THE HIGH Court has confirmed the winding up of Home Payments Ltd, the home budgeting service that ceased trading earlier this month. The court made the order after being informed the company owes 2,300 of its customers €6 million and AIB a further €4 million.
Yesterday, AIB told the court it rejected claims that it was to blame for Home Payments going into liquidation.
At the High Court, Ms Justice Mary Laffoy approved the appointment of chartered accountants Eamonn Richardson of KPMG and Eamon Leahy of Leahy and Company, who had previously been acting in a provisional capacity, as joint liquidators of the firm.
The judge said she was satisfied the company was insolvent and unable to pay its debts. She also ordered the company’s three directors Eamonn O’Connor, Niamh Ryan and Connor O’Connor to file statements of affairs within 21 days. The matter was listed before a sitting of the Examiner’s Court in September.
Ciaran Lewis, for Home Payments Ltd, 18 Rathgar Road, Dublin 6, said the company sought the liquidators’ appointment because its liquidity provision was insufficient to pay all its customers in full if the customers decided to withdraw all amounts standing to their credit.
In its petition to the court, the company said AIB, with whom it had banked for many years, sought a review of its business due to concerns the bank had about deposits and credit balances in its accounts and the use of funds for investments.
The company said it was surprised at the bank raising such issues as it operated its business with the full knowledge of the bank.
Yesterday Andrew Fitzpatrick for AIB said the bank supported the application to have the company wound up.
Counsel said AIB was not responsible for Home Payments going into liquidation.
Home Payments was set up in the 1960s to provide a household budgeting service in the Dublin area. It evolved into a nationwide budgeting and bill-paying service. It had also in recent years acquired a number of investment properties.
At the time of its closure, the firm had 2,300 customers, more than 1,500 of whom are owed less than €3,000. Approximately 700 customers are owed between €3,000 and €1,0000, while some 23 customers are owed in excess of €10,000.