When a company enters liquidation, customers who have paid deposits for goods or services that have not been supplied can find themselves in a difficult position. In most cases, the customer becomes a creditor of the company for the amount they have already paid. The liquidator takes control of the company, identifies its assets and liabilities, sells available assets and distributes the proceeds according to insolvency rules.

For many customers, an unpaid deposit will be treated as an unsecured claim unless there is some form of specific protection over the money. Unsecured creditors are generally paid only after the costs of the insolvency and creditors with higher-ranking claims have been dealt with. As a result, customers may receive only part of their deposit back, and where the company has few or no assets, they may receive nothing at all.

Learn More - https://medium.com/@simpleliquidationinuk/what-happens-to-customer-deposits-when-a-company-goes-into-liquidation-3d43b3570ddd