Any legal/finance experts out there? - Comet

[AarghComet]

Have NCed to avoid totally outing myself.

I had a washing machine fitted by Comet recently. In doing so, they damaged our vinyl floor. So we're pursuing a claim for a replacement floor through their insurance.

Does anyone know where we're left with them going into receivership?

Does this mean we're going to get nothing?

Or if it's through the insurers, will it be fine as they're not Comet?

Is there anything useful we can do?

I'd ask your insurers if they will cover it and then they might pursue comet / administrators to recoup their costs...

I'm afraid it's probably bad news. It is fairly unusual for administrators to pay claims, that's normally done through a liquidation. If it is accepted by a Liquidator your claim is likely to rank with all the other unsecured creditors which would normally mean at best no more then a few pence in the pound. Also expect long delays in paying any claim.
If the insurance is comets, rather then yours, then the insurers may be able to avoid the claim because of the administration and if they do pay out then the money will probably go to the administrators/liquidators for the benefit of all creditors not just you.
Did you buy the washing machine on credit or with a credit card? In that case you may be able to claim against the finance company or c/card company as part of the supply of the machine. Or is there any possibility the fitters were not comet employees but 3rd party contractors retained by comet?
Other then that I agree with Bobyan that your insurers may be your best bet.

The advice you have been given above is incorrect. As a result of the appointment of an administrator or receiver (or certain other insolvency-related events), Comet's rights under its insurance in relation to your claim will be automatically transferred to and vest in you under the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930. That basically means that you will have direct rights against its insurer (on the assumption it is their public liability insurance against which a claim has been made), such that you can sue the insurer directly once Comet's liability has been established. The insurance proceeds do not go into a general pot for the benefit of all creditors, they will be specifically referable to your claim.

Once a company has gone into administration/receivership or is being wound up it is open to you to request from it a copy of any relevant insurance policy. So, if you do not have the details already, you should ask Comet to send you a copy of its public liability policy under which your claim has been made so that you can deal with the insurers directly.

The above all assumes that you have established Comet's liability. If you haven't, you will need to continue to pursue Comet until it has been established, before you can make a claim on the insurance. If you have (e.g. if Comet has admitted it caused the damage), you just need to deal with the insurers over the amount payable to you.

Thanks for the advice. That's really useful. Appreciate it