A different business now demands payment under your guarantee

The demand comes from an unfamiliar creditor

You signed a supplier guarantee, but the business threatening personal recovery is different from the original supplier. Ask your lawyer to assess the claimant's position and the guarantee together. A collection agent acting for a creditor and a business claiming to have acquired the debt are different arrangements. Identify which is asserted rather than assuming every new letter comes from the same legal party.

Preserve the chain of communications

Gather the original credit documents, later transfer notices and the new demand. Record the names and account references exactly. Ask for clarification of the capacity in which the new business acts through the appropriate advised process. Do not change the creditor name in your records solely to make it match a letter that has not been verified.

Keep formal bankruptcy documents urgent

AFSA recommends independent legal advice when a bankruptcy notice is received. If such a notice or court papers accompany the new demand, provide them immediately rather than waiting for the transfer enquiry to finish. A question about the claimant's rights needs proper assessment; it is not a reason to assume that a formal response deadline can be ignored.

Source: AFSA: I have been served with a bankruptcy notice

Consider a hypothetical change of claimant

Imagine an unpaid supplier account later appearing in a demand from a debt purchaser, while an earlier email merely named a collection agency. The lawyer needs to distinguish those events and inspect the relevant evidence. The example does not determine whether the guarantee transferred with the debt. That issue depends on the documents and applicable law.

Avoid paying the wrong party

Have the adviser confirm the appropriate recipient and effect of any proposed payment or settlement. Verify banking instructions independently through a trusted channel. Do not assume paying the original supplier will resolve the new demand, or that a new account reference proves the claimant's entitlement. Keep any disputed amount or ownership question distinct from a practical payment-routing check.

Record the assessed position

Retain the explanation and supporting documents showing who is pursuing the claim and on what basis. Follow the advised response to any live proceedings. The useful outcome is a traceable claimant history linked to the guarantee, so a personal recovery decision is not made from an unfamiliar trading name or an unsupported assertion that the debt changed hands.