When the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill was passed back in June, we all got very excited about the news that Statutory Demands issued between 1st March 2020 and 30th September 2020 would be void!
… Unfortunately, 30th September is now only 22 days away! And so we need to be prepared for any Stat Demands that land on our doorsteps (quite literally!) in the coming weeks.
Statutory Demands
A Stat Demand is a debt recovery tool and, in simple terms, a ‘final demand’ sent by a creditor to a debtor giving them 21 days to pay before Winding Up proceedings are commenced.
What to do if you receive a Stat Demand
Check Your Post!
The first thing to know is that Statutory Demands issued against a company, must be served at the registered office address. This means via either standard post, or being personally delivered to your company office. Now, whilst some of us are now back in the office and receiving post as normal, others are not, yet it is VITAL that you ensure your post is being checked and collected regularly so as nothing like this is missed.
You have 21 days to respond or formally dispute a Stat Demand once it is served and this clock starts ticking immediately. The court will not look favourably on anyone that tries to make excuses because their post was not collected.
Do not ignore it!
A Stat Demand will be clearly marked as such. Make sure that whoever is in charge of collecting the post knows what to look out for and that this is a document that needs to be dealt with urgently. The document should be passed to the relevant person and reviewed alongside any other documents or papers associated with the sender.
Is it a customer that hasn’t been able to enjoy their holiday? Is it a supplier arguing that their invoices have gone unpaid? Do some background work and decipher whether is a true debt, or one that can be disputed accordingly.
Get in touch!
The most important thing to do is take action – whether that be to make payment, dispute the sum owed, come to a repayment arrangement, or formally apply to set it aside – it is vital that you do so without delay.
Should you receive a Stat Demand, or have any further questions or queries regarding the Stat Demand process – please contact…
Krystene Bousfield
0113 258 0033
advice@travlaw.co.uk
This article was originally published on: 8 September 2020
