ANGRY customers waiting for insurance cash from an Ansdell auction room have been told the company is going into voluntary liquidation.
Lot 3 auction house on Kingsway, Ansdell, was affected by a fire in the basement last June which destroyed a lot of items belonging to customers.

Yet 11 months on, people who gave furniture to Lot 3 say they have still not received compensation fADVERTISEMENTor lost items.

Earlier this week their frustration deepened when they were sent letters from a Preston business recovery company Marshall Peters inviting them to a creditors’ meeting later this month

Nightmare

Pensioner Neville Wakeling, 68, from Larbreck near Little Eccleston, says he entrusted Lot 3 with more than 80 items before the fire and believes he could be out of pocket for as much as £5,000.

He said: “This whole situation has been a nightmare, I wish we had never approached Lot 3 with our things.

“My wife and I married three years ago and took the decision that we would sell our furniture and start afresh. I had a lot of antiques, such as a rosewood captain’s chest, which were very hard to part with.

“To lose them is heartbreaking.

“I will be going along to the meeting but I am not hopeful.

“Our fresh start has had a black cloud over it because of this.”

Another pensioner, George Pothecary, 76, of Worsley Road, Ansdell, lost a pine dresser in the fire. He said: “I’m not surprised by the news of the liquidation.

“We’ve filled the forms in that the creditors have asked for but I expect we will just have to draw a line under this.”

Julie Hawes, the owner of Lot 3, said: “The decision to go into voluntary liquidation is the hardest one I have ever had to make and I have followed professional advice from the outset.

“I have done it so I can be completely open and honest about my figures and the situation. The company is still actually owed money.

“I feel dreadful for all the customers that have been affected by this but I can assure you I have done nothing deliberately and thought the best course of action was to leave money to be distributed by the liquidator.

“I worked hard to keep the business open but was inundated with inflated and unsubstantiated claims and, at times, I feared for my safety.

“It all became just too much. People who lost property in the fire may be able to claim on their house insurance and I will provide copies of documentation needed.”


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