Thursday 17 May 2012 at 4:37 pm
Some of the collections are undertaken by the LloydsTSB group team in Bristol, but a significant amount is for Great Britain is still being actioned out of Edinburgh.
For the most part their personal guarantees are implemented very effectively, and so in most instances it is a case of getting the best deal negotiated.
But they do not always get it right; in one instance relating to a £500k personal guarantee the bank relied on an Independent Legal Advice letter signed by someone not qualified as a solicitor. They also have issues enforcing personal guarantees relating to businesses that were managed by the bank out of their Reading regional office.
Monday 07 May 2012 at 09:36 am
This update gives consideration as to HSBC’s approach to collecting out on personal guarantees, Before that, let’s consider how they put them in place in the first instance.
As with most of the banks, HSBC are tightening up their processes in this regard. However, we continue to see many personal guarantees that fall short of what is required for them to be enforceable, sometimes in their entirety or at least providing room for a significantly reduced settlement.
In fairness, contrary to most of the other banks we have not seen many more recently signed HSBC personal guarantees being enforced. It would be nice to think that this is due to their prudent lending reducing the need to make such claims- only time will tell in that regard.
When it comes to collections, it used to be evident that this could be dealt with by a number of different offices. This is still partly the case but by far the most prevalent collection is actioned by an Indian based team (postal addressed of Canary Wharf).
Dealing with this team can prove difficult at times, with non-availability of the staff when calling and varying grasps of the English language both verbally and in the written word.
Accordingly, where appropriate and if it is in a clients’ interest, we will directly intervene on behalf of clients to negotiate with the case managers to reduce the more negative affects of this inconsistency.
Our next bank updates will cover Bank of Scotland, Santander and Clydesdale/Yorkshire Bank.
Monday 07 May 2012 at 09:29 am
Our next update will give some consideration as to Barclays approach to collecting out on personal guarantees, but before that, let’s consider how they put them in place in the first instance.
As we have always said, Barclays are for the most part one the most effective banks both in the way personal guarantees are put in place in the first instance and collecting out.
Generally, for over 20 years they have implementing procedures that have protected the bank’s position better than many of the other banks.
It is not to say that they always get it right in every single case and our review of some personal guarantees bears out that in a minority of cases they indeed do not get it entirely right.
However, during 2009 it is apparent that some bright spark at a central level decided to combine the personal guarantee with the offer for finance to the company. This new format created all sorts of problems for the bank, from being in direct contravention of the lending code to flying in the face of firmly set precedents and statutes and indeed more recent case law.
It is apparent that the bank eventually recognised the error as during 2010 they reverted to their previous trusted time proven documentation when signing up personal guarantees.
So in summary, they tend to get it right, but not always and our next blog twitter on this subject we will outline how the collection process has developed.
Friday 27 April 2012 at 09:27 am
It has been some time since we have given a general update on the way banks deal with personal guarantee claims.
Our experience of dealing with hundreds and reviewing thousands of personal guarantees puts us in the unique position of being up to date with the ways the banks and other organisations approach the issue of collecting personal guarantees.
A lot has changed over the last year so now is a good time to review the position across the banking industry.
Our “Update on each bank” series of blogs and twitters will give some background as to the latest approach by each of the banks in terms of collecting out on personal guarantees, along with some considerations as to how they put them in place in the first instance. We also give some insight in to how we have adopted our policies and processes to deal with these changes.
The first update will give an overview on the position with respect to HSBC, where perhaps we have seen the biggest shift over the last year.
Tuesday 17 April 2012 at 09:14 am
One of the most prevalent issues that we come across is where a director has resigned his directorship and quite often has no interest of any sort in a company, only to find that some time later he or she receives a personal guarantee demand from a bank that arose subsequent to his departure.
This can lead to a very tricky situation and quite often the director involved may be liable depending on the manner in which the personal guarantee was signed.
The personal guarantee is not always enforceable, but if you are about to resign or have resigned from a company that is still trading and have some concerns in this area, we can assist in ensuring that you take the right steps to mitigate your liability and even avoid any future claim it in its entirety..
The process depends on each individual circumstance but many people who have worked with us on this issue have been able to ensure their position has been better protected as a result- most of them have been able to avoid any liability whatsoever.
Speak to us today if you are in a position whereby you may be affected by a Personal Guarantee issue.
Friday 06 April 2012 at 4:40 pm
This video (part 4 of 4) considers some caveats relating to the previous videos. Click on the image to view the video.Watch previous videos in the series.
Head in the sand won't work - you have to deal with the issues at hand. Help is out there. Get yourself back up.
Friday 30 March 2012 at 4:39 pm
If you have a personal guarantee issue - How do you manage your partner and family through this situation?This video (part 3 of 4) looks at the "partner paradox". Click on the image to view the video.Watch previous videos in the series.
Monday 26 March 2012 at 10:53 am
Here's another testimonial from one of our clients:
I was naturally cautious when contacting Personal Guarantees just from an internet search.
You prime yourself to expect to be charged before you have even established whether a company can actually help you. In the case of Personal Guarantees they were always entirely open with me, gave good advice and we got to a really positive position which would not have happened had I been negotiating 'blind'.
There is also the added assurance of someone saying, "this is all resolvable.....don't over-worry".
Many thanks to Mel and the team.
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