Debt Recovery
15.12.2021
Did you know owed money can be recovered up to 6 years later?
Don’t write off owed money, let our team of solicitors recover the debt for you.
Sterling Law has a team of experienced solicitors, including senior specialists with 20+ years of experience.
Sterling Law can find cost-effective solutions to recover the outstanding debt, regardless of the amount owed. We offer free case evaluation, and if we think your debt is unrecoverable, we will let you know upfront. Our team can take care of the whole process, from start to finish, with minimal involvement from your side.
Read below how Sterling Law can help you with debt recovery:
Letter before action
Before you start your small claim you must write a formal letter to the person or business you disagree with – ‘Defendant’. This is called a ‘letter before claim’ or a ‘letter before action’.
This letter should contain:
- your full name and your current address
- a summary of what’s happened and the debt incurred
- what you want the person or business to do about it
- how much money you want – like the cost of repair or a replacement – and how you’ve calculated that amount
- a deadline for reply – usually 14 days – please check this
- that you’ll start court proceedings if you don’t get a reply – next section
Making the claim
No response to your letter before action? You will have to make a claim via Money claim online
Money Claim Online is a simple, convenient and secure way of making or responding to a claim via the internet. The service allows you to keep an eye on the status of your/the Claim, Judgment and/or Warrant.
You can use the existing MCOL service to claim:
- for a fixed sum under £100,000
- against no more than 2 people or organisations.
You can use the service from anywhere in the UK, but only against someone with an address in England or Wales. You must be 18 or over to make a claim.
Please note you will also have to pay court fees, which differs depending on your claim amount.
The next step
The Defendant must respond to your claim. You’ll be sent a letter or email telling you the date they need to respond by.
If there’s a hearing, you can:
- represent yourself
- pay for a barrister or solicitor to represent you
- ask someone to advise you in court – they do not have to be a lawyer
- ask someone to speak on your behalf – you might need to get the court’s permission
Your hearing can be held in the judge’s room or a courtroom in a county court if your claim is for less than £10,000. There might be a more formal hearing if you’re claiming for more.
After the hearing
You’ll get a decision on the day of the hearing. The court will also send you a copy of the decision by post.
Enforcing judgment
You have the following options to enforce your judgment to recover the outstanding amount
- Use an HCEO to enforce your judgment and recover debt
- Apply for an attachment of earnings order to recover a monthly amount from the debtor’s pay
- Use court appointed bailiffs to recover any sums
- You can ask the court to charge the debtors land or property
Recovering debt is a frustrating and tedious process for someone who is not familiar with the process. Inexperience in making such claims can often lead to unsuccessful claims.
If you have a debt recovery upon which you need advice, please contact us directly.
Kuldeep S. Clair Consultant, Solicitor and Advocate:
Email: Kuldeep@sterlinglawyers.co.uk