New Zealand based liquidators chase directors to recover funds
The fallout from the collapse of Melbourne and Wellington based call centre outsourcer CallActive in November 2015 is continuing with www.stuff.co.nz reporting that an investigation by New Zealand based liquidators are now attempting to recover funds from individuals related to the directors.
The latest liquidators report says it has identified claims against individuals “related to the directors of the company” and demand has been made for payment.
Liquidator Colin Owens, of Deloitte, said he could not elaborate on who the individuals were, or how they were related to the directors.
“These individuals currently reside in Australia and we have been liaising with their lawyer regarding our claims,” the report says.
“The debts have been acknowledged as due and we are currently discussing repayment terms with the lawyer representing the related parties.”
CallActive NZ was put into liquidation following the collapse of its Australian arm. Both the Melbourne and Wellington locations were closed abruptly when shocked staff were advised by Director Rick Allan and acting CEO Theresa Cowan that the centres were closing effectively immediately.
Staff were asked to collect their belongings and to leave the premises immediately. Leading up until the day the company folded staff had been assured everything was OK so the sudden collapse took many by surprise causing significant hardship for many.
About 60 CallActive workers at the Willeston Street office in Wellington and over 200 staff in the Melbourne CallActive office were impacted. Australian staff have since received outstanding entitlements thanks to the Fair Entitlements Guarantee put in place by the Australian Government [Related article: CallActive: Liquidation Update] although Superannuation, which had not been paid for around 12 months, may not be recovered.
New Zealand staff have fared a little worse. As at May 8, 2017 CallActive NZ owed more than $2.1 million, according to the report.
This excluded claims from former NZ staff, who had not yet contacted liquidators. It is believed there are outstanding wages to be paid, the report says.
The New Zealand company, which is owned by two Australian firms, was set up to much fanfare in the capital in October 2013.
At the time, Allan predicted the call centre would create up to 2,000 jobs in Wellington.
Allan brought the company to New Zealand following a chance meeting with then Wellington City councillor John Morrison, who became CallActive’s Business Development Manager after failing in his bid to become Wellington mayor.
Around the same time of the CallActive NZ collapse both Morrison, and former CallActive Manager David Lloyd, established their own call centre outsourcing company Plus64 Connect which is believed to have employed a number of the former staff.
Australian Liquidators, SV Partners, are continuing to prepare a report for the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).
Related articles you may enjoy:
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- CallActive Liquidation update
- Special Feature: The Future of Call Centre Outsourcing in Australia
- Melbourne Outsourcer BMS Closes its doors
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