Who Wins Here ?
In life , we need to pay our bills . I'll start from that point . Occassionally , stuff happens , and most people work through things .
I was saddened to read in the weekend ( on Stuff ) about a guy called Lloyd Green . I don't know this guy by the way .
He owned a company called Great Barrier Rental Cars . He had owned it for 20 years . He refused to pay a mechanic somewhere between $5000-7000 , disputing the quality of the work . He was advised the day before it went to court that this guy was taking him to court -- apparently the papers were sent to his old address , which was his ex-wifes house . We can only guess what happened .
Anyway , the next day it went to court , he wasn't fully prepared , the Judge believed the other guy , or this Lloyd guy didn't put up a strong case , or whatever , and he was ordered to pay about $10,000 including the other guys legal fees . He lost .
He didn't/couldn't pay -- presumably part out of spite , but to be fair it does sound like he was short of money , so the Court ordered his business be liquidated . He was then ( at 57 ) out of work , with no income .
He committed suicide .
The business was liquidated . All the assets ( cars ) were sold . All secured creditors were paid . The liquidator billed $119,000 , but only got paid $78,000 as there was no more money . Unsecured creditors were $50,000 ( presumably including the $10k court ordered debt ) , and the IRD $7000 . That may be GST on the sale of vehicles , or it may have been owing for months , it isn't clear .
So one guy ( a divorced/seperated Dad ) is dead . The unsecured creditors and IRD are $57k out of pocket . But you will have noticed that the liquidator got $78k . Which means every debt , without her involvement ( the liquidator was a female ) , would have been paid . It is fair to assume that as a trading company , the debts could have all been paid , and this Lloyd Green would have still been alive . It may have taken time , and I accept we don't know the full circumstances .
But I also fail to understand how a business with $57,000 in debts can be charged $119,000 by a liquidator to 'wind it up' . She may argue she did her job and was paid the allowed rate for the hours worked , and that her job was made more difficult by the fact the guy had died . But surely common sense would kick in somewhere ?
What word sums up 2024, neighbours?
If 2020 was the year of lockdowns, banana bread, and WFH (work from home)....
In one word, how would you define 2024?
We're excited to see what you come up with!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️