Being owed money can be a tedious and stressful problem. It can affect everyone, from large companies to sole individuals, with issues ranging from unpaid bills to unpaid wages.

Not knowing or understanding where to start to recover your debt can be equally stressful, so we have written this article to highlight how we can assist you.

Debt Recovery – Where to begin?

Finding yourself in a situation of being owed money can be daunting and confusing and it can be difficult to navigate how to deal with this correctly and efficiently.

Before instructing a Solicitor to attempt recovery, communication is always the best starting point, sometimes speaking with the debtor can help solve a dispute before needing legal assistance. However, when there appears to be little or no communications that is when the Claimant seeks legal advice to explore next steps and options available and to take the stress out of their hands.

We recommend that you keep copies of documentation such as invoices, bills, and proof of attempts to contact the Debtor plus any responses they may have had. This makes matters clear and they are required should a Debtor dispute any of the amount duly owed.

We are available to initially discuss the matter over the telephone and explain how we can help.

Pre-Court Proceedings

When instructed in a debt recovery matter, in attempts to recover a debt, we are required to send the Debtor, what is known as, a Letter Before Action.

The Letter Before Action informs the Debtor that we are instructed to act and we detail the amount of debt that is owed, why it is owed and provide a date for the Debtor to either contact us to discuss further or pay in full. We also are required to inform the Debtor that should our correspondence be ignored they are at risk of the Claimant wanting to proceed with Court proceedings whereby they will be liable for fixed costs and the possibility of a County Court Judgment (CCJ).

If the Debtor acknowledges our correspondence, we would attempt to discuss the matter and resolve any disputed terms regarding the debt with the Debtor, having first obtained instructions from you, the Claimant.

Court Proceedings – A Breakdown

If the balance is not paid following discussions or no communications with the Debtor, we would then begin Court proceedings.

Upon being informed that Court proceedings have been issued against them, should the Debtor still ignore this, we are then able to request Judgment by default for the amount owed including the Court fee and fixed legal fee.

Interest can be added to the debt value when Court proceedings occur.

Enforcement Methods

If you are successful in obtaining the Judgment, the Debtor is given one calendar month to repay the full Judgment if they want to remove the CCJ against their name. If they fail to do this, the Court Order can be enforced and there are several options available.

Some of the options involve us instructing the High Court Enforcement Agents or the County Court Bailiffs should the debt amount be lower than £500.00. We can also do an Attachment of Earnings against the Debtor, which we would require their employment details for. Another option may be to register a Charging Order against any properties the Debtor may have. Initially, we would need to check there are no other creditors to be paid first, should we proceed with an Order for Sale. There are several alternative methods of enforcement, all of which our Debt Recovery Team have extensive experience in.

For further information and discuss your claim in detail, please contact us.