Deanne Hamilton, Senior Associate

When a company was presented with a winding-up petition during the pandemic by a debt collection agency, the company’s director turned to Deanne Hamilton for help. The petition was challenged on multiple grounds, including that the use of the petition was an abuse of process, that the contract was bound by the company’s terms and conditions which prohibited assignment, and that Covid-19 had affected the company.

When Deanne’s client decided to pay the debt, despite it being disputed, Deanne guided her through the process and negotiated a settlement with the debt collection agency for a considerably lower amount than was originally sought.

The client said: “This is the best news, thank you so much. Deanne, you have been wonderful throughout and especially helping me with my serious upset and frantic feelings, you have gone above and beyond anything expected. I am so grateful for all your kindness throughout this whole process.”

The case illustrated how important it is to have terms and conditions and how to present them so they are binding.