COMPANIES
HOUSE
More
Business
As Usual
There was
an
increase
of 8% per
cent in
the
effective
register
at
Companies
House: a
total of
1,281,100
companies
were
registered
at the
year end,
exceeding
last
year's
previous
highest
ever
figure of
1,184,900.
The
monthly
compliance
rates for
filing
accounts
and annual
returns
remained
high at
95% per
cent and
94% per
cent
respectively.
Offences
of failing
to file
annual
returns
and
accounts
led to the
conviction,
in Great
Britain,
of 605
directors.
"Companies
in
1998-99"
is
available
from The
Stationery
Office,
ISBN
0-11-515468-X,
price
#19.95.
Source
Creditman
CREDIT
MANAGEMENT
The Top
and
Bizarre
Excuses
The top 10
excuses
for not
paying
-
Waiting
for the
cheque
to be
signed
23%
-
Lost the
invoice,
send a
copy
22%
-
Cash
flow
problems,
waiting
for
debtors
to pay
us
16%
-
Account
handler
is off
sick or
is
unavailable
15%
-
Cheque
is in
the post
6%
-
New
computer
system
being
installed
or has
failed
6%
-
Waiting
for new
cheque
book or
run of
cheques
5%
-
Invoice
in
dispute
3%
-
We pay
on 60/90
days,
not 30
days
2%
-
You've
missed
the
payment
run
2%
The
most
bizarre
excuses
include:
" The
cheque
book has
been
destroyed
in the
flood"
"The
owner's
been
buried
with his
cheque
book"
"All names
are put in
a hat. If
yours is
pulled out
you will
get paid.
If not, it
will stay
in the hat
until next
week"
"The
director
went for
an
operation
and never
returned,
as he went
off with
the nurse"
"The tide
is out and
the
director
is unable
to get in
to pay
cheques"
"I do not
speak
English"
"I cannot
make
payment
until the
planets
are
aligned,
which is
only twice
a year"
"We're in
the middle
of an
armed
robbery"
"Not now,
it's the
office
party"
Source
Alex
Lawrie
INTERNET
Speed Trap
Secrets
An
interesting
site for
the
business
traveller
amongst
you is a
site
dedicated
(and how)
to speed
traps. The
site
builder
obviously
knows
their
stuff
about this
subject,
and
therefore
can dispel
many
myths.
Worth a
look,
Speed
Traps
E-MORI
Poll
The latest
MORI poll
show's
that
nearly
half of
the UK
population
have
access to
a PC, and
around 1
in 7 have
bought
on-line.
46%
overall
have a PC
either at
home or at
work
17.5
million
have/use a
PC at home
11.5
million
use a PC
at work or
place of
study
4 million
adults in
Britain
have
bought
on-line
16 million
people
have a
mobile
phone
16% have
satellite
TV at home
15% have
cable TV
at home
8% have
digital TV
at home
E-Public
Source:
Technology
Tracker
(2,000
interviews
monthly)
Internet
Interest,
2 i 4 Toys
R Us
Another
sign that
the silly
season has
started is
evident in
the growth
of traffic
to toy
shops. The
latest
traffic
figures
from
MediaMetrix
show that
the top
three
online toy
retailers,
eToys.com,
ToysRus.com
and
KBKids.com
have all
experienced
growth
patterns
in excess
of 100
percent in
the last
six weeks.
ToysRus.com,
it seems,
cannot
handle the
heat and
have even
scaled
back on
advertising
in a bid
to curb
traffic to
their
site. They
have also
put
a limit on
how many
people can
access the
site at
any one
moment
meaning
that
hundreds
of
potential
customers
will get
turned
away.
While
those
customers
may never
return,
the damage
caused is
infinitely
less
than that
caused
when
customers
are driven
to
distraction
by Web
delays
and end up
tossing
their
shopping
carts.
TOPIC
Debtors
and a
Pound of
Flesh
The issue
that
bothers
creditors
(the
supplier)
and
unsuspecting
customers
most when
a company
‘goes
bust’
without
paying
their
debts is
how they
still
manage to
maintain a
good
lifestyle,
a quality
car,
holidays
etc.
In many
debt
recovery
cases that
I deal
with, the
creditor
will give
me a
list of
assets
that the
debtor
possesses,
and the
creditor
wants sold
to pay
off their
debt. Of
course, it
seems
natural
that a
failed
businessperson
should not
end up in
a better
financial
position
than the
creditor –
but many
do. Is
this right
or wrong?
Do you
believe
that every
failed
business
should
also
result in
the
personal
assets of
the owners
of the
company
being sold
to help
pay you
back?
Should
company
owners
have
limited
liability
when
they start
a
business?
There are
many more
questions,
lets look
at who
these
failed
business
owners
are.
First,
there are
two types
of debtor:
1. Those
who start
a business
based on a
good idea
(it does
not have
to
be
brilliant)
and with
what they
believe to
be
sufficient
capital
(funding)
to
cover the
start up
period.
They
commence
trading,
they fail
to hit the
planned
sales
target,
but they
decide to
continue
as they
believe
they can
make a go
of it. A
while
later,
they have
no funds
to
continue
with
building
the
business.
They
decide to
ask for
credit
from a few
suppliers
- some
say,
'yes',
some say,
'no'.
About
three
months
after
taking
credit,
they
cannot
pay their
suppliers
or
continue
trading.
The
business
has no
assets. As
the
business
was not a
limited
company,
the
suppliers
take legal
action
against
the
proprietors
(a husband
and wife
team,
respectable
and
honest).
They have
to sell
their
house and
move into
their
daughters
house ....
The rest
is pretty
much
obvious,
and not
recommended.
2. A
limited
company is
set up by
two
individuals.
They are
not new to
business
as they
have had
another
ten
companies
(some
still
trade,
others
have been
legally
wound up,
owing
creditors
money).
The new
company
builds
conservatories
- a new
experience
for the
owners.
They take
out a
number of
newspaper
ads -
using
'their'
other
companies
as trade
references
to get
credit
approval
for the
expensive
newspaper
ads. The
response
to the ads
is very
good - as
it should
be as they
offer a
great
product,
at a good
price and
in time
for
summer.
Deposits
are taken
from
customers,
some
conservatories
are even
started
(digging
holes) and
the
business
looks
great:
from the
outside.
After a
while, no
one can
contact
the
company at
their
offices.
No
customers
have a
conservatory
and
everyone
realises
they have
been
duped. The
company
has been
wound up
by the
government
-unpaid
taxes, or
by a trade
creditor.
You as a
customer,
have no
prospect
of any
refund.
The
Liquidator
of the
company
finalises
the end of
the
company -
and in
most cases
that is
the end of
it. The
business
owners
have
improved
their
lifestyles
through
high wages
and
benefits -
just as
planned,
but very
hard to
prove.
Conclusion
The first
example
