Letter from Albany Administrators Dated 15/02/2010

TO ALL EMPLOYEES

Dear Sir/Madam

I refer to the appointment of John Alexander and Melvyn Carter of Carter Backer Winter LLP as Joint Liquidators of Albany Management UK Limited on 10 February 2010.

Please find attached notice of a creditors' meeting to be held on 24 February 2010 at 12:00 pm.

Please note that at this stage you are only required to complete a proof of debt form in respect of any debt due to you from the company that does not fall within the following categories:

1. Outstanding Salary
2. Holiday Pay accrued but not paid
3. Redundancy Payments
4. Pay in Lieu of Notice

Your claims in respect of the categories above will be assessed from information contained within the RP1 Form.

If, for example, you have a claim for expenses, as this does not fall within one of the 4 categories above, it is appropriate to complete and return a Proof of Debt form in respect of your claim for expenses.

Please note that due to very high volumes of telephone and email correspondence, there is likely to be a delay in responding to individual queries by telephone or email.


Please do not reply to this email address as it is not monitored.


Yours faithfully





T Whitney
for and on behalf of
J A G Alexander
Joint Liquidator
Albany
d:
e: Albany@cbw.co.uk
for and on behalf of
Carter Backer Winter LLP
Enterprise House, 21 Buckle Street, Aldgate East, London, E1 8NN
DX 513 London City
t: +44 (0)20 7309 3800 f: +44 (0)20 7309 3801

www.cbw.co.uk

Hi,

where did you get this info?

Regards,
Dylan

It was emailed out to Albany Ex-Contractors today....

Thank-you for posting this correspondence. I am owed December salary by Albany and quite frankly have been at a bit of a loss what to do about it. Hopefully I can pursue my missing wages by contacting CBW and filling in this form.

Has anyone had any experience of this situation before. I can see that CBW charge for pursuing claims of debts owed. My concern is that it might take legal consultation fees plus CBW's fees and I may not end up seeing a penny and being worse of than I am now.

Hi,

Were you employee or contractor from Albany Management UK Limited or Albany Employment Services Limited ?

In that case I would say you should fill the form. Otherwise wait and see, I would say.

Anyway, would be not bad idea to get in contact with Admin guys.

Good luck, I am in the same situation but mine is Albany Technologies Ltd.

Regards,
Dylan

Dylan McGregor wrote:

Hi,

Were you employee or contractor from Albany Management UK Limited or Albany Employment Services Limited ?

In that case I would say you should fill the form. Otherwise wait and see, I would say.

Anyway, would be not bad idea to get in contact with Admin guys.

Good luck, I am in the same situation but mine is Albany Technologies Ltd.

Regards,
Dylan

Hi Dylan,

Thanks for replying. Until now I had just been sitting tight but I'm concerned the situation is going to play out and I'll have left it too late to expect any payment.

I was on the employee solution with AMUK.

I've actually emailed CBW asking to be sent the correspondence also but having already served notice to them on my contract so that I can set up an alternate means of billing for time (ltd company), that's probably why I didn't receive correspondence.

I am obviously not happy to be potentially out of a month's wages but my sympathy goes to any of you that are more out of pocket as I'm sure many are.

Good luck Dylan and everyone else in recovering as much as possible.

If I understand, Maybe we can take our money if we fill this form?
Is it working for Albany only? what about Mirasol ?

fab wrote:

If I understand, Maybe we can take our money if we fill this form?
Is it working for Albany only? what about Mirasol ?

Sorry Fab, this is Albany UK ONLY. Mirasol continues to be the big mystery....

Guys.

Please advice me. If I have a contract with Albany EMEA this letter not relevant for me?
It is only for Albany Management contractors. That's right?

Thanks.

Alex,

That's a great question. I was with Albany Management UK but received a letter at the beginning of January (before anything came to light), that I was being switched to Albany EMEA effective immediately due to restructuring. Since my outstanding invoice is for December I have no idea what group I belong to. Hopefully all will be clarified at the Administrator's meeting (though somehow I have a feel more questions than answers will come out of it).

That unfortunately means my answer to you is... I don't know. :-(

Saw this and thought I'd make a first post.
I queried this (AMUK or EMEA employee?) and was advised by the liquidators that the contract had not been transferred before the Liquidator started so I was still AMUK.
I checked with employment law person and they said the email was nothing of merit unless the contract was officially transferred between the two businesses. Liquidator says no.. (in my case anyway - likely the same for others I imagine).

This is very bad news as AMUK is going into Liquidation while EMEA UK is in Administration.

Liquidation = £0

Administration = might get some £ (if lucky)

Yes it seems so. If anyone knows different of course..

So what do you recommend to me to fill this for independent on my contract not with Albany Management but with Albany EMEA?

Thanks in advance

Hi Alex, if the question was to me.. I don't fully understand it - "independent on my contract?". Sorry, it is very late and my brain is quite.. well you know.

I would hazard an opinion but taking no responsibility etc that if you were AMUK PAYE (employee) then you still are. I would have preferred to test this with a second solicitor who was a specialist in contract but it seemed a waste of money. A cousin (who is a corporate accountant) has also advised me similarly - that one (email re move) had almost certainly nothing, legally binding, to do with the other (actual paperwork being completed in office) and I was stuck in AMUK. The liquidator said the same thing which was, for me, the end of the line on this particular notion.

I'm trying to play catch up on what Albany going into liquidation and indeed what action if any I can take to get December's wages back (which my agency haven't actually paid as yet to Albany).

Having read the letter from CBW I can see that the proof of debt can be sent before the meeting. Does anyone know if this has to be done before the meeting of creditors to have any hope of reclaiming money owed.

Also, I cannot make the meeting of creditors. Does anyone know if this is something that everyone should go to or will they post their findings to people.

I'm slightly concerned that it isn't worth even sending proof of debt as the previously attached letter mentions CBW fees. It has been commented that as AMUK are in liquidation it's unlikely to get any money back. In which case there's surely no point in sending proof of debt to CBW.

I have tried contacting to CBW (Tess Winter) but only get answer phone and no call back. Does anyone have a good contact to phone in order to ascertain what is what?

As I only heard about this letter the last couple of days I'm doing my best to get advice from CAB and a solicitor if that doesn't work out but I'm concerned I won't receive the required advice before the meeting of creditors and then it'll be too late to make any claim.

Any ideas guys?

First I need to say I'm a victim like you and not any sort of legal or financial advisor ...

Have a look at http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/pdfs/guidanceleafletspdf/guideforcreditors.pdf

In it it says ... (in our case the IP = Insolvency Practitioner = CBW)
How do I make myself known as a creditor?
You should write to the OR/IP dealing with the insolvency. You should give the full name of the
individual or company as well as your own details. You should inform the OR/IP if you change your
address.
The OR/IP is not keeping me informed. What should I do?
Do not expect frequent reports from the OR/IP. Once your claim is filed with the OR/IP, you will be
sent a report to creditors which will give you information about the assets and liabilities of the
individual or company and the circumstances of the insolvency. You will be notified automatically of
any distribution of money or that no money is available and that the case is to be closed. It can take
weeks, months or years (in some complex cases) to realise (sell) assets. If you are concerned,
contact the OR/IP handling the case. Remember to notify the OR/IP if you change your address.

Hi Yobwoc,

Sorry to hear taht you are also experiencing these difficulties and thank-you for your reply.

Here's what I have since been told for other's benefit though not sure how helpful it is.

I have since spoken to the insolvency helpline (0845) 602 9848 who in turn put me onto the redundancy help line. Not sure if this is right as I actually terminated my contract after I heard about the administration so I could bill for January by other means. However, I phoned them up on (0845) 145 0004.

They suggested that I need to contact CBW in order to request an RP1 form although I can see this is available on the internet.

I'm a little apprehensive as to whether this is the correct form as I think this is for claims against National Insurance Fund rather than Albany/liquidators. All the same, I will probably fill this form in and send it.

I think I will also write to CBW a letter to state that I am owed money. Whether or not this is the correct form hopefully this will trigger them to send me some communication/forms I can fill in.

Good luck yobwoc with your situation.

I'm going for my "deemed" salary as an employee, and attempting to get some redundancy too (from the NI fund). This is what my legal person advised me.

Additionally, the communication from the Liquidators also designated me as an employee (zero hours contract).

Hello,

Can someone help me?

I (as an individual) signed with Albany EMEA Ltd an "INVOICE AND PAYMENT AGREEMENT", where it is written in the nature that : "under no circumstances can this Agreement be
interpreted as a contract of employment. It is an agreement for the supply of services only. This agreement is entered into for the duration of the project at the client’s site with a start and finish date as per the attached schedule."

So as a consultant having worked for them anyway, what is my status? Am I considered as an employee? A contractor? Or what? And most important, what should I do regarding this 24th february meeting, as I probably will not be able to attend? Should I fill in the form I saw scanned above, and ask them why I didn't receive any letter from them?

Thanks for your help,

Hi Guys,

I've been following this tragedy for some weeks now and can really sympathise with all those caught up in this mess. Personally, I'm not involved with AMUK but I am tangled up with other bits of Albany.

Even though I'm not involved directly with the liquidation of AMUK could I just ask on behalf of all those involved with AMUK as creditors (i.e. AMUK owes you money) that someone attends the creditors' meeting tomorrow (Wed 24 Feb). Is there someone in the area who can attend the meeting, get the info, and report back for the benefit of everyone?

You need to take this seriously, and this creditors' meeting is your first chance to find out what is going on.

There has been some good stuff posted with links to background info. For anyone who has not yet found this particular info, may I suggest you also read this guide to "creditors' voluntary liquidation". (The posted letter seems to imply that AMUK has opted for a process of "Creditors' voluntary liquidation"). There is some good and practical advice in this guide as to your rights as creditors of AMUK, and what you can expect from the liquidation process.

One point in the guide jumps out for me. If you believe you are a creditor of AMUK you must register this with the liquidator. There is no harm in doing so - and the guide says there is no specific form - just write them a letter saying you believe AMUK owes you XXX, etc. Ok, so at the end of the day maybe there will be no money remaining for the unsecured creditors, but please don't ignore this liquidation process.

In addition, if you use a professional advisor, e.g. your accountant, I suggest you ask them for their advice. As a creditor of AMUK the liquidation process needs to be reflected in your accounts, etc, and when it's all finally over you may be able to claim things such as "bad debt relief" on VAT payments.

Best wishes to everyone in these hard and uncertain times.
-Phil

I have just spoken with CBW and they claim that tomorrow creditors meeting will be a formality where they will reveal that there is no money remaining fro creditors at present and that RBS will absorb all the currently available funds. Bad News!!!!!!

yes I'm not surprised at all. There are options left for us Albany contractors which I will share shortly. When these "options" are set forth, I would hope we will be able to get a nice group of Albany effected people to sign their name to it.

again... more on this soon.

Dear Mr xxxxxxxx

My apologies for the delay in my reply. We were appointed Administrators of Albany EMEA Limited on 10 February 2010. The company has ceased trading.

We have only today been provided with a list of the company's creditors and I can confirm that you are detailed on this list. We will shortly be sending correspondence to each creditor by post or email advising of our appointment as Administrators and giving instruction in respect of submitting your claim in the Administration.

You have an unsecured claim in the Administration. The Administrators' job is to realise the assets of the Company for the benefit of creditors. If and when there are sufficient funds to enable the Administrators or subsequently appointed Liquidators to pay a dividend to creditors we will do so. However, I must advise you that based on current information it appears unlikely that there will be sufficient assets to enable a dividend to be paid.

Kind regards

Tess Whitney