What can be done before starting legal action for a debt?

Legal action should always be seen as the final step in debt collection. There are other alternatives steps to consider resolving the issue before embarking on a legal route. The first step to recovering the money you are owed is to use a pre-legal approach. We offer fixed fee pre-legal collection. We use email, letters and telephone to chase debts on your behalf. We report back to you at all stages, with a final review report. At this point, based on the outcome, you can decide to take matters further and use court action. This service allows you to utilise the Late Payment Legislation, so you can add compensation and interest to the debt you are owed. We can also carry out credit checks on your debtors and advise on the most appropriate route to recover your money.

If pre-legal collection fails, what is the next step?

Court action should never be used as the first port of call. Our pre-legal approach has great success in most instances. If the pre-legal approach isn’t successful, though, we are able to escalate matters and take legal action through the courts. The first stage in the process is to issue a ‘Letter Before Action’ which gives the debtor a set deadline to pay the money owed before you follow a legal procedure. In many cases, this enough, and the debt is paid. If the payment isn’t paid by the deadline outlined in the ‘Letter Before Action’ you can move to a more formal legal claim and instruct a litigation solicitor to issue a claim for you. Chasing a debt should never be feared; it is your money. In most cases, it never reaches this stage, so it is always worth seeking advice before commencing enforcement action. If the Letter Before Action fails to resolve your issue, and you still haven’t been paid, the next step is to issue a Claim. We will prepare the Claim Form, Evidence Pack and Particulars of Claim on your behalf and submit these to the court. As a debt collection agency managing high volumes of debt claims, we are able to send claims electronically, which means reductions in both time and cost.

How may a judgment be enforced?

We are able to offer a range of options to enforce judgements if payment is not received within 14 days of the County Court Judgement. Tailored to the specifics of the account, our range of options include: Charging order Order for sale Warrant of control Attachment of earnings High Court Enforcement (for debt over £600 not regulated by Consumer Credit)

What happens if a claim is defended?

In certain instances, if a claim is defended but not complex, we may be able to continue to manage this for you in the debt recovery unit. If a matter is complex, we will discuss all options with you, including moving the matter to the solicitors in our Commercial Litigation team, who are expert in resolving disputes.

Are there alternatives to pursuing a matter in court?

For debts that are disputed by the debtor, another option before taking a legal route is to consider using an independent mediator to help both parties to negotiate an agreement which works for both sides. These are voluntary agreements, so neither side can be forced to adhere to the agreement, which may mean resorting to court action further down the line. Another option may be to use a debt collection arbitrator an independent person who works with both the creditor and the debtor to find an appropriate solution. However, unlike mediation, arbitration is legally binding, so it can be a better route to secure the money owed to you. Please bear in mind though that once an arbitrator has made a decision, it is not possible to go to court.

Home / Expertise / Dispute resolution / Bulk Debt Recovery

Bulk Debt Recovery

If you need ongoing debt recovery from various debtors or for multiple unpaid invoices, our award-winning bulk debt collection service will help you to secure the money you are owed.

Our commercially aware, pragmatic service offers an optimal, cost-effective solution to recovering large volumes of debt as quickly and efficiently as possible with the experience and knowledge of a law firm determined to be the experts of choice for businesses seeking a debt collection agency in the commercial and consumer worlds.

Our expertise

Our debt recovery lawyers and support staff have significant experience in recovering debts for banks, financial and insurance institutions, corporates, retailers, SMEs and individual traders. Our team are experts in the recovery of both commercial and consumer debt, across a range of industry sectors.

We provide a complete a debt recovery solution that is based on maximising recovery potential from every account. We put ourselves in our client’s shoes and treat the recovery of the debt as if it was our own money. This is done using high degrees of technology mixed with well trained staff working to recover the debt whilst delivering excellent brand protection. Our debt team is made up of over 40 debt collection professionals using the most advanced technology and tools. This gives us the systems, expertise and size to offer volume and bulk debt recovery services to a wide range of businesses. Through our subsidiary, we are members of the Credit Services Association and are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority.

If you want a modern innovative legal service – with collaboration, communication and mutual respect at its heart – designed to not only help protect your business but help it succeed, then please get in touch.

We are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). We operate in a fair and consistent manner, compliant with all regulatory guidance and best practice.

Have you been contacted about an outstanding debt?

If you have received a call, SMS or letter from us please see our customers page for more information.

FAQs

What can be done before starting legal action for a debt?

Legal action should always be seen as the final step in debt collection. There are other alternatives steps to consider resolving the issue before embarking on a legal route. The first step to recovering the money you are owed is to use a pre-legal approach. We offer fixed fee pre-legal collection. We use email, letters and telephone to chase debts on your behalf. We report back to you at all stages, with a final review report. At this point, based on the outcome, you can decide to take matters further and use court action.

This service allows you to utilise the Late Payment Legislation, so you can add compensation and interest to the debt you are owed. We can also carry out credit checks on your debtors and advise on the most appropriate route to recover your money.
If pre-legal collection fails, what is the next step?

Court action should never be used as the first port of call. Our pre-legal approach has great success in most instances. If the pre-legal approach isn’t successful, though, we are able to escalate matters and take legal action through the courts.

The first stage in the process is to issue a ‘Letter Before Action’ which gives the debtor a set deadline to pay the money owed before you follow a legal procedure. In many cases, this enough, and the debt is paid.

If the payment isn’t paid by the deadline outlined in the ‘Letter Before Action’ you can move to a more formal legal claim and instruct a litigation solicitor to issue a claim for you. Chasing a debt should never be feared; it is your money. In most cases, it never reaches this stage, so it is always worth seeking advice before commencing enforcement action.

If the Letter Before Action fails to resolve your issue, and you still haven’t been paid, the next step is to issue a Claim. We will prepare the Claim Form, Evidence Pack and Particulars of Claim on your behalf and submit these to the court. As a debt collection agency managing high volumes of debt claims, we are able to send claims electronically, which means reductions in both time and cost.
How may a judgment be enforced?
We are able to offer a range of options to enforce judgements if payment is not received within 14 days of the County Court Judgement. Tailored to the specifics of the account, our range of options include:
- Charging order
- Order for sale
- Warrant of control
- Attachment of earnings
- High Court Enforcement (for debt over £600 not regulated by Consumer Credit)
What happens if a claim is defended?

In certain instances, if a claim is defended but not complex, we may be able to continue to manage this for you in the debt recovery unit. If a matter is complex, we will discuss all options with you, including moving the matter to the solicitors in our Commercial Litigation team, who are expert in resolving disputes.
Are there alternatives to pursuing a matter in court?

For debts that are disputed by the debtor, another option before taking a legal route is to consider using an independent mediator to help both parties to negotiate an agreement which works for both sides. These are voluntary agreements, so neither side can be forced to adhere to the agreement, which may mean resorting to court action further down the line.

Another option may be to use a debt collection arbitrator an independent person who works with both the creditor and the debtor to find an appropriate solution. However, unlike mediation, arbitration is legally binding, so it can be a better route to secure the money owed to you. Please bear in mind though that once an arbitrator has made a decision, it is not possible to go to court.

Related services

Commercial litigation

Bespoke Debt Recovery Service

Pricing transparency

Value of claim (NB Interest and compensation may take your debt into a higher banding)	Fee scale (including VAT charged at 20%) (NB VAT is not recoverable from your debtor)
Up to £10,000	£96 - £480
£10,001 - £50,000	£840 – £1080
£50,001 - £100,000	£1440
£100,001 and above	Please get in touch with us.

Below is a table of Court fees that are payable upon each claim:

Debt amount £s	Court fee £s
Up to 300	£30
300.01-500	£50
500.01-1,000	£70
1,000.01-1,500	£80
1,500.01-3,000	£115.00
3,000.01-5,000	£205
5,000.01-10,000	£455
10,000.01-50,000	*5%
50,000.01-100,000	*5%
100,000-150,000	*5%
150,000-01-200,000	*5%
200,000.01-250,000	£10,000
250,000-01-300,000	£10,000
Over 300,000	£10,000

Court fees are charged as disbursements but they are added to the debt and recoverable from the debtor. Please note that there is no VAT payable upon Court fees.

If the debtor does not respond to the claim within 14 days, or admits all or part of the claim you are entitled to enter judgment (CCJ). There is no Court fee payable upon entering judgment, however our fees are as follows:

Judgment amount	Our fee	Recoverable costs (plus VAT charged at 20%)
Under £5,000	£45-£100	£22-£55
Over £5,000	£75-£135	£30-£70

Please note that the costs added to the debt upon entering Judgment are limited to the recoverable costs set out above.

Timescales

A typical claim against a consumer can take between 2 to 3 months to complete, this would include all pre action work required to progress the matter and to ultimately secure judgement. For a claim against a commercial entity, a typical case would take on average around 6 weeks to conclude.

The details

Fees include:

Taking instructions and reviewing documents
Undertaking appropriate searches
Sending a letter before action
Receiving payment on your behalf and passing it to you
Drafting and issuing claim if debt not paid
Applying to the court to enter judgment in default if no Acknowledgement of Service or Defence is received
Requesting payment when judgment in default is received
Advising on next steps if payment not received within a reasonable time frame (usually 14 days)

Disputed debt

If the debt is disputed, the fixed fees above will not apply. If you have a disputed debt, our Commercial Litigation team will advise on the work involved and the likely cost. This will depend on a number of variables including the value of the claim, the number of witnesses, the complexity of the defence raised, the amount of documentation to be reviewed, any counterclaims, any commercial objectives (including other disputes rolled up with the defended claim), and the parties involved.

Typically, we will provide a fixed fee for dealing with each stage of the litigation process in a defended claim i.e. replying to the defence, preparing directions questionnaires, dealing with any mediation (if applicable), preparing Witness Statements, disclosure, preparing trial bundles and instructing an Agent/Barrister to attend the final hearing on your behalf. It is difficult to provide timescales for defended claims progressing to a final hearing as this could depend upon the value of the claim, Court and witness availability and directions/deadlines agreed by the parties and set by the Court.

If work falls outside of our fixed costs and in circumstances where a case becomes protracted by reason of a dispute or otherwise, but we deem it to be suitable to remain with the debt team, we will inform you of this, and additional charges may be raised on an hourly rate basis.