AnswersWhen a client goes under
The director has started a new company. Can I chase that one?
The short answer
Usually not. A new company is a body corporate in its own right1, so it does not owe the old one's debts just because the same person runs it. But for 5 years from the day a company goes into liquidation with too little to pay its debts, any director in its last 12 months cannot run a company with its name, or one so similar it suggests a link2, unless an exception applies. Anyone who does is personally responsible3 for the debts it takes on while they help run it.
England and Wales only. WolfX is software, not a law firm.
The numbers
The time limits that matter.
What you can add
A £6,200 invoice, an old company in liquidation
Say you invoiced a company £6,200, due on 30 June 2026. It went late on 1 July, so the rate is 8% over the Bank Rate10 on 30 June: 11.75% a year12. On 14 August 2026, 45 days late, the company went into liquidation with too little to pay its debts (an insolvent liquidation), and the invoice was still unpaid. Later, Companies House shows a new company with one of the old company's directors among its officers.
That is usually the figure for a proof of debt, and the old company owes it. A court claim for the same sum against the new company would cost a £455 fee9 to issue, and would usually name a company that did not owe the invoice. The name rule, where it applies, runs for 5 years beginning with the day of the liquidation2. Counted that way, the 5 years in this example would run from 14 August 2026 to 13 August 2031. Work out your own dates the same way and write them on the file, with the date of every order the new company places.
The road ahead
Seven steps. None costs a fee.
Step 1: Look for a signature
Check your contract, credit application and emails. Usually the new company owes the old invoice only if it agreed to take it on, and the director only if they signed a personal guarantee: a written promise to pay if the company did not. Either would be a separate claim, and claiming from a director has a page of its own.
Step 2: Look up the old company
On Companies House8 the record shows its status and insolvency information, including who the liquidator is. The Gazette carries the notices. Note the day it went into liquidation: the 5 years count from it.
In administration, write to the administrator (what to do); the name rule starts only if an insolvent liquidation2 follows. A company that is live but quiet still owes you: a court claim goes against it.
Step 3: Look up the new company
Its name, registered office, officers and previous names are free to search8, and so is a search by officer. Check you have the right person. The same register has a disqualified directors search, and Follow sends an email each time the company files something.
Step 4: Test the name against the rule
Compare the new name with every name the old company used in its last 12 months, trading names included. The same name, or one so similar it suggests an association2, is barred for anyone who was a director then, appointed or not.
Three exceptions4: a sale of the whole, or nearly the whole, of the business through an insolvency practitioner, with notice to known creditors and the Gazette within 28 days of completion; the court's permission; a company that had the name for the whole 12 months and was not dormant.
Step 5: Write to the liquidator
Send the letter below with your proof of debt. It asks what was sold and for how much, and whether a notice about the name went out. A liquidator can ask a court to undo a sale at an undervalue6; a claim of your own is a job for a solicitor who does insolvency work.
The liquidator, or the official receiver after a court winding up, must also report on every director in the 3 years before the liquidation5 to the Secretary of State, normally within 3 months of its date. Ask whether it has gone.
Step 6: Report the name, not the debt
If the names match or are close and you have found no sign of an exception, anyone can report the name to the Insolvency Service7, with company numbers and dates. Stick to what the record shows.
It does not collect debts, and for a live company it does not usually investigate7 where the sole complaint is 'phoenix' or the main issue is that the company owes you money.
Where appropriate it asks whoever is involved to correct the situation7, or may consider a prosecution: breaking the rule is a criminal offence2.
Step 7: Set terms before any new work
Treat the new company as a new customer. Ask for payment up front or in stages and run the ten-minute company check.
Note the date of every order. The law makes a person who runs a company in breach of the name rule personally responsible for the debts it takes on3 while they are involved in running it, and the order dates show which debts those would be.
A letter you can copy
Letter to the liquidator: proof of debt and three questions
Send it with your proof of debt, or after it, once you have found the new company on Companies House.
Tap a highlighted gap to see what goes in it.
Email it to the liquidator's address on Companies House or in the Gazette notice (the official receiver, if the court wound the company up), so it is dated, and keep a copy with your proof of debt. If you have already sent your proof of debt, change that sentence to give the date. If you did get a notice about the name, say so in question 2. Leave out opinions about the director. The questions are about records and dates, and a liquidator can answer them without taking a side.
When not to bother
When it isn't worth it
- The old company was struck off. The name rule starts only with an insolvent liquidation2, so there is nothing to test. Restoring it is a separate question.
- The new company has a different name. The rule covers a name that is the same, or so similar as to suggest an association2, not the trade, the premises or the customers. Treat it as a new customer instead.
- You want to write to the director about what you think happened. It cannot make the new company owe the old debt. Put your questions to the liquidator, send the Insolvency Service names and dates, and let them put it to the director.
- The debt is small. A sale at an undervalue is for the liquidator to weigh, and an application of your own means paying a solicitor who does insolvency work. On a few thousand pounds, the three questions in the letter are the sensible limit.
- The old company was wound up in Scotland or Northern Ireland. The exceptions and steps here are the England and Wales ones; a company wound up there follows its own rules.
The Wolf's note
The old invoice usually stays with the old company, and its liquidator is the person best placed to see what happened to its assets. Ask in writing, check the record, and keep every date. What the new company orders next is a fresh decision, and the terms are yours to set.
Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX
What comes next
Your next move
How do I claim money from a company in liquidation?
Send the liquidator a proof of debt before their last date: a letter or form with the amount owed including VAT, how it arose and your invoices.
7 min read · Letter included
Before you chase
How do I check a new client can pay before I start work?
Only partly. Ten minutes on the free records shows who a client is, not whether it will pay.
6 min read · Letter included
So it doesn't happen again
Should I ask for a deposit or payment upfront, and how do I ask?
Yes, when a job costs you money before the client pays, or the client is new.
7 min read · Letter included
Don't want to do this yourself?
The Wolf does every step for you. He works out the sums, writes the letters and keeps track of every date. Nothing goes without your yes.