Administration application made for Mortgage Times

Readers' comments (18)

• Jones | 13 Jan 2010 1:28 pm

  Perhaps the MT directors sold their 4x4s in order to raise funds for the staff's Dec wages and couldn't make it through the snow today.

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• Anonymous | 13 Jan 2010 1:37 pm

  This is a welcome development. Let us hope it goes hand in hand with an FSA investigation into what has happened.
  
  Here are six questions which have yet to be resolved about the Mortgage Times.
  
  1) Why did the directors claim the company had been put into administration on 21 December 2009, when it now transpires the first application for administration was yesterday?;
  
  2) Why did the FSA withdraw permission to trade?;
  
  3) Did HMRC write to the directors on 14 October 2009 giving the company 28 days to clear its tax bill? If so, did this cause the directors to change their addresses on the Companies House register from their mansions to that of the office in preparation for insolvency?;
  
  4) The company instructed Carter Ruck at over £1,000 an hour to get the FT Adivser to back down on claims that the company was about to fail. Was Carter Ruck paid ahead of the authorised representatives who had paid membership fees?;
  
  5) When did the directors know the company could not meet its debts? Why did the company continue to take in new business on 21 December 2009; and
  
  6) What part did the FSA play in this? Why have they not decided to formally investigate this failure? Are they compromised by their own failures to act? If so, who should carry out an investigation?

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• Anonymous | 13 Jan 2010 1:38 pm

  I can guarantee you they definitely did not sell anything to assist the staff.
  They are still waiting for December's pay and have been hung out to dry since the 21st of December. If not before with pay reductions, cut working weeks and overall treatment.
  Legal advice has been given and will no doubt take effect if the deadline of today is not met.
  I do wish all the previous staff (minus directors) all the best as they are actually in the same position as AR's and DA's out of pocket.

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• Buck Rogers | 13 Jan 2010 1:38 pm

  The MT Directors still:
  
  1. Have their luxury cars
  2. Their million pound houses
  3. Their luxury lifestyle.
  
  Its a real shame however, it can happen to any business in the current climate, and 2010 will reveal even more closures - but 2012 -2013 - RDR will mean most IFAS will shut up shop/go bust as commissions disappear.

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• Anonymous | 13 Jan 2010 2:00 pm

  Can anyone upload pictures of the MT direcors' luxurious assets and their whereabouts?. I'm sure their AR's would find an appropriate use of their cake mix ingredients.

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• Anonymous | 13 Jan 2010 2:36 pm

  The only good thing to come out of all the network failures, I think I am right in saying, is that should the market return all the directors of these networks will not be able to hold positions of responsibility within any firm in the financial services industry.
  
  That is unless the FSA's lax checking proceedure lets them through of course!
  
  Cannot wait to see one of these people turn up on my doorstep trying to persuade me to change utility provider or sell me double glazing. Mind you they could always set up an Estate Agency and join all the other rouges in that unregulated industry!
  
  Having said all this, they have all made their money now and can probably afford to retire unlike those of us who are out of pocket as a result of it and this is the bit that make me sick.

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• Anonymous | 13 Jan 2010 3:16 pm

  Mortgage times have wasted my time and effort. I was eagerly looking forward to join as an AR since October 2009. I had to attend 2 day induction course, pass four online test and when it came to role play i was deeply saddened to hear the closure of Mortgage times. They should have know this previously and would atleast have stopped taking new AR's

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• Anonymous | 13 Jan 2010 3:25 pm

  The directors are free to conduct any businesses they so wish. So far they've got off scott free.
  
  In terms of their addresses, they can be found very easily and right now I'm looking down on Chris May's lovely deep blue swimming pool on google earth. Very pleasant.

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• bruv va | 13 Jan 2010 3:30 pm

  I hope all ex-MT staff haven't taken legal advice from the former company sec, Foran - you guys deserve better than this joker.
  
  I hope you all get what you are due and don't take this lying down, you gotta fight for your right to party

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• Anonymous | 13 Jan 2010 5:26 pm

  I think Registrar Derrett made a good decision today.
  
  He has access to the facts and has seen enough to make him believe that time is needed to look into what has happened.
  
  Likewise HMRC have taken the pragmatic position of not opposing the stay.
  
  I hope the FSA follow this positive lead and announce that they are going to investigate what has happened here.
  
  I hope that the administrator investigates the option of using section 214 of the Insolvency Act 1986 to seek a contribution from the directors where they have traded after they realised that the company was going to fail. This should be comparatively easy to establish in this situation.
  
  Finally I think everyone would benefit from the Serious Fraud Office looking into this matter. If nothing untoward is found then the directors will be cleared and if they are found to have acted outside of the law then they will be punished accordingly.

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