Debt Recovery

Do You Need More Information?

 

Our debt experts offer fixed fees and accept many cases on a ‘no-win no-fee' basis. For more information, don’t hesitate to contact us here. 

 

The work will involve:

• Discussing your circumstances in detail and confirming whether this is the most appropriate action for you to make and what other options may be available to you;

• Giving you advice about the requirements of the Civil Procedure Rules and whether you meet the criteria;

• Considering the supporting evidence you have provided, which we anticipate will take 1-5 hours;*

• Where necessary, helping you to obtain further evidence, such as expert reports or obtaining witness evidence;

• Preparing your claim and submitting it on your behalf, which we anticipate  will take 3-5 hours;

• Attendance at court, we will give you clear advice (and discuss the possibility of us attending with you) at the appropriate time or arranging representation for you by a barrister. This could be between 5-30 hours of work;

• Giving you advice about the outcome of the claim and any further steps you may need to take; and

• Advising of any enforcement options available following a successful outcome.

 

*the amount of hours depends on the number of documents, whether anything is missing and how long it will take to obtain the missing documents.
The list quoted above does not include:

• Enforcement;

• Any additional application that may be required;

• The costs of other parties which you are ordered to pay;

• Where the court dismisses your claim, any advice and assistance relating to an appeal.

 

How long will my claim take? 
 

We cannot guarantee how long the court will take to process any claim that you make. 
We will normally be able to submit this type of application within 8-16 weeks of your instructing us, but we will let you know at the earliest opportunity if it is likely to take longer than this. There are Pre-Action Protocols which have to be followed before proceedings can be issued, to ensure that there are no penalties in respect of the recovery of costs, which can take time. Additionally, if mediation is requested by the responding party, then this should be entered into, as there are penalties of up to 30% reductions to legal costs for unreasonable refusal to mediate.
Please note the anticipated number of hours and fees are an estimate based on the facts above. All applications are likely to vary and, of course, we can give you a more accurate estimate once we have more information about your specific case.

 

Disbursements:
 
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, we handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process. Potential disbursements you may incur are:

• Court fees;

• Counsels fees;

• Expert fees;

• Mediator’s costs;

• If we attend a court hearing, meeting or mediation there will be additional disbursements in respect of our mileage/travel expenses. 

The process of debt recovery can be daunting and intimidating to those unfamiliar with it, although many will go to a debt collecting agency, often going to a firm of Paralegals who specialise in debt recovery is the better choice.

 

Approaching a Paralegal to deal with a debt recovery issue has the added advantage of having legal advice on hand; you can rest assured that the manner of recovery will be handled in a legal and ethical manner. If it is the case that the matter becomes more legally complex, you have the added benefit of knowing the organisation you have selected to recover your outstanding money has competent, qualified and experienced legal professionals to act for you.

 

A Paralegal can also provide advice on how to further protect you in the future against bad debts and debt control.

 

If you are experiencing trouble collecting money owed to you, there are a few points you may want to consider before approaching a debt collecting service, which will affect the type of service you need:

• Can the debtor afford to make any form of payments?

• How much does the debtor owe you? (This will affect your fee).

• Is there the possibility of a dispute over the amount of money owed?

• How many payments behind is the debtor?

• Could you make an agreement with the debtor for reduced payments?

• If it is necessary, are you willing to go to court against your debtor?

• Do you know where the debtor is now, or do you require a tracing agent?

 

There are also other methods you can take before needing to contact a debt recovery service:

• First ring the debtor regarding the account and discuss with them in a friendly manner why you are calling. It’s important at this stage you still maintain a positive relationship with them

• If in two to three weeks’ time the debtor has still not made any payments then you should make contact again. If the debtor is struggling financially you could offer them a form of reduced payment plan which may help

• Keep a thorough record of all contact and correspondence with the debtor, including the date and the times of contact

• Take some advice on interest rates on the debt, such as when and what it is legal to charge

• If the debtor has still made no attempts to pay and remains uncooperative, write them a letter informing them of your intention to transfer the debt to a collection service unless they respond. You should include a deadline and the options they have to avoid this course of action

• This is then the point at which you would then contact us for advice and to begin the process

 

You will need to establish exactly what you require, usually any responsible debt collection agency will recommend pre-legal services and chasing techniques before court action, and often it is the case that this is usually enough to establish a healthy relationship with debtors and recover what is owed.

 

The next step in the process is usually to consider court action, where the debtor is sued to recover the debt, our fee will depend on the amount of debt owed and of course this will be communicated to you in a completely transparent manner along with the process before you instruct us, so you know exactly what to expect.