# Dissolved / Struck Off company still chasing an invoice



## GreenFlag (9 Jul 2010)

Hi

just wondering what should I do here:

I had a building company that did some work for me. they gave me an invoice on headed paper. I owed them a balance because there was poor quality / defective work that had to be repaired.

they are chasing me continuously but never write anything down in letter or email. I was getting suspicious. I did a CRO search and found the company is Dissolved / Struck off since februray. The director (ex director) still contact me once a week looking for the money I owe him.


whats the legal position here?

can i tell him that i will not be paying  as his company is non existent? 

and what is my options if i want to pursue him for the costs I suffered to repair the dodgy work (substantial enough amount of around 15k)?


thanks


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## DB74 (9 Jul 2010)

Deja vu here -I thought I already answered this query

If the company has been struck off then AFAIK the director cannot seek the money personally

However neither have you any comeback on the standard of work


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## Paddy199 (9 Jul 2010)

If its not liquidated you can restore the company through a H1 Form and then you can chase the company/directors for the shabby work. However, you will have to weight up the costs v the benefit of making a claim. One important point is that if the directors don't have the assets personally (because the company won't), there is little point in doing this.


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## GreenFlag (10 Jul 2010)

thanks guys for feedback.


as the ex director is continuously pursuing the balance that I owed him from original invoice, is he breaking some corporate law rules given the company no longer exists.

bear in mind he never told me this, I found out when i got suspicious and did a bit of digging. has he nbeen misrepesenting himself and ths staus of his company.


is it fait to say if the comapny os gone then the invoice is gone -as in I cant be putsued for it?


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## RonanC (10 Jul 2010)

You will ned to find out how the company was dissolved, was it by voluntary or involuntary methods? Was the company struck off by Revenue or by the CRO, was the company formally wound up? The CRO will tell you this if you ring them. 

If the company was struck off by the CRO or Revenue for failure to file documents, the company can be reinstated within a certain time frame and the company can then chase you legally for this debt. 

So I wouldnt say that your in the clear yet


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## Moral Ethos (10 Jul 2010)

The costs of reinstating the company will be huge if not prohibitive. All those late fees and audit costs would make it not worth their while.

Once the company is dead for a year there is very little chance of it ever being restored.


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## RonanC (10 Jul 2010)

Moral Ethos said:


> The costs of reinstating the company will be huge if not prohibitive. All those late fees and audit costs would make it not worth their while.
> 
> Once the company is dead for a year there is very little chance of it ever being restored.



Its a construction company as mentioned in the first post, there could be property or land in the company that as of now belongs to the Minister for Finance, but the directors will want this and will reinstate the company no matter how much it costs.


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## GreenFlag (10 Jul 2010)

thanks again. all very informative.

regardless of whether the company will or will not be reinstated again , can an ex-director pursue monies on an invoice issued by the company, while it is struck off????????


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## RonanC (10 Jul 2010)

GreenFlag said:


> thanks again. all very informative.
> 
> regardless of whether the company will or will not be reinstated again , can an ex-director pursue monies on an invoice issued by the company, while it is struck off????????



It depends on how the company was struck off and you will need to find this out first. If the company was wound up or dissolved voluntarily then you owe money to a company that is dissolved and chances are will never be reinstated. You dont owe money to this person. If the CRO or Revenue struck the company off, the director has no powers to chase you legally but whats to stop him trying? You could report him to the ODCE for continuing to trade and ask for money using the limited company. But if he had the company reinstated, the status of the company reverts and you are then obliged to pay the money owed. 

The company may well be dissolved but these people may still be trading (under their own personal capacity and not under the limited liability of the company), albeit illegally it still happens all the time.


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## Moral Ethos (10 Jul 2010)

A dissolved company has no legal personality so it cannot demand money as it legally does not exist.


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