If a winding up petition has been served against your company which you intend to oppose, you must file a witness statement in opposition of the petition no less than five working days before the hearing. The court will then send a copy of the witness statement to the petitioner as soon as is practicable.
You may choose to oppose a winding up petition if:
- You genuinely dispute the debt alleged in the demand;
- You have a genuine right of set-off against the creditor which exceeds the demand;
- In other circumstances such as the petition was served incorrectly, the details included in the petition are inaccurate, or there has been some other procedural error or delay.
The company is entitled to attend the hearing of the petition to oppose the winding up order being made. In this case it is common for the company instruct a solicitor to appear at the hearing on its behalf. However, if the company chooses not to appoint a legal representative then a company director can appear at the hearing on the company’s behalf. Every individual who intends to appear at the court hearing will have to give the petitioning creditor notice of their intention to attend. This notice must include their intention to support or oppose the petition.
When securing the witness statement, it is important to consider who the most appropriate witness to support the statement would be. For example, the court could receive a witness statement from a company director explaining that the debt is not owed and why, while providing dates and any supporting information. However, it might carry more weight if that information were to be provided by a chartered accountant. Equally, a witness statement from a company director explaining that the debt will be paid by a certain date could be just s convincing.
If you have received a winding up petition and wish to oppose it, call Alan Bradstock now on 0208 444 2000 to discuss your circumstances or email: asb@aabrs.com.
Written by: Alan Bradstock