A Surrey demolition firm which went to extraordinary lengths to avoid paying six years’ worth of water and sewage charges – even changing its name twice - has now gone into liquidation, snubbing a County Court judgement to pay up.
General Demolition Limited, operating from Weylands Treatment Works in,Walton–on-Thames, which dubbed itself ‘one of the construction industry's leading demolition and recycling contractors’ and had a multi-million pound turnover, was ordered by Central London County Court to pay Veolia Water more than £23,000 in unpaid water charges from 2002-2008, and £35,000 towards costs.
However, as the deadline for discharging the judgement loomed, General Demolition Limited changed its name to Timbuk Two Limited and placed itself into liquidation.
Veolia Water’s Company Secretary Tim Monod questioned the company’s action and warned that he would take matters further to recover what was due:
“General Demolition was highly profitable – it had a turnover of £16 million - so it’s very surprising that this company has gone into liquidation. We will take whatever measures necessary to recover the charges.
“This case should signal that Veolia Water will not allow companies to ignore demands for charges and we will vigorously pursue any companies which fail to pay."
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