Debt Recovery FAQs

How can you help me to recover unpaid debts?

• Stage 1 - we will write a Letter before Action to the person who owes you the money. The cost for this is £2 plus VAT.
• Stage 2 - we will draft, issue and serve Court proceedings on your behalf. The price depends on the size of the debt, interest and compensation (if applicable). Click here for details.
• Stage 3 - if no response has been received to the Court proceedings, we will request that the Court enters Judgment. This cost for this is £35 plus VAT.
• Stage 4 - we will instruct either a Bailiff or a High Court Enforcement Officer to recover the debt. The cost of this depends on the size of Judgment. Click here for details.

Do you knock on the debtor’s door?
We do not personally attend the address of any individual or business to recover the value of the debt, or telephone them on your behalf.

How long does the process take?
This depends on what you have instructed us to do.

• Stage 1 - we aim to send a Letter before Action within 24 business hours of receipt of your instructions/payment via our website. 
• Stage 2 - once we have received your instructions/payment, we will endeavor to send the proceedings to the Court for issue within 24 business hours. Once the matter is in the hands of the Court, the timescale very much depends on how quickly the Court are able to process the claim. The cost of this depends on the size of debt, interest and compensation (if applicable). Click here for details.
• Stage 3 - if we are able to enter Judgment in default of any response once we have received payment of £35 plus VAT, we will endeavor to send the request for Judgment on the same day.  Again once the matter is in the hands of the Court, the timescale is very much dependant upon how quickly they are able to process it.  We would anticipate it being approximately 2 weeks to receive it back from the Court.
• Stage 4 - this is very much dependant on which route is taken.
  For debts under £600 - a Bailiff will be instructed. The request for a warrant can be sent to the Court within 24 hours of receipt of your instructions and payment via our website. Once the warrant is lodged we are in the hands of the Court to process the request, once it has been processed it will very much dependant on the workload of the bailiffs it is sent to.  We anticipate that the first report from the Bailiffs will be approximately 4 weeks after the warrant has been issued.
  
  For debts over £600 - we will instruct a High Court Enforcement Officer. Again the request for the Writ is sent to the Court within 24 hours of receipt of the payment of the fee.  Once the Writ has been sealed and returned it will be sent directly to a High Court Enforcement Officer for the area and it will then be for them to action. The timescale varies, but we would expect the acknowledgment of instructions within 7 days followed by an initial report within a month of the instructions being received.

We will endeavor to keep you up to date as the matter progresses.

Can I recover money from people outside of England & Wales e.g. in Scotland/Ireland?
You can proceed against a debtor who is based outside England & Wales. The jurisdiction is normally determined by your contract. We can deal with matters outside of England & Wales however; this will fall outside of our web-based fixed fee scheme. 

Can I recover money from a debtor where there is no written agreement?
Yes you can although it may become difficult to prove that this money was a loan and not a gift. Where no written agreement exists, the case is more likely to become disputed, and once disputed would fall outside the web-based fixed fee charges. 

How long do I have to bring a money claim?
As long as the debt is not over 6 years old then you are able to take action.  If there is/was no written agreement, then the longer you leave it to recover the debt, the more difficult it will be to prove that a verbal agreement existed, trace the debtor or guarantee the debtor is still able to pay. Each case would need to be assessed on a case by case basis. In this case, please contact our Debt Recovery team on 0116 245 5454.

Can I recover interest and/or compensation?
If you have a Commercial debt (i.e. you are trading as a business and the debtor is also a business), then you may be entitled to interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 as amended by the Late Payment of Commercial Debt Regulations 2002.

Under this Act, businesses have a right to claim interest at a rate of 8% above the official dealing rate of the Bank of England, plus a fixed compensation figure depending on the size of the debt.

From 1st November 2000, small businesses have a right to claim statutory interest from other small businesses on debts incurred under contracts agreed after that date.

From 1st November 2002 all businesses and public sector bodies have a right to claim statutory interest from all other businesses and public sector bodies on debts incurred under contracts agreed after that date.

How can I give you instructions?
To benefit from our competitive fixed fees all instructions must be made through our online debt recovery website.  Alternatively, if you wish to use another method of instructing us, please contact our Debt Recovery team on 0116 245 5454.