiting they agreed a full refund....which obviously we didn't get, so we followed Citizen Advices advice and obtained a CCJ. However they simply put one company 'Pro-Fit Windows & Doors (Yeovil) Limited Co No 05919612 into administration and pheonixed as Pro-Fit Windows and Doors LLP Co House No 0C378789.

As it happens they made us pay the deposit into another company called 'Pro Aluminium Ltd 10051025 which is currently showing at Companies House as to be struck off for non filing of accounts and to which our CCJ was against. There are also 'Pro-fit Green Energy - Co No 14403671' which shows as active and 'Pro-Trade' Ltd No 09656721 showing as dissolved.

I had always believed that if a Company Director had acted dishonestly then they could be pursued personally and their own assets seized, well this director, with his home featuring in Country house magazines with a full size football pitch in the back garden and the lovely cars and horses for his daughter seems untouchable.

The Insolvency Service, who amazingly state their purpose as creating trust in business, said they weren't interested. The Office of Fair Trading you can't contact anymore and the most helpful Insolvency Solicitors we have approached (most aren't interested or say they are too busy to take on any more work once you explain) have advised that they would anticipate £20,000+ for costs and advised it just isn't worth perusing. 

My wife who has cancer genuinely has had a breakdown over this and it just seems so incredibly wrong that people like this can get away with what to us is theft with absolute impunity.

Can anyone offer us any advice or direction please?

The total amount of the CCJ claim is for £9,587 which includes 8% interest and the Small Claims Court Fees. 

The quick background is that in June 2022 my wife and I ordered a conservatory from a company called Pro Fit Windows in Yeovil and paid a deposit of over £8000.  At that time my 87 year old father in law who was very frail was living with us in our small cottage and we had hoped to have the conservatory as an extra bright and airy room for him to sit in. He has since developed severe dementia and sadly had to go into a home this year so never got to sit in it.

The conservatory was supposed to be delivered within 8-10 weeks however we kept being advised that there were delays and problems with suppliers and parts arriving damaged etc and eventually we had a firm date at the beginning of November 2022. 

On that day we all stood around the concrete base and dwarf walls with our builder waiting for them to arrive when the builder received a call from them to say that they were not coming because the conservatory had never been ordered from their supplier! 

 I went to see them that day and eventually saw the owner Director. He explained it was all down to a particular staff member we had been dealing with who had been dismissed subsequently. That we could have a refund but that in fact the conservatory might be on a lorry they were currently unloading and failing that almost certainly on a container arriving in Plymouth that Monday (this was a Thursday afternoon) and that the conservatory might infact be with him for Tuesday the following week.

He promised to do everything he could to fix the situation and reschedule so I agreed to see what happened the following week. (It seems clear from the date of Insolvency of Pro-Fit Windows & Doors Yeovil Ltd in Dec 2022 he was deliberately stalling) 

It transpired the conservatory was not on the truck they were unloading and so not having heard anything I called on the Tuesday and was told that the conservatory was not in Plymouth however….while I could have a refund, to start again with another company would realistically take months however they had already contacted the manufacturer in Ireland, sorted everything out and it would be done in a week. I said if that was the case to continue.

A week later when I called for an update I was told by a member of staff that it had been ‘put back 2 weeks’ I asked what this meant and was told that the manufacturer would not process the order for another couple of weeks. I said that if they could assure me that the conservatory could be delivered and built before Christmas we could live with that but if that could not be achieved that we would like the refund. Their reply, by email, was that their accounts department would process the refund. 

 As I had lost all faith in them by that time, I kept an eye on the refund which failed to appear and contacted them by phone, email and in person. I got nowhere and never received a response. Eventually having spoken to Citizen’s advice I sent a letter giving 21 days notice. This was ignored. From this I applied for a CCJ for the debt through the Small Claims Court. During that process and to date I have not received any communication from Pro Fit whatsoever. I saw that we had paid Pro-Fit Aluminium Ltd and so had applied for the CCJ from them.

The Small Claims Unit were behind in their administration and the CCJ, which was issued on 20^th February 2023.  

I kept an eye on ‘Pro-fit’ group and they remained actively trading and open, answered calls, had a website up.

As soon as I received the CCJ Certificate I attempted to appoint bailiffs, initially there was some confusion and I was advised that because the amount was over £5000 I needed to appoint High Court Enforcement Officers instead.

I went on the HCE Website and was surprised to find that the nearest HCE's were either in Bristol or Southampton and there were none within an hours drive of Yeovil. I plumped for the Bristol firm and contacted them. They advised that the CCJ needed to be transferred to the High Court for them to deal but would take on the case and try and help me get our money back.

It took about a month to come through and we waited with baited breath to see what would unfold and whether we might get some or all of our money back. And waited...and waited...we were told it was very difficult, we were told that they had been there and that a member of staff had said they were closing down.

We were told that they had inspected the premises and that there were clearly sufficient assets to seize to make it worthwhile to proceed and that they would be going in with men and vans and locksmiths. We were told it hadn't happened because they were busy with Gypsy's and they would try again..and eventually it became apparent that the Bailiff's were not going to do anything. Stunned at accepting they weren't going to help I complained as was offered our initial fee back.

Finally, a couple of months ago I went in to Pro-Fit when I was pretty much passing - I don't live in Yeovil or have much call to go there normally. Long story short the visit was not at all pleasant but I did leave with a copy of the Pro-Fit Windows and Doors Yeovil Insolvency.

And from there we just simply don't know what to do.

I want to move on in life but it is sickening to think they can get away with taking people's money and operating on shelf companies and pheonixing.

To my mind they are clearly sophisticated at it.

I just received notification that they moving from a Creditor's case to Voluntary Liquidation and that new Directors (a son) have been appointed buying the old company assets for peanuts and continuing to trade under pretty much the same banner.

Can anything be done?

We are not for sure (you can find other horrifying stories on the net about them) the only ones to have tales of woe and would hate for other people to fall prey to them?

Thanks for any advice you can give

[dx100uk]

seems like you've tried everything.

sadly this is a well trodden route rouge traders trick, there are 100's of car trader stories here of yea old phoenixing trick.

to date, i don't think one has ever been resolved.

sorry.

dx

 

[BankFodder]

start reading here

 

piercing+the+corporate+veil+uk - Google Search

WWW.GOOGLE.COM

 

[Nicky Boy]

Something that doesn't seem to have been mentioned is how the deposit was paid, credit card, debit card, bank transfer?

[Camino55]

Hi, Thanks for taking the time to look at our problem. It was a credit card but after going back to them they said it was a scam as we had given authority for them to take the money and wasnt covered.

[Nicky Boy]

Tagging  @dx100uk

Does this look like it should be a section 75 to you  dx?

[dx100uk]

33 minutes ago, Camino55 said:

It was a credit card but after going back to them

who is 'them'?

dx