If you intend to serve a winding up petition on a company that owes you money, it is important that you understand the procedure involved. The winding up procedure is not simply a case of completing a form and presenting it to the court.
As the petitioner, you must take care to ensure the winding up process is used appropriately, particularly if the debtor company has good reason to claim that it does not owe the money involved, or if the debt is not the reason the petition is being presented.
A court hearing can result in costs being awarded to either party, so the risk is that costs will be awarded against you if the court believes you have used the procedure inappropriately. For example, if the debt is not proven, or the winding up petition has been issued for reasons of competition, the court could find against you.
For this reason, insolvency law requires that before the court can hear the petition, statements of truth must be lodged at court verifying the details included in the winding up petition. The statements of truth will confirm that the statements made in the winding up petition are true and detail how the petition was served on the company.
The statement of truth to verify the petition must be authenticated by the petitioner or an authorised person and state that the details included in petition are true, or are true to the best of the petitioner’s knowledge. It should also specify:
- The name and registered number of the company;
- The name of the petitioner;
- The court in which the petition is to be presented.
The statement of truth can be made by:
- The petitioner (or if there are two or more petitioners, any one of them);
- A company director, company secretary or similar company officer;
- A solicitor, who has been concerned in the matters giving rise to the presentation of the petition;
- Some responsible person who is duly authorised to make the statement of truth and has the requisite knowledge of those matters.
If you require any further information on issuing a winding up petition or perhaps you may have received one call Kevin McLeod now on 0208 444 2000 to discuss your circumstances.