How We Achieved a Full Personal Guarantee Write-Off Against a High Street Bank

No two cases are ever the same. Whether we are dealing with a £25,000 debt, a £250,000 exposure, or a claim exceeding £2.5 million, our approach remains consistent: every case receives the same level of focus, diligence, and strategic care. The value may differ, but the impact on the individual, their family, and their future is always significant. This case, involving a £25,000 debt, was no exception. 

With a major UK high street bank pursuing a £25,000 joint and several Personal Guarantee (PG) liability, our client was understandably concerned about the potential risk to the family home, the threat of legal escalation, and the possibility of losing hard-earned savings. Having previously experienced an aggressive liquidator who made unfounded allegations of illegal dividends (later fully disproven), our client was determined to avoid a repeat of that stress and uncertainty. 

With a new business to focus on, a family to protect, and a clear desire to take control of the situation before it escalated further, the client contacted Bell & Company for specialist support. 

Pandemic Fallout and Unjust Pursuit 

During the height of the COVID-19 disruption, our client’s long-established logistics company was forced into liquidation after several major customers failed. This was an industry that saw heightened insolvency rates due to supply chain disruption, reduced contract volumes, and rising operational costs. While the introduction of government-backed Bounce Back Loans staved off major problems, with around £2 billion going to the UK transport industry, the end of this support led to a 44% jump in insolvency events in Q2 2022 compared to the previous year. For our client, these same factors meant their closure created immediate financial pressure. 

Joint & Several Personal Guarantee 

Following the liquidation, the £25,000 personal guarantee, related to an overdrawn company account, was triggered. The liability was joint and several between our client and her son, meaning the bank could pursue any guarantor for the full amount. 

Joint & Several meaning: Multiple guarantors are individually and collectively responsible for a business debt. This means a lender can pursue any single guarantor for the entire amount, not just their share. This can leave others to cover the shortfall if one guarantor defaults or lacks the necessary assets to cover the debt. 

In our client’s case, the second guarantor had already been declared bankrupt, though the debt was not correctly included in that initial bankruptcy process, creating a legal ambiguity that the bank could exploit. The bank was aggressively pursuing the remaining guarantor – our client.  

Joe Traynor, Financial Services Consultant at Bell & Company, said, “The client was thinking ahead and reached out before things escalated, knowing they wanted to be prepared for the worst. This meant we were able to be more pre-emptive with our strategy.” 

Proactive Negotiation and Evidence Gathering  

Bell & Company’s strategy was to shift the bank’s focus from the client’s perceived ability to pay to the commercial reality of recovery. Our process involved four core, strategic phases: 

Phase 1: Creating Leverage and Time 

We immediately engaged the bank, negotiating a 6-month payment plan. This provided the client essential breathing room to secure optimal funds for a potential Full & Final Settlement (F&FS) while demonstrating good faith to the bank. 

Phase 2: Mitigating Liability with Factual Evidence 

A pivotal step was gathering and presenting concrete evidence to the bank that demonstrated our client was not involved in the daily running of the business. This was a crucial submission, as it mitigated the bank’s perception of the client’s direct culpability in the company’s financial failure. 

Phase 3: Exploiting Commercial Weakness 

We strategically leveraged the existing bankruptcy of the co-guarantor. Since this already complicated the bank’s legal recovery path, we highlighted that aggressively pursuing the remaining individual for a relatively small, unsecured business debt would ultimately result in a high-friction, low-yield legal case. 

Phase 4: Positioning for Write-Off 

Through clear, consistent, and expert communication, we ensured the bank’s team fully understood the client’s unique, distressed circumstances and the limited financial recourse available. The cumulative effect of the evidence and the co-guarantor’s status made the commercial case for continuing the pursuit indefensible. 

The Final Result: A Full Debt Write-Off 

Following our comprehensive negotiation and presentation of the mitigating factors, the major UK high street bank undertook a final investigation with its Securities Team. Recognising the legal hurdles, the low probability of full recovery, and the strong case for the client’s reduced operational responsibility, the bank made a definitive decision: The bank agreed to write off the debt in full based purely on commerciality. 

The client’s family home and savings were completely protected. The final outcome provided immediate and tangible relief during a difficult period, reinforcing the successes that can be achieved when expert assistance is enlisted in an insolvency event early in the process. 

The client was ecstatic, claiming, “We are delighted with this outcome couldn’t ask for a better Christmas present!” 

Why Bell & Company? 

This case is a clear example of Bell & Company’s strategic approach to complex personal liability and personal guarantee negotiations. We specialise in transforming high-pressure, emotionally charged situations into controlled, commercially viable outcomes, often achieving results that banks and lenders initially consider unachievable. 

We don’t simply negotiate debt. We analyse, challenge, and dismantle the lender’s commercial case for recovery, creating leverage where none appears to exist and ensuring our clients are protected at every stage. 

If you’re facing pressure from a bank, lender, or liquidator, you don’t have to face it alone. 

Speak to Bell & Company today for confidential, expert guidance on personal guarantees, insolvency-related exposure, and creditor negotiations.