Hi! I want to strike off my UK based Ltd (online shop) but I’m in a situation which I don’t fully understand. A few months ago my business received orders from stolen credit cards for thousands of pounds, and the chargebacks and fees were more than what was on the balance of my merchant account, therefore it went into a negative balance. The merchant account was closed due to the number/volume of chargebacks. All of the chargebacks were declared lost long ago, at the end of June or around that time. Since then I’ve been waiting for the bank/merchant account or whoever to try to credit the company bank account for this money, or contact us to try to get their money, but nothing happened. Now in my accounts (I don’t have an accountant) the “merchant account” balance is obviously showing a negative number because I recorded the chargebacks.
How do I go on with the process to try to strike off the company? Doesn’t this negative balance counts as a kind of debt that should be paid before that? So in general, how do I handle this so i can go on and close the company?
Here is the link to the details on how to close a limited company. If you can pay your bills, then it’s quite straightforward. There’s a form to fill in (DS01) which can be done online, and a small fee to pay. bear in mind, though, that you have to submit a final set of accounts and tax return, and you have to deal with any remaining assets before you make the application. You also can’t apply if you have been trading in the previous 3 months.
If your company is in debt, though, i.e. owes more money than it has assets, then it’s a different matter, and you should seek advice from a professional insolvency practitioner on the best approach to take. This will depend on how much you owe and who your creditors are.