"I was talking to what's his name, fred, is it? The plumber, the one who talks all the time." If you, and the person you are speaking to, know who you are talking about, the fact that the plumber's name is Ted is almost immaterial. The courts are prepared to adopt the same level of understanding in litigation if one side gets it wrong in naming one or more of the parties. Companies, firms and even individuals can and do change their names frequently. It is an easy process. A company has to pass a resolution changing its name and file the name change at Companies House. A firm can change its name at will, although it may need to register the new name under the Business Registration arrangements. An individual may alter his or her name, or the name he or she goes under, even without going to a magistrate under the Deed Poll rules. The reasons for businesses to change their names are many and various, for instance a corporate rebranding or a company takeover. The name changes of a company can become frequent, and are not necessarily linked to fraud or avoiding creditors. They can be accompanied by assignments and transfers of assets to other companies in the same group. The result is that people can forget all the twists and turns; even lawyers can go wrong when it comes to issuing proceedings in the wrong name or against the wrong party.
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