DEBT RECOVERY

Individuals and companies often find it challenging to repay debts and so you could find it equally challenging to collect outstanding and overdue debts.

Why not let our debt recovery department take the hard work out of your hands? We offer an effective approach to chasing up and obtaining late payments for you. We can deal with both disputed and undisputed debts and we can issue court proceedings if required, unlike debt collection agencies.

We can be reached on 01204 977 201 or by email at enquiries@sksolicitors.co.uk

Our knowledgeable solicitors can help businesses and individuals recover money owed to them and can deal with a case from start to finish.

Our letters are not automatically generated, we will tailor each one specifically to your case and we will keep you fully informed during each step of the process, and if the judgment is obtained (this is when the court recognises the debt owed to you and orders the debtor to pay it) we can deal with enforcement and work will enforcement agencies to recover what is owed to you.

The longer that you leave a debt, the harder it can be to recover so we suggest that you get in touch now to maximise your chances of recovery. If you are unsure whether you want to, or whether you are able to chase a particular debtor for payment we can give you some free initial advice to help you come to a decision and we will make sure that you preserve any documents which you would need you should you decide to pursue the debt. We can also advise you on what debt recovery will involve and provide you with an estimate of the costs involved in doing so.

Debts Owed to Businesses

Does your business write off a lot of bad debt each year? You can minimise this and improve cash flow by effectively recovering more of the monies owed to it.

If the debtor is a business then you are entitled to recover compensation from it under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, which is in addition to the monies owed to you. The amount which you could recover will depend on the amount owed and the number of outstanding debts:

• For a debt under £1,000.00 we can charge a £40.00 late payment charge;
• For a debt between £1,000.00 and under £10,000.00 we can charge a £70.00 late payment charge;
• For a debt of £10,000.00 and above we can charge a £100.00 late payment charge.

You are also entitled to claim statutory interest on the amount owed to you which is 8% plus the Bank of England base rate for business-to-business transactions.

We will always look to recover late payment charges and interest, however, if you need to take your matter to court then the additional compensation could cause the court fee to increase so we will discuss this with you fully before making any claims for late payment or interest.

We understand that businesses often want to retain commercial relationships with some of their clients despite the debts owed to them, so we will work with you to balance the importance of the relationship you have with the debtor with the importance of recovering money owed to you for cash flow and to minimise bad-debt, and help you to decide on the best course of action with absolutely no pressure from us.

Our Fees

Undisputed Debts

We are swift and effective at what we do so we keep things simple and take 10% of whatever we recover on your behalf as our costs, no matter what the size of the debt.

These costs apply where your claim is in relation to an unpaid invoice which is not disputed, and enforcement action is not needed.

Our fee includes:

• Taking your instructions and reviewing the documentation
• Undertaking appropriate searches
• Sending a letter before action
• Receiving payment and sending to you, or if the debt is not paid, drafting and issuing claim
• Where no Acknowledgment of Service or Defence is received, applying to the court to enter Judgement in default
• When Judgement in default is received, write to the other side to request payment
• If payment is not received within 21 days, providing you with advice on the next steps and likely costs.

Disputed Debts

If the other party disputes your claim at any point, we will discuss any further work required and provide you with revised advice about costs if necessary, which could be on a fixed fee (e.g. if a one-off letter is required), or an hourly rate if more extensive work is needed. We also offer the option of ‘no win no fee’ in respect of disputed debts which allows you to pay for our costs upon the successful conclusion of your case.

Should you choose the no win no fee option then we will charge 25% of whatever we recover on your behalf as our costs, which reflects the amount of work and risk taken on our part that you may not recover any of the debt. You will not be charged until we have received the money owed to you by the debtor.

Disbursements

Although we do not charge for our services until recovery is made, any disbursements due will need to be paid upfront before further action can be taken.

Oftentimes a debtor will settle a claim prior to court proceedings so disbursements would only be a matter of the costs of any necessary searches such as land registry searches.

If court proceedings are necessary then the court fees are as follows:

Debt	Court fee
Up to £300	£35
£300 – £500	£50
£500 – £1,000	£70
£1,000 – £1,500	£80
£1,500 – £3,000	£115
£3,000 – £5,000	£205
£5,000 – £10,000	£455
£10,000 – £200,000	5% of claim

Anyone wishing to proceed with a claim should note that:

• The VAT element of our fee cannot be reclaimed from your debtor.
• Interest and compensation may take the debt into a higher banding, with a higher cost.
• The costs quoted above are not for matters where enforcement action, such as the bailiff, is needed to collect your debt.

We can be reached on 01204 977 201 or by email at enquiries@sksolicitors.co.uk

Matters usually take around 9-12 weeks from receipt of instructions from you to receipt of payment from the other side, depending on whether or not it is necessary to issue a claim. This is on the basis that the other side pays promptly on receipt of Judgement in default. If enforcement action is needed, the matter will take longer to resolve.