Oh MQ , what a dam shame, I was looking for ward to seeing you wander around essex in the TR this summer, and I am sure you will in the not to distant future.

Unfortuntley you will most likely be very far down the creditors list, so I doubt you will see any return, but you never know so contact the receivers ASAP and register a claim.

At least you have the car back, and hopefully most of the remaining parts I now assume.

But chin up and carry on regardless , as as said elsewhere try and see if any of the guys working there are looking for some work to keep the wolves at bay, but do only pay for work completed, not up front.

Dam shame, so sorry

 

As everyone has already said, I'm gutted for you If I can offer any help in the fetching/carrying/stogage of bits for you from the Herts end of things (I'm just down the road from Stevenage) please let me know.

 

I assume this was a limited company?

In any event it will be worth following proceedings closely

There's a fair chance they were trading unlawfully if they have been seriously messing about with client money, trading when knowingly insolvent, evading tax or making false declarations, etc

There may also be issues around overdrawn Directors' accounts

In such circumstances protection under limited company status can evaporate

And if the Directors are of that breed that always seem to emerge personally unscathed, you might go after personal assets in due course

Start by finding out the name of the liquidator, the reason for the winding up, and who has initiated it

Probably HMRC in the current climate (the last of the the three, the liquidator will be different)

 

Hi MQ. Very sorry to hear about your difficulties, but as others have commented, the main thing is you have your car back.

I have a friend who runs a business specialising in TR/Triumph cars. This is their website:

http://www.enginuity.co.uk/

Wrong side of London for you I know, but at least they are in the SE.

If you are interested , give them a call and ask to speak to Mark. Mention the 'Ian with the NSX' Suggested you call.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope the car is soon restored to your satisfaction and being enjoyed on the highways and byways around your home.

 

ouch! gutted to here that MQ! It was looking so promising. hope this doesnt put you off.

As an aside I'd never pay up front for anything, or if you do like many have said, hide behind a credit card.
There are lots of companies going south at the minute. I approach it like this - would you give them an unsecured loan?

 

Thank you all for your kind concern, and offers of help. Advice on how we should proceed is valued and much appreciated.

We have been foolish to put money up front but the guys are very personable and passionate about what they do. Maybe we got too friendly with them? Luckily we paid the £3,000 by Barclaycard so I am about to make contact to find out if we have any protection. I then need to find out who is administering the liquidation and put in a claim. Perhaps the people at Barclaycard will help me with that?

The firm is a limited company. Chris says that his primary concern at the moment is looking after his wife and children. He says that he would like to finish the car personally and is going to contact us to discuss whether that will be possible when he has sorted the liquidation of the business. We think that would be the ideal scenario. The car is in our potting shed, a former poultry house, at the moment. It is ideal as a workshop. We think the fork lift could be used to dangle the engine. We have an old stoke hole that the car could be driven over so that work could be carried out from below. Glad to see that a drum of paint was delivered with the car.

I feel sorry for Mr Q as this restoration is a sort of eightieth birthday present to himself done for nostalgic reasons. He is not a petrol head. When he bought the car new in 1962 it was a babe magnet. He used to ring up the NFU every time he got a new girlfriend and add her to the insurance. I was the last of the line. I thought he would go into a decline over this, especially as he hates losing money, but the car looks so gorgeous, even though it is not finished, that he is being quite philosophical about it. Sazzy and I are disappointed but this is only a setback, we hope to be on the road and taking her to meets by the summer.

http://greenwoodmotorsport.co.uk/201...ation-project/

 

Definitely speak with Bcard and don't be easily put off. A close friend who paid with his credit card recently recovered (in full) around £3000 paid to a training company who went under, and they had actually delivered some of his training, so not the worst parallel. It did take about six months but was obviously worth it in the end.

Information about who put the firm into liquidation should prove revealing... If it wasn't Chris, then he will have limited control over what happens next. His business bank accounts will be frozen, there will be a meeting of creditors, etc.

However, it's possible that he put the firm into liquidation himself. Somehow I doubt this, but as I said, enquiries should be revealing. He has a little more control if it's voluntary liquidation - he may even have 'appointed' the liquidator (insolvency practitioner). Find out.

As for him finishing the car, at least you've learned a lesson about paying up front. Good luck

 

It may even be a five bag phoenix job - they're incredibly popular and are often done under extremely dubious circumstances by shark insolvency practitioners. Somehow, their investigation reveals everything was legal and above board?

He may be trading again very quickly and it's the general creditors and not customers who suffer.

I hope it works out something like that and they may get your car finished yet.

 

Pete's right - Section 75 Consumer Credit Act.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/sho...your-purchases

 

Just been reading this, what a sad story. And hopefully this isn't the end of it and the dénouement is yet to come.

It sounds as if the people were genuine enough, but if it were me I wouldn't pay too much attention to what they have said about hopefully resuming restoring the car again one day. You've already given them one chance, and they blew it. Next time they won't even be professionally motivated to see their promises through. It could just cause you more heartache, and almost certainly further delay.

As others have said, put it down to a bad experience, write it off and carry on in what will be an even sweeter outcome when it all comes to fruition.

Good luck