Guntrader’s liquidation firm promises to investigate sale of database
The firm brought in to liquidate Guntrader has engaged a top firm of solicitors and promised to investigate after Shooting Times raised readers’ concerns.
The file allowed users to zoom in on the locations of Guntrader customers
As we reported last week, the online gun trading enterprise announced that they were going into liquidation to avoid claims from customers whose data was stolen in a hack. When a company is liquidated, independent experts called liquidators sell its assets and use the income from the sale to pay individuals and firms to whom it owes money.
Despite being in liquidation, in a Facebook post the company announced that Guntrader.uk was being wound up with a company called Guntrader Media taking over. Checks by Shooting Times found that both companies had the same owners, directors and offices. Readers were furious to learn that this could mean they would receive no compensation.
Crucially, Shooting Times has now found out that the databases used to operate the company website were sold by Guntrader.uk to Guntrader Media shortly before Guntrader.uk entered liquidation. This prevented the databases being sold by the liquidator to recover debts or to pay claims brought against the company over the hack. In response to an enquiry from Shooting Times, a senior solicitor at Brabners wrote to say that the liquidators “are currently making enquiries in relation to those transfers.”
Shooting Times understands that the price Guntrader Media paid Guntrader UK for the databases is likely to be crucial and that if they were not sold for a fair market price the individuals involved could face court action. In the letter to Shooting Times, the solicitors went on to say: “My clients were not aware that Guntrader Media Ltd had “taken over” from the Company and do not have details as to the basis of any such takeover,” before adding, “thank you for this information which my clients will be looking into.”
Readers also asked whether those who had begun making claims against Guntrader would be treated as creditors. In response to our enquiries the liquidator said that they are “inviting those claimants to submit proofs of debt but are not in a position to comment as to their status as creditors at this stage.”
