[jo-bloggs]

hi,

i am a regular user on the forum but for obvious reasons i dont want someone to come across this. so basically im writing this to get any advice i can really.
im registered as self employed and in a registered partnership with no partnership agreement. we are having major problems between us. one of us is lazy and not doing anything apart from cleaning between the hours of 9-5 and the other is dealing with all phone calls, quotes, researching (cheaper products, better deals, adverstising, forum) sorting the diary out, doing the books etc

im 98% sure they are never going to find this as they think being on the forum is a bit silly but i dont want to put too much just in case. my partner is not only lazy but has no financial backing and just managed to really screw up her credit rating. we are using my car to do all the work in and its only costing her the petrol out of the business account. all the wear and tear is coming from my pocket. i have tried speaking to my partner about this but had her fiance shout at me for being out of order and stressing her out (about her credit rating).

she also cant drive and after promising to learn had a few lessons and couldnt be bothered to do any more so im left to do all the quotes that are in the evening as well! hardly any of our customers know her as she isnt really involved with them unless they take up my offer of meeting the other cleaner.

well now i know if my partner ever reads this they will know it is about them but as i was writing this i suddenly though i dont care if she does!

i have spoken to them about this before and nothing has changed as they are like a puppet controlled by their new fiance who doesnt like working after 5pm!

anyway ive rambled on and on but my question is WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT IT?

can i get rid of them and carry on trading as who i am. ive worked really hard to get to where we are and love our business i have built up and i dont want to lose it.  we split everything 50/50 and ive really had enough. ideally i want to tell my partner enough is enough and take on someone else to work as an employee and just cut her out.

please help!
 

[Blast Off Stoke]

Is it worth buying your partner out or telling them you want out and they buy you out leaving you with the chance to start again from scratch, after all i'm presuming its you who is doing all the work and so will have most of the contacts to set up for yourself.

[Griffus]

If it has come to the point where you can't address this issue with your partner then a buyout is probably the only option.

If you are at this point then I would recommend that you seek legal advice  before doing anything drastic.

They will probably advise you to get an independent valuation on your company and make a formal buyout offer. If you are set up as equals then I am afraid that you will have to offer half of it's value (which probably will not be all that much.

The other option is to set up another company, transfer (steal) all existing customers, and take your chances. May prove more costly in the long run though.

[John Kelly]

How did you end up in the partnership anyway. Did you not already know she was lazy and idle or did she fill you full of c**p beforehand?

[jo-bloggs]

she wasnt lazy back then. when we were setting it up she was working i the evening around our other jobs and she was full of ideas. over the last 9 months her fiance has started to control everything and every week she turns more and more like him. he complains to her when she has to work after 5pm.
she cant be trusted to even email people back as he doesnt like it therefore i have to do everything for her.

[jo-bloggs]

also what can i do if she wont let me buy her out?

[Robert Parry]

Hi,

This could get very messy, very, very quickly!

You should NEVER enter into any partnership agreement without an ironclad agreement in place, this agreement should be drawn up by a commercial solicitor in order to protect all parties involved. These agreements are not be found for gratis on the internet!

Your present situation is not good, I have no idea how your business is set up, so forgive me if I assume the worst.

If you have a joint business account, have registerd with HM Customs & Revenue, have insurance, own equipment etc.etc.

I would advise you to contact a solicitor right away, they will advise you on your options, you may not like the cost, or indeed the advice given, but they will explain exactly where you stand and your possible liabilities, which reading between the lines, could be substantial. This could also include any tax liabilities incurred so far!

I implore you to take legal advice as soon as possible, do not be mistaken that you can just walk away and start again, or that you can offer to just buy your so called partner out, no matter how tempting the options may appear, if you have registered with HM Revenue & Customs, the Bank etc, you are connected to your partner until this situation is legally dissolved, you may not hear anything for a few years, but sooner or later, this will come back and bite you on your A***!. Better to sort it once and for all now.

Regards,

Rob

[jo-bloggs]

does it matter that we arent a limited company?

[jasonl]

If not a limited company , I assume you are a partnership.

My advice , speak to your key accounts , line them up to be your sole clients, then lay your cards on the table with your partner. Set up a new bank account first .

Chances are that the boyfriend will put his piece in ,, is he on drink or drugs? sounds like it.

Offer a small amount to buy her out , weekly payments would be best to preserve your cashflow.

Good luck.

[jo-bloggs]

ok thanks everyone. i have just spoken to a solicitor and she said i can do it and carry on trading but i need to get an accountant to sort it out.
im going to sort as much as i can out tomorrow and hopefully sort this out so i can on doing it. i really dont want to lose everything ive worked so hard for.

oh and no he isnt on drink or drugs he is just a man living in a completley different century! dont think either of them realised how much work it was going to be out of normal hours!!

[scrubberz]

Just wanted to say good luck, i was in a simular situation however was lucky enough to be able to come to an agreement with her and she walked away as in her words "she couldnt be bothered anymore" this was 12 months ago and since then things have gone from strength to strength.
Whatever happens if you have been the one driving the business then when she is gone you can continue to build and go forward xxx

[chosker]

Sounds like everyone has given sound advice so I wont add too much, except good luck - sounds like a nasty situation and I'm glad you got that advice.
Let us know how it goes, I would be interested to hear!
t/c x

[pristineclean]

The legal definition of a partnership is fairly straightforward and it might be helpful for you to have a rough idea of likely outcomes in your current situation.

A partnership is defined under the Partnership Act 1890 (yep, that long ago and it's still the defining statute) as being two or more people who have set up in business together with a view to making a profit. Any partnership set up without an agreement will be bound by the terms in this Act and you should Google it to give yourself a clearer idea.

It's entirely possible to enter into a partnership without knowing it or intending to do it and in the absence of a partnership agreement, as in this case, you are jointly and severally liable for all negligence claims and debts where these have been incurred in a manner which could be attached to business activity.

The bad news is that, irrespective of the amount of work which either of you are doing, the dissolution of this partnership automatically confers on each partner an equal proportion of the assets of the business. That can quickly become messy since there are bound to be disputes in relation to the goodwill and the revenue accruing from repeat clients.

There are three options which I'd suggest you discuss with a solicitor, if you can afford one.

1 Walk away. Take the records of the clients you have, shake hands with your partner and tell them that they are welcome to the whole of the assets of the partnership. Then contact all the clients as quickly as possible telling them about your new trading status. No partnership agreement means no restraint of trade clause.

2 Tell your partner that it's not working for you and arrange for an equitable division.

3 Tell your partner that you'd like to change the status of the business to a limited company to limit the potential debt liability of both of you (an idea which might appeal to her since she's having financial problems) and use the change of status as a catalyst to determine what each of you are expected to do in future to contribute to the business.

This link might be of assistance to you:
http://www.desktoplawyer.co.uk/dtl/index.cfm?event=base:article&node=A76058BD76483

[jo-bloggs]

hey everyone,

thought i'd just a quick update!! it was quite a few weeks ago so not sure anyone still cares but oh well!!

things have moved along nicely. i finally had the big chat with her and it turns out she hasnt cared about it for months! she apologised for making me do everything but said i still had to buy out her interest in the business! she threatened to take her half of the customers just to let them down and dirty the business name.

so we have come up with a price im willing to pay her just to leave quietly and are going to solicitor this week to get the agreement signed!

thanks for all the advice that was given, im so much happier now im in control of the situation and cant wait to keep my new limited company forward!!

[gordonswindows]

First I think you will find we are all still interested and well done for handling such a difficult situation

You must feel both relieved and delighted that you faced up to this problem and resolved it in such a way that you can both move on.

We all wish things especially in business were straight forward and easy but they rarely are however you have just proved that the real decisions the ones that make a genuine difference are always the difficult ones and this is what all successful business people realise. Hey if it was easy anyone could do it but it's not and the fact that you chose to deal with it head on shows great strength and courage and you will find other decisions now become less daunting

Well done and best wishes for the future with your OWN company

Gordon

[Mike Halliday]

have you thought of just killing her....... might be the best option..... a slip at work, she bangs her head .......ooops she's dead

[BDCS]

That'll do for me - I will enclose the ms, ra, cosh sheet along with the quote to clean the crime scene. I've not done a murder yet