To protect your cash flow, you need to ensure that your business can collect bad debt. This is a common area of business activity and there is a well-established legal process for debt collection for businesses.
The Process of Recovery of Bad Debt
- Letter of demand is sent to the debtor. This debt collection letter needs to be legally admissible and so must include specific details of the debt, a request that payment be made by a certain date; and a warning that debt recovery options will be pursued if payment is not received by this date.
- Suing for debt. Court proceedings commence with the filing of a Statement of Claim. The Court handling the matter depends on the amount of the debt and the forms required vary so it’s important to seek legal advice at this stage.
- The way that the debtor responds to the Statement of Claim determines the next steps. They may agree to an instalment order, they may not respond at all in which case a Court Judgment will be obtained, or they may file a Defence.
Court Judgments
The Court has a range of options available to proceed with collection of your money. These include:
- Seizing property, where the debtors’ goods are seized and sold at auction
- Selling Real Estate
- Summons, where the debtor has to attend a public Court examination to explain their assets and liabilities
- Garnishee Order, where a percentage of their wages are given to you
- Bankruptcy/winding up proceedings
How we can help
We have experienced Debt Recovery solicitors who are completely at home with the legal processes involved in (insert your State) debt recovery services. We can help you at any stage of this process of recovering a business debt, whether it is helping you write an effective and legally sound letter of demand, or pursuing the matter through the Court system. Our debt solicitors are familiar with the process of enforcing Judgment and can manage the process right through to bankruptcy or company winding up proceedings if need be.
We are also well aware of the costs of debt litigation and can advise you on whether it is commercially viable to proceed to Court.
Never letting it happen again
One way to protect against bad debt is to review your contracts, trade agreements and terms of trade. We can help you make sure that your terms are clear and your processes solid so you can avoid lengthy and costly litigation proceedings in the future.
Kingsville Law s debt management solicitors can advise on debt solutions for limited companies, SMEs and individuals
Personal Debt Management
There are several legal options for tackling personal debt (credit cards, loans, mortgage arrears), including:
- Administration Orders (for debts below £5,000, where at least one County Court or High Court judgment has been made)
- Bankruptcy
- Debt Relief Order (debts below £20,000 – freezes debt for one year)
- Full and Final Settlement Offer (offering creditor a lump sum)
- Individual Voluntary Arrangement (freezes debts and enables debtor to repay over a period of time)
- Writing off debt (where circumstances will most likely prevent you from ever repaying debt e.g. unable to work, illness).
There may also be other options to clients such as debt consolidation loans or remortgaging, depending on a client’s circumstances and level of debt.
However, how debt is handled can affect future financial security and options – and has an impact on credit scores, so it is vital to take advice about debt management from Kingsville Law Solicitors as soon as possible.
Failing to deal with debt may result in a County Court Judgment being made against the debtor, which will set a deadline for the debt to be paid – as well as how much and when the money should be paid.
Legal Aid Funding
We are now able to assist all those eligible clients with their legal matter (defending debt claim) upon meeting eligibility criteria.
Contact us to discuss the specific details of your debt claim with an experienced debt recovery solicitor in London.
Corporate Debt & Insolvency
Kingsville Law Solicitors can also advise companies on debt solutions for business, including tackling unpaid or late invoices and charging statutory interest on outstanding commercial payments.
Kingsville Law Solicitors also advises on insolvency and can liaise with the Insolvency Service in investigations on behalf of a client, as well as advising on liquidation and winding up a partnership.
For expert legal advice on Debt please contact Kingsville Law Solicitors on 02083171477
DEBT RECOVERY – PRIVATE RATE CHARGEABLE
Hourly rates
Our charges are either hourly rated or fixed fee where applicable. You will be advised at the commencement of instruction if you matter is suitable for or will be chargeable on fixed fee.
Our hourly rates set out below are net of VAT. This mean Value added tax is chargeable at the current rate of 20% for the total fee chargeable. We review our hourly rates each year on 1st November to consider increases in costs. We will notify you in writing if the rates you are being charged are increased and the date from which the increases will apply.
We will charge you £300.00 for each hour spent on your matter by [Gafar Gbadamosi Principal, Senior Solicitors or Experienced equivalent person responsible for the case].
Where others are required to assist with your matter, we will charge you the following hourly rates for their work:
| Grade | Description | Hourly rate |
| 1 | Solicitors with over 8 years’ post-qualification experience | £300.00 |
| 2 | Solicitors and legal executives with over 4 years’ post-qualification experience | £265.00 |
| 3 | Solicitors of less than 4 years’ post-qualification experience, legal executives and fee earners of equivalent experience | £240.00 |
| 4 | Trainees, paralegals and fee earners of equivalent experience | £220.00 |
All routine correspondence which we write will be charged at 1/10th of the hourly rate, while routine correspondence we receive will be charged at 1/20th of the hourly rate.
All routine telephone calls, either made or received, will be charged at 1/10th of the hourly rate.
More complicated correspondence and telephone calls will be charged at the hourly rate for the actual time they take.
Disbursement Charges
Additional charges are payable for Disbursement are charged at the rate of the Court fee chargeable up to 5% of the value of the claim if you are the Claimant. There may be separate charges payable as defendant if you are counterclaim or wishes to separate claim against the other side. Please enquire within.
Other expenses
There may be other expenses which we need to pay on your behalf. These can include:
- court fees.
- fees for expert reports.
- barristers’ fees.
These will be listed separately on your bill, and you may be charged VAT in relation to these expenses too.