Lowndes Fruits closed across Staffordshire

[proactive]

Is it reopening with the same owners or different owners?

If it is the same owners then they had no need to dismiss the staff.

If it is new owners then the Lownes would have known about their closure months ago and so they could have given the staff more notice.

You cant just find new owners AND sort the paperwork out in a week. Also even if it IS new owners, wouldnt it have been the decent thing to do to keep the loyal/existing staff employed?

If you don't give a stuff about people then it is very easy indeed.

The solution is quite simple. If you don't like the way they behaved, don't spend any money there, patronise somebody more deserving like County Fruits in Mill Street or save a shed load of cash and go to Lidl.

 

[Jonah]

Is it reopening with the same owners or different owners?

If it is the same owners then they had no need to dismiss the staff.

If it is new owners then the Lownes would have known about their closure months ago and so they could have given the staff more notice.

You cant just find new owners AND sort the paperwork out in a week. Also even if it IS new owners, wouldnt it have been the decent thing to do to keep the loyal/existing staff employed?

If it does reopen, I imagine it will be a new company even if it is the same people running it. This means the new company will not have any ties to the old, dissolved company.

Dismissing the old staff means that new staff will have to accept new terms and conditions and salary. If old staff are rehired, they will lose any previously accrued service time/holiday entitlement etc and also have to accept new terms and condition and salary.

Employers in general, don't care about their employees unless they are making them money.

 

[tek-monkey]

After hearing how they've treated staff I doubt I'll use them again, enough wankers in this world already without encouraging them.

 

[wmrcomputers]

Dismissing the old staff means that new staff will have to accept new terms and conditions and salary. If old staff are rehired, they will lose any previously accrued service time/holiday entitlement etc and also have to accept new terms and condition and salary.

A very good point. Funnily enough they've been cutting back my MIL's hours for several months now, to a point where they seemed to barely want her part-time. They couldn't cut her any lower. If this IS a new company owned by the same people (not that I have any knowledge on this so purely an assumption), then they can take people on just for 8 hours a week or whatever and avoid full time contracts. More and more shops seem to run this way these days. You need 16 hours to sign-off benefits yet most retail work only wants to employ people for up to 15 hours. Or even zero hour contracts! It's all wrong.

 

[littleme]

A very good point. Funnily enough they've been cutting back my MIL's hours for several months now, to a point where they seemed to barely want her part-time. They couldn't cut her any lower. If this IS a new company owned by the same people (not that I have any knowledge on this so purely an assumption), then they can take people on just for 8 hours a week or whatever and avoid full time contracts. More and more shops seem to run this way these days. You need 16 hours to sign-off benefits yet most retail work only wants to employ people for up to 15 hours. Or even zero hour contracts! It's all wrong.

I've been looking recently & there are contracts with company's for as little as 4hrs! What a joke.

 

[Trumpet]

On what basis did they 'close'. Just had a look and here's no mention of any liquidation, administration or any other 'ion'. How've they done it.

 

[Darren]

The company hasn't been Dissolved according to company house.

 

[Jonah]

Companies House can take ages to update their website.

 

[Paul smith]

Rugely shop already reopened it's now called Staffordshire fruits, Stafford shop opens tomorrow and yes it's the lowndes family that own them

 

[Paul smith]

They treated us all like shit and now they are rubbing our noses in it by reopening this soon, we received forms for redundancy and by the look of it because they changed company name to lowndes fruits limited in 2003 we could lose any money owing us before this date which is another stab in the back

 

[tek-monkey]

So same management, same shops, just ditched all the staff and debts. How convenient.

 

[Paul smith]

As far as I can see the 2 sons and 1 daughter will be running the business now, talk about something that has been well planned in advance

 

[littleme]

Its surprising that they've found anyone willing to work there after what they've just done to the staff...

 

[Paul smith]

I don't know what staff will be working in these shops can certainly see it not being the previous staff

 

[Darren]

If there Lowndes Fruits LTD company has been dissolved at Company House then it is very unlikely you will get any monies owned from them unless they have left any assets in the company name like vans or cars and that is very unlikely, this is common practice and should be made illegal.
I wont shop there ever again.

 

[Paul smith]

The letter we have received states that the company has gone into voluntary liquidation and we have got to go online to claim our money

 

[Paul smith]

All the cars, vans and lorries are all under the company name

 

[Darren]

Hi Paul as far as i know if it is a LTD company all debts owed are owed by the company and not the Directors, if the owners have transferred all assets including vans, cars, cash registers even fruit stands over to the new company there is not going to be anything left for there old company to settle debts.
It is a shitty practice.
Having said that if a director of the company has purposely moved assets out of the company to avoid the payment of debts a court could rule against the director and can even ban the director from starting another LTD company, but unfortunately even if a court does rule against the director/s the chances of getting any monies owed is bleak.

 

[Paul smith]

We were told by the owner himself none of us would lose out on money, as for the 2 shops reopening those 2 were already under a different name so all debts are to mr k lowndes meaning they can reopen them. Yes it I very shitty and was well planned I want what is owed to me as do all the staff

 

[Darren]

We were told by the owner himself none of us would lose out on money, as for the 2 shops reopening those 2 were already under a different name so all debts are to mr k lowndes meaning they can reopen them. Yes it I very shitty and was well planned I want what is owed to me as do all the staff

I hope they are true to there word, i truly hope they pay what they owe there staff.