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March 2008
PART 2
3.15 Notice to official receiver (amended June 2009)
When a winding-up order is made, the court is required to give notice to the official receiver forthwith [note 1].
The allocation of High Court and District Registry cases to provincial official receivers is the responsibility of Petitions and Transfers team. The court provide Petitions and Transfers team with a list of results relating to the hearings of winding-up petitions. From this information, Petitions and Transfers team create a document appointing the official receiver in the proceedings – this being, in turn, sent to the relevant official receiver.
In respect of orders made in local courts, official receivers should monitor the progress of petitions in the courts to which they are attached in order that they can make appropriate arrangements to ensure timely receipt of a notice of order.
The notice will be evidence of the official receiver’s authority to proceed under the order until he/she receives the order itself, and will enable him/her to carry out statutory functions such as advertising and Gazetting (see paragraph 3.16).
3.16 Gazetting and advertising (amended June 2009)
On the making of a winding-up order the official receiver is required to publish notice of the order in the "London Gazette", this is known as Gazetting. Gazetting is carried out centrally, following an automatic instruction instigated by the creation of a case (see Chapter 5, Part 2).
Where the petition was presented on or after 6 April 2009, the official receiver may (in addition to Gazetting) also advertise the order in such manner as he/she thinks fit, though he/she is not required to do so. See Chapter 5, Part 3 for guidance on exercising the discretion to advertise [note 2].
Where the petition was presented prior to 6 April 2009, the public advertisement (usually, in a newspaper) is mandatory (see Chapter 5, paragraph 5.1)
A full description of the procedures relating to Gazetting and advertising is contained in Chapter 5 - Publication of insolvency information.
Where an application for a stay of advertisement or stay of proceedings is granted, reference should be made to Chapter 5, paragraph 5.22 and Chapter 6, Part 2 and Part 5.
3.17 Establishing correct details on order
The official receiver is required to inspect the public file held on the company by the Registrar of Companies to establish that the company is correctly named in the order, has not been dissolved and that a court has not previously made an order against the same company; and in any such case to inform the petitioner’s solicitors - see paragraphs 3.22 and 3.23 to 3.27. The chargeable searches provided by Companies House should not be used for this purpose. See paragraph 3.35 for guidance on obtaining informayion from Companies House for other purposes.
3.18 Service of winding-up order
The court must send three sealed copies of the winding-up order to the official receiver who is required to;
Where a winding-up order is made in the High Court and the District Registries, the Petitions and Transfer Team (P&T) will be responsible for filing the order at Companies House. The official receiver may assume in such cases that the order has been filed unless they hear to the contrary. P&T will be unable to file the order if the CRO number has not been entered on the LOIS system. It is, therefore, important that the number is entered on LOIS within 48 hours of the winding-up order. In the event that P&T are unable to file the order at Companies House they will pass it on to the owning office with a note passing responsibility to that office for the filing of the order.
3.19 Obtaining sealed copies of the winding-up order
Where the court fails to supply the required three sealed copies of the winding-up order the official receiver (or the Petitions and Transfers Team in London Region where appropriate) should draw this deficiency to the court’s attention and request further sealed copies. To ensure that the information on the Registrar of Companies file is up to date the Registrar of Companies has agreed to accept for filing a photocopy (subject to the exception in paragraph 3.20) of the sealed order where the official receiver is unable to produce a sealed order. This photocopy must be a good, legible copy and contain a copy of the seal of the court. The photocopy does not have to be certified as a true copy of the order. Where the seal cannot be photocopied the copy order must not be sent to the Registrar of Companies until the court provides the required sealed orders, one of which will be forwarded to the Registrar of Companies.
3.20 Service of restoration order
Where a creditor establishes that a company has been dissolved prior to the instigation of winding-up proceedings, it will be normal practice for them to petition the court for the restoration of the company along with the winding-up. This is sometimes referred to as a “double-barrelled” order. See paragraph 3.26 for further information on the action to take where a creditor has not obtained such an order in relation to a dissolved company. See also Chapter 38 for information on dealing with dissolved companies.
The delivery to Companies House of an office copy of the restoration order for registration deems to have continued the existence of the company as if its name had not been struck off the Register of Companies [note 6]. Where the order contains provision to restore a previously dissolved company to the Register of Companies, Companies House will only accept a sealed order i.e. not a photocopy. If the court supply only one copy of the order it must be used for filing at Companies House and it cannot be used for any other purpose.
3.21 Confirmation of correct filing of order
At an appropriate time in the conduct of the case, perhaps at the stage the Case Assessment Record (CAR) is prepared and reviewed, a check should be made with Companies House to ensure that the liquidation is recorded. If not, action should be taken to rectify the situation.
3.22 Correction of mistakes in filing winding-up orders at Companies House (Amended April 2009)
The official receiver should ensure that the correct company registration number appears on form NOTCH (see paragrah 3.18), i.e. that of the company against which the winding-up order is made.
The following steps can be taken by Companies House to rectify mistakes but the official receiver should not consider them a substitute for the exercise of proper care and attention in the submission of documents for filing.
Where filing is (otherwise) in order, but Companies House places the document on the wrong company file, it will remove the document and place it on the file of the correct company without requiring a court order.
Where, however, the error has been made by the official receiver, Companies House will not remove the document automatically as it is unable to - despite the error being drawn to its’ attention. Generally, a court order is required to remove the document.
Where there is a mismatch between the name and number on form NOTCH, and that mismatch is drawn to the attention of Companies House, both documents will be removed on request (providing that the accompanying winding-up order itself clearly shows that form NOTCH does not belong on the file on which it is placed) and returned to the official receiver who will then be responsible for resolving the position.
In most cases the official receiver will cause form NOTCH to be amended by changing the registration number to that of the company against which the winding-up order was made. However, there may be some cases where, for example, the company’s name is changed after the winding-up petition is presented to the court, and the name is not corrected before the order is made, other action – such as obtaining a corrected winding-up order from the court (see paragraph 3.23) - is required.
The order, accompanied by form NOTCH, should only be returned to Companies House after the discrepancies in the information have been resolved. Official receivers should be aware that during this period, Companies House will not have noted that the company is in liquidation, such information is then unavailable to Companies House users, and the company is susceptible to being struck off the Register of Companies and dissolved under section 652 of the Companies Act 1985. To overcome this potential difficulty, a written objection to the dissolution of the company may be made to Companies House by the official receiver to halt this action when in process. Ongoing dissolution action will be evidenced by information contained on the company’s public record at Companies House.
The contact points at Companies House for the removal of documents filed in error and objections to the dissolution of companies within the terms are Gaynor Davies gdavies2@companieshouse.gov.uk tel: 029 20380256 and Leighton Jones ljones@companieshouse.gov.uk tel: 029 20380339 of the Mortgage and Liquidation Section at Companies House, Cardiff, DX33050 Cardiff.
3.23 Action where company’s name incorrect on order
The name of the company, as it appears on the winding-up order, should be carefully checked with the name of the company as it appears on its certificate of incorporation and if there is any discrepancy, the petitioner’s solicitor must be contacted to rectify the position. "Ltd" for "Limited" is an acceptable abbreviation as is "Co" for "Company" and "&" for "and" [note 7]. Where there is no doubt that the company in question is the correct one (e.g. if there is an insignificant typographical error), the official receiver should meanwhile proceed in the normal way. Where the petitioner’s solicitors fail to rectify the position the official receiver should consider making application to the court for rectification. Where the error is typographical and the correct details appear in the petition, then the official receiver may make such application for rectification using the “slip rule” [note 8] see paragraph 3.23A for further information.
In the High Court, where there is an error in the name of the company, the Court Manager, upon application, is authorised to make any necessary amendments to ensure that the winding up order is drawn up with the correct name inserted. If there is any doubt, e.g. where the Court Manager thinks there might be another company in existence which could be confused with the company being wound up, the Court Manager will refer the matter to the Registrar [note 9]. 3.23A – How to get orders corrected – “the slip rule” (May 2010) The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) provide that the court may at any time correct an accidental slip or omission in a judgment or order and a party may apply for correction without notice. [note 9A]. The court also has a general power to rectify matters where there has been an error of civil procedure [note 9B]. In terms of a winding-up order, if a discrepancy is identified when comparing the details on the winding-up order to the details on the petition, and it is clear that the court have made an error, e.g. incorrect spelling of company name, then the official receiver can contact the court and request that the order is corrected and an amended version issued to him/her. For further information on the “slip rule”, see chapter 19, paragraph 19.126
Companies may change their names or exchange names with other companies shortly before the hearing of a winding-up petition. If this has happened with the result that the winding-up order is made in the wrong name, the official receiver should notify the court (at the same time returning Form 4.13 - Notification to official receiver of winding-up order) and the solicitors acting for the petitioner of his inability to proceed under the winding-up order. The petitioner should be urged to take steps to rectify the position but if, after a reasonable time (say 7 days) no such steps are taken, the official receiver should seek the directions of the court [note 10].
See paragraph 31.10.90 of Chapter 31.10 for information on the action to take regarding unauthorised changes of name.
3.25 Incorrect registered office
Where there is an error in the registered office of the company the official receiver should proceed with the winding up of the company as if the correct registered office had appeared in the petition. If any director or member of the company claims that the company was unaware of the petition because it was served at the wrong registered office they should be made aware of the provisions of rule 7.47(4) so that an opportunity is given for an early application to court for the rescission of the order. Reference should be made to Chapter 6 Parts 5 and 6 where the official receiver becomes aware that an application for a stay of proceedings or rescission application has been, or is likely to be, made.
3.26 Company dissolved before winding-up order
If the official receiver becomes aware that a company was dissolved before the winding-up order was made, he/she should take no further action to protect or deal with assets, should not interview the directors or take steps to comply with the normal formalities of liquidation. The official receiver should immediately contact the petitioner’s solicitors notifying them that the company has been dissolved, giving the date of dissolution and stating that there is no action that the official receiver can take or proposes to take until the company has been restored to the register. As the initial contacts with the petitioner’s solicitors are likely to be by telephone, it is recommended that the official receiver should confirm all telephone conversations in writing.
Reference should then be made to Chapter 38 – Dissolved companies which details the procedures to be followed when a company is dissolved prior to a winding up order (and also after a winding - up order).
3.27 Orders made against same company in different courts
(Amended December 2009)
If the official receiver finds that another court has previously made a winding-up order against the same company, the official receiver acting in respect of the second order made should request the petitioner, in those proceedings, to apply to the court for a rescission of the order or a stay of those proceedings [note 11] [note 12].
In making an application to court the petitioner of the later winding-up order would then be able to request their petition costs be an expense in the previous winding up.
Where the petitioner is unwilling to do this, the official receiver should make the application for a stay, supported by a report, which should include a request for an order for the payment of his costs including the administration fee. In general the costs are to be paid by the petitioner. Where the court does not make such an order, any debit balance will have to be written off.
Where the case is to be transferred to another court, reference should be made to Chapter 7 – Transfer of proceedings.
3.29 Initial enquiries - generally
Initial enquiries may be defined as the initial contact with persons having knowledge of the affairs of a company, particularly – though not exclusively - the officers of the company. Where possible, initial enquiries should be made within 24 hours of the office being notified of the order, and certainly within 48 hours.
The purpose of any enquiries made by the official receiver shortly after the making of a winding - up order is to:
Full details of the current procedure regarding initial enquiries can be found in the OROS Bulletin “Special Edition” which dealt with the subject (http://intranet/OROS/CaseMngment/OROSBulletins/OROSBulletinHome.htm)
Unless specified, the forms referred to in this part are available on LOIS as fully editable word templates.
3.30 Initial enquiries – third party sources of information
Prior to making, or attempting, contact with the officers of the company it may be appropriate to seek information from other sources such as Experian (see paragraph 3.34), the petitioning creditor or their solicitor (see paragraph 3.33), the company’s accountant or solicitor or any insolvency practitioner in office (see paragraph 3.14). In addition to helping in build up a picture of the affairs of the company, these sources may reveal contact details for the officers of the company.
3.30A Company Officer in prison (Amended December 2009)
Where a company officer is required for interview (see paragraph 11.19) and he/she is believed to be in prison but his/her location is unknown, the official receiver should contact;
HM Prison Service
Prisoner Location Service
PO Box 2152
Birmingham
B15 1SD
Fax: 0121 626 3474
Enquiries can be e-mailed to prisoner.location.service@hmps.gsi.gov.uk and should contain the full name of the person subject to the enquiry, any other names by which they may have been known, date of birth and reason for enquiry.
See Chapter 11, paragraph 11.13 for information and guidance on arranging and other considerations for interviewing an individual in prison.
3.31 Cessation of the trade of an ongoing business
Should the official receiver’s enquiries establish that the company is continuing to trade it is imperative that immediate action is taken to deal with the situation.
It is likely that the appropriate course of action will be for the official receiver to take action to close any trading business(es) and notify employees of the effect of a winding - up order. For the effect of a winding -up order on employees see Chapter 76 – Employment Law and Chapter 8 – Inspections. The official receiver will also need to consider whether the business of the company should be continued. In reaching this decision reference should be made to Chapter 2 – Provisional liquidators and interim receivers and Chapter 62 – Carrying on a business.
In the initial period after the making of a winding - up order an inspection will only be carried out if it is known, or strongly suspected, that the company is continuing to trade and it is necessary for trading to cease, or assets may be in jeopardy and the official receiver’s agents can not deal with the matter quickly.
For further information relating to inspections generally see Chapter 8 – Inspections.
3.33 Information from petitioner’s solicitors
The petitioner’s solicitors should be asked, initially by telephone, whether there are any matters, other than those referred to in the petition, to which they wish to draw the official receiver’s attention. There is also a standard letter sent out to the petitioner’s solicitors as part of the initial notices [note 13].
The solicitors may be able to provide details of: -
If the solicitors themselves can only provide limited information about the company, they may be able to provide a contact from their client who could provide further information.
The solicitors should also be asked to provide, without charge, a spare copy of the petition (except in the High Court where the court provides a spare copy) and supporting affidavits or witness statements. They should also be asked to confirm whether the petitioner is registered for VAT.
For information on the provision of information by HM Revenue and Customs see Chapter 47, paragraphs 47.79(b), (c) and (d).
3.34 Experian searches
In order to establish details of the company and its officers, the official receiver should ,in the first instance, carry out a search using the facilities provided by Experian. The Experian Ltd Company Gold Report search can provide information about the company such as address details, principal activities, number of employees, judgements against the company, previous searches, credit rating, risk score, payment performance and directorship information, which, in addition to providing the contact details of current and former company officers, may assist the official receiver in establishing the financial position of the company and lead to further avenues of enquiry. The cost of this search is £7 and is paid from the administration fee, rather than being charged as a separate cost on the estate.
Additionally, official receivers may make use of Experian CitizenView – this search can provide information relating to individuals (such as, address history, telephone numbers and voters’ roll information), which may assist in the tracing of non-surrender or absent directors. The cost of this search is £1.60 and is paid from the administration fee, rather than being charged as a separate cost on the estate.
Access to the search facility is available via a digital certificate which is given to ten users per official receiver’s office and five users per Regional Trustee and Liquidator Unit (RTLU). These certificates are attached to an individual staff member’s login and can be accessed from any computer workstation.
Further information regaing the use of Experian searches can be found at the OROS section of the Intranet (http://intranet/OROS/CaseMngment/Experian/ExperianHome.htm).
In the event that the official receiver is unable to obtain sufficient information from Experian (see paragraph 3.34) to facilitate contact with company officers, he/she may conduct a search of the public file at Companies House. Such information may include details of the company’s officers and accountants. The company’s file may also show changes to the registered office, any changes of name and notice of dissolution or impending dissolution.
Official Receivers may also find it useful to download documents such as the last set of accounts and most recent annual return to assist in the tracing of company officers and the early realisation of assets.
The information should be obtained from Companies House website at www.direct.companieshouse.gov.uk/ which may be accessed via the intranet.
3.36 Companies House - Confidentiality Orders
The Companies (Particulars of Usual Residential Address) (Confidentiality Orders) Regulations 2002 came into force on 2 April 2002. The Regulations enable company officers and permanent representatives of the company, who consider that they are at serious risk of violence or intimidation to apply for a Confidentiality Order. If a Confidentiality Order is granted, then the statutory requirements under the Companies Act 1985 to disclose the usual residential address for the public records is disapplied. Instead, a service address may be filed for the public record and the usual residential address will be held on a secure register. The service address must be at a place at which documents may be physically served i.e. not a PO Box or DX address, as service must be capable of being acknowledged.
Information held on the secure register would not be made available to the public under the Regulations. However, the official receiver, as a Competent Authority under schedule 1 of the Regulations is designated to receive the confidential information. Where a Confidentiality Order is in place the company officer's address will be substituted by the text 'This is a service address'. If the official receiver requires the company officer's address, where, for example, there is no response from the service address, he/she may contact the Administrator to obtain a copy of form CA03 which requests the company officer's residential address. The address is:
The Administrator
PO Box 4082
Cardiff
CF14 3WE
Tel:0845 3032400
Form CA03 should be returned to the Administrator enclosing a fee of £4 per individual's address requested. Prior to requesting the information, the official receiver should give consideration as to how the information should be stored and used. The address should not be used in any documents issued to any third parties, or in any public advertisement of the liquidation. It is possible to flag the address on screen 2 on LOIS as “withheld”, though it is likely to be more appropriate to avoid recording the address on LOIS at all to avoid any accidental revelations. The address should be treated as protected personal data as defined by the Data Protection Act 1998 (see Chapter 81A) and restrictions imposed by that act must be complied with.
3.37 Directors’ Service Addresses
The Companies Act 2006 contains provisions (due to come into force in October 2008) allowing directors to provide the Registrar of Companies with both a service address and a residential address (which may be the same address). The service address will appear on the public record; the residential address will be protected information and will be held on a private register only available to predetermined organisations. This will include specified public bodies for carrying out their public functions (likely to include the Official Receiver) and credit reference agencies for vetting applications for credit associated work and to meet obligations regarding Money Laundering Regulations. Vulnerable directors will be able to apply to the Registrar for their addresses not to be provided to credit reference agencies.
After the act comes in to force, confidentiality orders (see paragraph 3.36) will not be necessary. Credit Reference Agencies will not be able to obtain the usual residential address of any director who is the beneficiary of a valid Confidentiality Order on 20 September 2008. From 1 October 2008 if a director is at risk of harm they will be able to apply under section 243(5) Companies Act 2006 for their usual residential address not to be disclosed to Credit Reference Agencies.
If the service address is found to be ineffective the Registrar of Companies House has the power to ban the use of that address and to place the residential address of the director concerned on the public register.
3.38 Contact with the company’s officers
The officers of the company have a statutory duty to provide information to the official receiver and attend on the official receiver as reasonably required [note 14].
The names and addresses of the company’s officers can usually be found from the Experian file (see paragraph 3.34) though, failing this, the information will be available from Companies House (see paragraph 3.35). In the first instance, contact should be made with the directors, although it may also be necessary to contact the company secretary at a later date. The directors should be contacted by telephone, where possible within twenty-four hours of receiving written notification of the order. Company officers’ telephone numbers may be shown on documents filed at Companies House or may be obtained from directory enquiries, or from the sources detailed at paragraph 3.30. Though the Experian search sometimes gives details of the officers’ telephone numbers, this is rare and use will need to be made of one of the on-line directory searches provided on the “Links” page of the Intranet.
The aim of the initial contact with the officer(s) is to obtain sufficient information to ensure that the official receiver is able to protect the estate and minimise risks without repeating the questions in the PIQC. Contact may also help to ensure continued co-operation of the company officer. Phone contact is also the ideal opportunity to inform the director of the option to complete the PIQC online. The forms are available at www.insolvency.gov.uk/forms/forms.htm. In addition the company officer should be reminded of the importance of delivering up the accounting/financial records.
The initial enquiries should be completed using the standard form [note 15].
If immediate contact is not possible, a letter should be sent within two working days of the official receiver receiving notification of the winding - up order to the director(s) of the company requiring that they attend upon the official receiver for interview [note 16] and further attempts made, at different times of the day, to make contact.
Included with the letter (which will also be sent following telephone contact with the officer(s)) will be the preliminary information questionnaire [note 17] for completion. The official receiver should also send the director
the following guidance material:
The whereabouts of the company’s accounting and statutory records should be ascertained promptly, and arrangements made for their delivery or collection within 10 working days of the order.
If it appears from the records that a company officer is resident in another area and should be interviewed but the case is not suitable for transfer, it may be necessary to request the local official receiver to conduct the interview and obtain any necessary information. This is known as an "in-aid" interview.
A letter may be sent to officers who are not immediately required to attend for interview to make them aware of their duty to co-operate with the official receiver. The letter states that the director should contact the official receiver if there are any matters he wishes to draw to the official receiver’s attention or if he is in possession of any company assets, accounting records or other documents [note 18].
For further information on preliminary enquiries see Chapter 15, Part 2
For information relating to the conduct of interviews generally, reference should be made to Chapter 11 - Interviews and statements.
If the director(s) do not co-operate with the official receiver, for example, if they fail to attend for interview, consideration may be given to an application to court for a public examination of the person(s) concerned [note 19]. The procedure relating to public examinations is explained in Chapter 14 – Public examinations. Other methods of obtaining co-operation from the officers are detailed in Chapter 13 – Co-operation, non co-operation and enforcement of duty to co-operate.
3.39 Searches against officers
When the names of officers concerned in the company have been established, the official receiver should effect searches to ascertain whether they have previously been made bankrupt and/or are subject to a disqualification order, disqualification undertaking, bankruptcy restriction order or bankruptcy restriction undertaking, preventing them from taking part in the management of a company’s affairs [note 20].
Searches of the individual insolvency register to trace previous bankruptcies, individual voluntary arrangements or previous corporate failures may be carried out via the Central Index and the Enforcement Management System.
Disqualification checks should be made with Companies House (see paragraph 3.36), which is responsible for maintaining the Register of Disqualified Directors. The Register records details of all disqualification orders and undertakings made in England and Wales currently in force. It also records details of those directors who have obtained permission from the court to continue to act as directors following an application made under section 17 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986.
Disqualification orders made in Scotland and Northern Ireland are also registered at Companies House.
Checks should be made using the Companies House website which provides access to the register of disqualified directors. The web site can be found at www.companieshouse.gov.uk/.../FONT>.
BROs/BRUs are recorded on the Electronic Indiviudal Insolvency Register via The Insolvency Service web-site (http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/databases/ddirector/brobrusearch.htm)
Details of the nature of the company’s business are submitted to Headquarters via LOIS on the 1st of the month following the making of a winding - up order.
3.41 Ongoing legal actions against the company
Should the official receiver become aware of ongoing proceedings against the company, the attention of the court should be drawn to the provisions of section 130(2), which provides that when a winding - up order has been made against a company, no action or proceeding shall be proceeded with against the company or its property, except by leave (permission) of the court and subject to such terms as the court may impose. In such cases the court may dismiss or stay such proceedings or adjourn them following notification of the winding-up order. It is important that the court is aware of the legal effects of the winding-up order, particularly with regard to assets which form part of the estate and which the official receiver is responsible for dealing with, or protecting, pending the possible appointment of another liquidator.
Full information relating to the collection of book debts generally is contained in Chapter 31.1 – Book debts. The following information is of particular relevance in the initial stages of a case:
Where a company has book debts at the date of a winding - up order, the official receiver should instruct his agent "the contractor" (see Chapter 31.1 paragraph 31.1.4) to realise the book debts on his behalf. The chance of recovering a book debt diminishes with time and consequently the contractor must be instructed as soon as possible after the existence of book debts are notified to the official receiver, even if it is likely that an insolvency practitioner will be appointed as liquidator at the first meetings of creditors and contributories.
If the book debts are subject to a fixed charge, early contact should be made with the charge holder, so it can be established who is to take initial action to protect and collect the trade debts (see also paragraph 3.50).
Where there is an assignment of book debts or a factoring agreement, reference should be made to Chapter 31.1 – Realisation of Assets: Book Debts.
Where it appears that there may be a phoenix company operating, the prompt instruction of the contractor should prevent debtors making payment to the "live" company. The existence of such a successor company is a factor which should be drawn to the attention of any charge-holder.
Where there are employees the official receiver must terminate employment with effect from the date of the order, whether or not the business continues to trade.
Every employee, including company officers who may have a claim for wages, holiday pay, payment in lieu of notice etc., or in respect of redundancy should also be sent the necessary Employment Rights Act 1996 claim form. The official receiver should issue employees with a standard letter [note 21] and the booklet “Redundancy and Insolvency, A Guide for Employees”, which contains the claim form. The form is also available on-line http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/pdfs/RP1%20Form%20revised%20Feb07.pdf See also Chapter 8 – Inspections and Chapter 76 – Employment law.
3.44 Ongoing actions under a mortgage
Where any other action(s) under a mortgage (whether under a fixed or floating charge) is pending when the winding-up order is made, e.g. possession proceedings, the solicitors for the plaintiff should be informed that the order has been made so that they can give consideration to making an application, for leave (permission) to proceed with the action [note 22].
Except where an administrative receiver or liquidator (in office) on being asked by the official receiver requests otherwise, Royal Mail should be instructed to redirect the mail addressed to the company to the official receiver. Initially the redirection should be for a three month period. A separate request must be made for every address (e.g. both the registered office and any trading addresses) together with a separate one for any trading name at each address [note 23].
Official receivers should request mail re-directions either by completing the Royal Mail's re-direction form and/or completing form REDLPO.
The request should then be sent directly to:
The Royal Mail Redirection Centre
Trent House
Media Way
Stoke on Trent
ST1 5ST
who will then invoice the Service centrally, the costs for redirection of mail being covered by the Administration fee.
If in the early stages of the liquidation, an administrative receiver or liquidator subsequently consents to the re -direction of mail to the official receiver the necessary action should be taken to do so.
Royal Mail operate a policy not to re - direct post from multiple occupancy premises or addresses which share the same delivery point for a number of companies, e.g. an accountancy firm or solicitor’s office, due to operational problems and the associated cost. It is possible to establish in advance of a re-direction application whether the company shares the same delivery point with other organisations, by using the Royal Mail website http://postcode.royalmail.com/portal/rm/addressfinder;jsessionid=UPVFX0RA3ZCB2FB2IGJEQ3Q?catId=400145&pageId=pcaf_a_search&gear=postcode. If in any doubt, official receivers can contact the Royal Mail Customer Service Centre telephone 08457 740740 who will be able to confirm whether a re-direction is feasible.
Where a re-direction is not possible a ‘diversion’ service is offered by Royal Mail http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/jump2?catId=400040&mediaId=600009&keyname=DIVERSIONS. This operates in a similar way to re-direction but currently has no restriction on diverting mail from multiple occupancy premises. This service currently costs £305 per year and is only available in this annual option. Consequently this should only be used in exceptional circumstances.
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