MAN TWICE BANKRUPT

Press, Volume C, Issue 29499, 28 April 1961, Page 19

MAN TWICE BANKRUPT

“Unsatisfactory Affair” "The whole affair is most unsatisfactory, to say the least,” said the Official Assignee (Mr O. T. Grattan) at a meeting of creditors of Edward Hutchison Carey Hargreaves, aged 44, a mechanic, yesterday. Hargreaves was adjudged bankrupt on his own petition on April 14. He has not been discharged from a previous bankruptcy, adjudged in 1956 in Dunedin. His statement showed that he owed unsecured creditor* £434 2s 3d. He owed secured creditors, the security being a house and section, £3559 6s.

He had a provisional deficit of £390, but that would be reduced when a full list ot his debtors was provided, said Mr Grattan. Hargreaves said that the amount owing to him was about £146. He had done engineering work on friends’ cars and' had charged the cost of the spare parts to the Municipal Electricity Department, where he was working at the time. Although he did the work for nothing some persons had not repaid for the spare parts. He also said in his state* ment of reasons for * bank* ruptcy that he had no reserves of cash to meet un* foreseen losses.

“If people had paid me 1 would have been able to make some progress paying off what I owe.” said Hargreaves. “I did not think at any time that I could not pay my present creditors.” Hargreaves said that he was working as a barman and porter in a hotel and earning about £lB a week. He was repaying £lO 16s 9d a month on the mortgage of his house. . He said he was married and had four children whose ages ranged from 14 months to 10 years. He then offered to pay £4 or £5 a week. “I don’t think you could,” said Mr Grattan. Mr Grattan said that there was still about £950 owing on his previous bankruptcy, and all payments made to him would go, to the first creditors.

“ITie present creditors are very unfortunate,” said Mr Grattan, “You have an, absolute lack of business acumen, and I am not very happy about the situation. I think it bears a bit more looking into," he said.