The debtor approached BCR during March 2014 with debts amounting to £36,000 and enforcement action from HM Revenue & Customs including a distraint over personal and business assets.
The debtor was 62 years of age and sole owner and publican of a free house in Staffordshire which had been successfully run by the debtor and her late husband since 1982. It was also her principal residence. Trade had always been reasonably good. The debtor and her late husband had always been able to pay their own way which meant they were able to avoid borrowing.
The downturn in trade started when the debtors husband was diagnosed with cancer during 2005. He was extremely popular with all of the customers and unfortunately this led to a considerable drop in footfall. Various credit cards and loans were utilised in order to assist with the running of the business until his death in 2010.
Since 2010 the debtor had found it extremely difficult to trade and return to profitability, and as a result struggled to maintain the minimum debt repayments. This resulted in HM Revenue & Customs serving a distraint notice on the debtors personal and business assets.
With the assistance of BCR, an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (“IVA”) was proposed and accepted by her creditors. This protected her from further creditor action until she could seek a buyer for the pub in order to release funds to settle her debts in full.
A buyer was found and the sale of the pub was completed in June 2016 which resulted in creditors being paid in full.
In addition to the sale of the freehold property, BCR successfully claimed Payment Protection Insurance (“PPI”) payments that were previously miss-sold to the debtor. This increased the total surplus to the debtor which would have been minimal in terms of bankruptcy.
Upon receipt of the sale proceeds a certificate of completion was issued to the debtor and her creditors notifying them that the arrangement had been successfully implemented. Those creditors will have no further recourse against the debtor in respect of the pre-IVA debt. The IVA route has resulted in creditors receiving 100 pence in the pound and the debtor walking away with a surplus for her retirement.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you personally Nick for your kind attention. I feel that you dealt with my case with care and respect and you always had the time to talk. You made a horrible situation easier for me to deal with. Once again, many thanks.” – CW, Staffordshire
IVA / CVA service you can expect from the team at BCR:
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