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It seems hardly a day goes by without a news headline about another company going into liquidation.

One recent high profile example was Crown Currency Exchange - an online foreign exchange company based in Cornwall. Unfortunately for X-Ray viewer Kay Clarke from Barry, she and her family were victims of the collapse.

The Clarkes were looking forward to a family trip to Florida. After much research the family decided to use Crown Currency Exchange to buy their dollars for the trip. The company was recommended by various money websites and the Clarkes had actually used them before so they had no reason to believe there would be a problem.

After ordering their dollars, the Clarkes were given only two options to pay - via cheque or bank transfer. They paid up and received a confirmation email saying they should expect to receive their currency just in time for their holiday. The family started to look forward to the trip.

But, just a few days after they'd handed over their money, Crown Currency Exchange officially announced they'd gone into administration. The Clarkes' holiday money wasn't going to turn up after all.

Unfortunately for Kay and her family, because of the way that they paid for the currency, they have very little protection when it comes to getting their money back. And they're not alone, some 13,000 customers of Crown Currency Exchange are also out of pocket.

So in these hard times are there any telltale signs we can look out for when a company is about to go under? Lucy went to meet Doug Berry, Senior Lecturer in Consumer Law at the University of Glamorgan to find out his top tips. Doug told us:

"The majority of retailers are offering large discounts now. But look at the size of the discount, is it a discount for today only? Do they want you to sign today? Are they offering extremely large discounts for paying in cash?"

Another warning sign may be if a company previously allowed you to pay with a credit card, but no longer does, then this may be a sign that their bank has withdrawn the facility because they are having difficulties.

Doug also advises consumers to beware of companies that don't want to sign a contract. And also extended delivery dates; if you're given a delivery date of eight to 10 weeks in advance then you should be wary of paying a large deposit.

Is there anything that we can do to try to protect ourselves from companies going bust? Doug suggests listening to the news to see what's happening regarding companies. Big companies as well as small companies are going into liquidation nowadays - use the search engines to see if any company has got a history of problems recently, and if they have, maybe look elsewhere.

And when it comes to paying a deposit, Doug recommends keeping the deposit as small as possible. In a lot of cases you don't need to pay a deposit to secure the goods. Most reputable tradesman have accounts with their suppliers so they don't necessarily have to outlay cash upfront so try and insist on payment only when you're satisfied with the job.

And don't forget, one of the best ways to protect your pocket is to pay by credit card. If the goods cost over £100, you can take advantage of section 75 of the consumer credit act which means the card issuer is jointly liable should a company go into administration. Some, but not all Visa debit cards also offer this service. Sometimes it pays to use your plastic, and if you can't, well it might be worth looking elsewhere.

If you've been affected by the collapse of Crown Currency Exchange you can call the Administrators helpline on 0844 826 8659 or see for more information on how to register your claim.