A conservatory contract often involves a deposit and stage payments, so an installer’s insolvency can leave a customer with money paid and no conservatory. This guide summarises Insolvency Service guidance for people owed money by an insolvent company. It follows the guidance as written and does not separately cover the rules of Scotland or Northern Ireland. It is general information, not legal or financial advice.

What insolvency means for a customer

Guidance for creditors explains that a person or company is insolvent if they cannot pay their debts, and that anyone owed money is a creditor. A customer who has paid a deposit for work that is never done is therefore a creditor of the installer. The guidance states that if the company or person has no assets, the creditor will not get their money back.

Where a customer owes the installer money when it goes bust, the guidance says the debt still has to be paid, and the official receiver or insolvency practitioner will make contact.

How to check whether the company is in formal insolvency

The guidance says formal insolvency proceedings can be found by searching Companies House for a company liquidation or administration, or the Individual Insolvency Register for an individual who is bankrupt. It also lists the insolvency enquiry line and the public notices section of The Gazette. If the trader is a partnership, the individual partners have personal responsibility for the debt, whereas the partners in a limited liability partnership, like company directors, have no personal liability.

Before signing, the checks described in this site’s guide to choosing an installer and to installer guarantees matter more, because recovery after the event is uncertain.

If you paid by credit card

The guidance says that where someone paid for an item by credit card, they should contact the card company, which might be able to help. If they get all their money back from the card company, they stop being a creditor of the insolvent business and cannot use the creditor process to claim the money again. Whether the card company has liability depends on the agreement and the amounts involved; see this site’s guide to Section 75 and lender joint liability.

For payments made another way, the guidance says the customer must be added to the list of creditors by contacting the official receiver or the insolvency practitioner dealing with the case.

Claiming as a creditor

The official receiver or insolvency practitioner should contact known creditors and ask them to complete a proof of debt. A creditor who has not been contacted but knows of the insolvency can contact the official receiver, or the insolvency practitioner where one is dealing with an administration, voluntary liquidation or compulsory liquidation. As a known creditor, the customer will normally receive a report on the assets, liabilities and circumstances of the insolvency; the guidance says this can take up to 12 weeks after initial enquiries.

The guidance stresses that creditors should keep their contact details up to date, and that if a dividend is to be paid, submitting a proof of debt at that stage is the last chance, since otherwise the right to share in the money may be lost. Creditors owed under £1,000 may not be asked for a proof of debt but would still receive a payment.

Where a customer ranks and how much may be paid

Proceeds of sold assets go first to the fees and charges of the liquidation, then to preferential creditors such as wages owed and occupational pension contributions, then to any creditor holding a floating charge, and only then to all unsecured creditors. A customer’s deposit claim generally sits with the unsecured creditors. If full repayment is not possible, unsecured creditors receive a dividend in proportion to their claims. The guidance says that if there are few assets, a creditor may receive nothing, and that it can take weeks, months or years to sell assets.

Court action against the installer

According to the guidance, unsecured creditors cannot take action against a company after the date of an insolvency order without the court’s consent, and after obtaining consent they must submit the claim to the liquidator. A separate claim against the installer is therefore not a way around the process; the ordinary route is described in the guide to county court claims.

FAQs

Will I get my conservatory deposit back if the installer goes bust?

Not necessarily. The guidance says a creditor receives nothing if there are no assets, and otherwise a proportionate dividend after fees and higher-ranking creditors are paid.

Should I contact my credit card company?

The guidance says a card company might be able to help where an item was paid for by credit card, and that a full refund from the card company ends the customer’s status as a creditor.

How do I find out who is dealing with the insolvency?

The guidance points to Companies House for a company liquidation or administration, the Individual Insolvency Register for bankruptcies, and The Gazette notices.

Do I still owe the remaining contract balance?

The guidance says a customer who owes money to an insolvent business still has to pay it, and the official receiver or practitioner will make contact.

The bottom line

If a conservatory installer becomes insolvent, a customer with a deposit paid is generally an unsecured creditor and may recover only a share, or nothing, depending on the assets. Contacting the card company where credit card payment was used, registering as a creditor with the official receiver or insolvency practitioner, and keeping the balance obligations in mind are the steps set out in the guidance. Careful checks before signing reduce the exposure.

Sources

This guide draws on the following sources, current as of 25 September 2026:

• GOV.UK, Insolvency Service, “If an insolvent company or bankrupt person owes you money”
• GOV.UK, Insolvency Service, “Claim money back from a bankrupt person or company in compulsory liquidation: detailed guidance for creditors”

Related guides

Compare Conservatories is an independent guide. We may earn a fee from some links; this never affects what we write. This article is general information, not legal or planning advice on any specific property — always confirm requirements directly with your local planning authority.