Debt Recovery
Debt recovery is part of a business that all owners hope to avoid. Unfortunately, it’s sometimes necessary if a person or company is late paying for a service or product they have used.
If your business is owed money, Attwells Solicitors can help you recover your debt. We can do this by sending a ‘chasing letter’ known as a Letter Before Action (LBA) and warn against further legal action.
Attwells Solicitors can help you take court action if required by issuing court claims, obtaining a CCJ (County Court Judgement) and enforcing it. This includes insolvency proceedings if required.
How much does sending a debt recovery letter cost?
Letters Before Action cost £150.00 plus VAT per letter. These will be sent via Recorded Delivery to ensure the recipient receives the letter. Where an email address has been provided, your solicitor will also email the recipient via our CASE Management system at no extra cost.
As per the pre-action debt protocol rules set out by the Courts, the debtor must respond within 30 days. Once we have a response, we can offer you advice on the next step. The next step very much depends on their response but can range from payment to starting proceedings.
Business Debt Recovery Services
What happens if the debtor doesn’t pay?
This is rare but where the debtor has failed to make a payment or agree a settlement or payment plan, we can act on your behalf to issue a county court claim.
If no defence to the claim is received within 14 days, we can enter default Judgment (CCJ). We can then advise on how to enforce the CCJ against the debtor and their assets.
How much does applying and enforcing a CCJ cost?
Applying and enforcing a CCJ is a fixed fee averaging between £250.00 – £750.00 plus VAT, depending on the size of the debt. You will also incur court fees known as disbursements, these are outlined on the Government website.
How long will it take to recover my money?
From sending a Letter of Claim to entering default Judgment is likely to take between 6 to 8 weeks but often the debtor pays after receiving the Letter of Claim.
The stages involved in recovering debt
Letter of Claim sent by email and post
Response from debtor within 30 days
We will advise you on the debtor’s response and advise on what action to take
If no response is received within 30 days, we can issue proceedings on your behalf
If no defence to the claim is received within 14 days, we can enter default Judgment
We can then advise on how to enforce the judgment against the debtor and their assets
How much do we charge?
What you can expect when instructing Attwells Solicitors
What happens if the debt is disputed?
If your debt is over £10,000, we would invite you to submit your evidence.
Supporting evidence would include:
- A copy of your terms and conditions or contract
- Any letters e-mails or other communication with the debtor
Our solicitors will ask you to do this because if the debtor has signed a contract with you, they may well be in breach of contract. This would offer you a strong case when defending the dispute.
A disputed legal matter is typically regarded as litigation as it has moved beyond the debt recovery stage.
How much does debt litigation cost?
If your debt is disputed, Attwells Solicitors can still help. We offer fixed fees and will support you from start to finish.
Typically, a disputed debt costs between £1,000 to £5,000* plus VAT.
This fee may include:
- Review of documentation in advance of drafting a letter of advice (subject to a reasonable number of documents)
- Letter of advice setting out the legal position, our advice, and an assessment of prospects of success for any potential claims
- Applying to the court
- Attempts to settle including mediation
Can the debtor also pay my court costs?
For a debt over £10,000 yes, potentially the debtor would pay your legal bill, but only if they disputed the debt and therefore caused you to take legal action.
If you do not win your case however you will still need to pay your legal bill. Therefore, for debt under £10,000, we suggest you seek advice from CAB and attempt to resolve the issue via the small claims court. This is to protect our clients from spending more on legal fees and court costs than the debt is worth.
Who will do my work?
Our litigation team comprises senior solicitors with over 10 years of experience and is overseen by ligation Partners with similar experience in litigation and property law.
I am a member of the Property Litigation Association and have expertise in matters relating to adverse possession, boundary disputes, nuisance neighbours, and possession actions against residential and commercial tenants.
I have conducted matters in the High Court as well as before the Adjudicator to HM Land Registry and the Residential Property Tribunal. Outside of contentious property matters I carry a general litigation caseload.
Clients value my strong analytical skills and supportive approach. l am happy to discuss flexible funding arrangements for the handling of matters such as conditional fee or ‘no win-no fee’ agreements.
He has a special interest in inheritance disputes advising both executors and potential beneficiaries. He also has deals with commercial disputes and partnership disputes. Edward also has a long history of acting for seriously injured people where his empathetic approach is of great value to the injured party and their families.
Like all of Attwells lawyers, Edward is happy to discuss any potential matter on a no charge, no obligation basis.
Outside of the office Edward is a trustee of Balkerne Gardens Trust (a not for profit group of care homes) and is also a founding trustee of the Colchester Half Marathon.
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