On 3 July 2012 Durham-based Print Me It, which specialises in short-run, low-cost print jobs for businesses and charities, won a CCJ against 2 Print 4 U owner Sean MacDonald ordering him to repay a lump sum of £3,714.64, including court costs, for outstanding invoices.
However last month Print Me It managing director Adam Chetter told PrintWeek that the sum was still unpaid and that he had declined an offer from MacDonald to repay the debt at a rate of £40 per month. "We’d have to wait about eight years to get it back," he said at the time.
In the latest development of the dispute, MacDonald filed for and was declared bankrupt in Gloucester and Cheltenham County Court on 22 August. Chetter said that despite being a small firm he could effectively "kiss the money goodbye" and that his concern now was for others in a similar position.
He added: "The problem is he can continue to trade despite this and that is a real concern. I would be quite willing to enter a police investigation over this because it could protect other people from similar experiences.
"Realistically we will have to write this off. We thought maybe we could recoup our money by going to his clients and asking if they would give us the opportunity to print for them directly, but we think that will just create a lot more problems with him."
PrintWeek also spoke to two small, family-run print firms based in Worcestershire and Leicester that claim to have had similar experiences with MacDonald, allegedly being owed a combined amount of more than £7,000.
One of the companies said it had instigated legal action but due to the bankruptcy order they now felt they had been left in the dark and had no hope of recouping the sum of £3,150 allegedly owed to them by MacDonald.
The firm’s co-director said: "We are just a small four-person family firm, so this is hard for us. I really hope something can be done to stop this happening to others."
MacDonald, who can legally continue to trade under the 2 Print 4 U name, is due to attend an interview with the court receiver, on an undisclosed date, to determine if further action will be taken.
Print broker 2 Print 4 U in row over non-payment declares bankruptcy
The Gloucestershire-based reseller, which is accused of failing to pay unpaid invoices owed to a Durham print firm despite a County Court Judgement (CCJ) ordering the repayments, has been declared bankrupt.
