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What is the best way to chase a debt

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PaulaS

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Sep 7, 2021
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I've been asked to help chase a 3k debt for some hire of a meeting room. Most of this is from 6+ months ago. The company is a limited company with a good credit rating (per Experian). They have been communicating with the person previously dealing with this, but she was given the run-around by them.

I'm looking for advice on the best way to get this paid. I'll try asking first of course, but if (when) this doesn't work do I go the legal route, try a solicitor's letter, pass it to a debt agency, or what?
 
Solution
Mark T Jones
General thoughts for the OP and others collecting debt.

The essence of collections is clear process and doing what you say you will do.

Stat demand is essentially a 'final hit'. It relies on the other party believing you will follow through. In reality it's unlikely that a £3K creditor will, and habitual non-payers will often take the risk.

Stat demand, followed by no action = write off.

On the other hand, the chances of follow-up through MCOL are relatively high. Though they might wait until notice is served, the door is open for various avenues forward.

It is usually possible to get details of key people by various means, however if it's not possible then one way forward is to

  • Find the names of all directors listed at...
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The best way, always is face to face. (with a smile and commitment)

Second - phone.

Before doing either:

- Be clear on full details.
- Be absolutely firm in the desired outcome.
- Follow up promptly stating clearly what has been promised/agreed
- Tell them what you intend to do.
- Do it

If it's a genuinely strong business, it's always amusing to pitch in with 'if you're struggling to pay, we can make an arrangement' (it can backfire though.
 
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Credit rating will mean nothing

Depends how big the company is but as it's limited the debt will go to the company not the indiviual who booked it

For the value i suspect if its a small company it will be shut down once it gets a bit serious

and this is the problem for you , you could spend a couple hundred quid through the courts but once it gets serious they can just put the company through and start a new one

You won't get a bean
 
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We will often call to say we are only ringing out of courtesy as we will now be escalating to the next step to commence proceedings. That often works.

If not, then follow through and start the money claim online for the CCJ.
 
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As long as the debt is not disputed, ie you have evidence where the amount is accepted as being due, then you can serve a demand for payment. This will give you the right to petition for liquidation after 21 days. This is a double edged sword and the liquidation procedure is expensive (both legals and time) and will only prove to be useful if the company is strongly solvent as they will then settle. Happy to assist with it if you think this is what you need.
 
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I'm still here, thank you for all the advice. No they haven't given a reason for not paying, just excuses. As I said this one has just been passed to me, I haven't taken any action yet but I'll report back whether I make progress or not.
 
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PaulaS said:
I'm still here, thank you for all the advice. No they haven't given a reason for not paying, just excuses. As I said this one has just been passed to me, I haven't taken any action yet but I'll report back whether I make progress or not.
Click to expand...
Please do

I'm making a couple of big guesses, but I think this debt is recoverable with some focus and process
 
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Persistance is the key. As has been said by Mark Jones said communicate in person is best and if that is not possible then by telephone.

Also you have make sure that you are talking to the person who actually agreeded to giving you the work or buying the goods from you. Do not let yourself be fobbed off by being put through to the accounts department. I have found phoning every two weeks works best. Once evey week and you get treated as a pest and once a month is not enough.
 
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Gecko001 said:
Also you have make sure that you are talking to the person who actually agreeded to giving you the work or buying the goods from you. Do not let yourself be fobbed off by being put through to the accounts department
Click to expand...
It's an interesting point, which I was actually pondering.

My personal thought at this point is that they should be talking to the person who actually instigates the payment, which might be 'someone in accounts'.

However, it is essential that key parties are copied on all correspondence - including the person who authorised/signed off the work and a top dog - IE MD or FD. (They may of course all be the same person).

Also, said correspondence must include a concise, bulleted email after every phone conversation.


Being a pest at this stage is no bad thing!
 
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An update.

I have spoken with the only contact we have a couple of times. He first told me that the accounts department had "all gone home" and promised to speak to them and call me back. The second time he said he had spoken with his FD but they hadn't decided what to do and he would call me. Needless to say, he hasn't called me at all. I followed up each time with an email confirming what we had spoken about.

I will try again tomorrow, but I'm not getting a good feeling about this.
 
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I did ask to speak to the FD/accounts directly but was given the brush off. I've only got details for this one person (whose job title is "marketing executive") and he's always answered the general enquiries phone number. They are a reasonably sized company on linkedin but there are no finance staff listed there.

If I do a LBA then follow up with money claim online, is it also worth claiming for statutory interest?
 
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PaulaS said:
I did ask to speak to the FD/accounts directly but was given the brush off. I've only got details for this one person (whose job title is "marketing executive") and he's always answered the general enquiries phone number. They are a reasonably sized company on linkedin but there are no finance staff listed there.

If I do a LBA then follow up with money claim online, is it also worth claiming for statutory interest?
Click to expand...
If you DM me the details, I'll try to get the correct contact details

Yes, if you go legal claim for anything you can
 
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I would email a statutory demand and also post it to the registered office address of the company.

That should cause the debtor company to blink or at least wake up and smell the coffee.

A failure to pay or compound to the sactisfaction of the creditor within 18 days is evidence of insolvency upon which you can petition to wind up the company.

Sending a stat demand by email addresses to the top dog should get the debtor company to cough up.

All you need to say is "please see attached statutory demand dated...in the sum of ...."

This may save the hassle of starting a claim with money claims online - although that procedure is also useful if push comes to shove.
 
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General thoughts for the OP and others collecting debt.

The essence of collections is clear process and doing what you say you will do.

Stat demand is essentially a 'final hit'. It relies on the other party believing you will follow through. In reality it's unlikely that a £3K creditor will, and habitual non-payers will often take the risk.

Stat demand, followed by no action = write off.

On the other hand, the chances of follow-up through MCOL are relatively high. Though they might wait until notice is served, the door is open for various avenues forward.

It is usually possible to get details of key people by various means, however if it's not possible then one way forward is to

  • Find the names of all directors listed at Companies house.
  • Find the generic email format.
  • Send an email to all of them, using the format. Plus one the the generic 'info' address.
  • Post signed-for LBA to all.
If you can read a confirmation statement, it's safe to assume that the biggest shareholder is the MD
 
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Solution
In this situation, I would try to find out the reason why the bill/debt hasn't been paid. If there's a personal circumstance, I'd offer to reduce the bill to continue our working relationship. I would seek this route before going the legal route, and offer a payment plan on the reduced total bill. Always try to speak to them over the phone, than email. If you can't get hold of them, leave an email with the view to arrange a friendly call. Aggressive emails won't get you anywhere!
 
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fantheflames said:
In this situation, I would try to find out the reason why the bill/debt hasn't been paid. If there's a personal circumstance, I'd offer to reduce the bill to continue our working relationship. I would seek this route before going the legal route, and offer a payment plan on the reduced total bill. Always try to speak to them over the phone, than email. If you can't get hold of them, leave an email with the view to arrange a friendly call. Aggressive emails won't get you anywhere!
Click to expand...
TBH it's gone beyond that stage.

Though I fully agree that this should be the start point.
 
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fantheflames said:
It does sound quite messy, but no reason to try to get it back to this stage. I would seek a slightly different approach with a bill over £2K.

Curious to know how it's going for OP.
Click to expand...
We'll agree to differ, except for the aggressive email bit

All communication should be professional, concise and clear in intent and plan.

Having read the thread and worked in face-to-face collections, I'm going to agree with Secret Affair


- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.
youtu.be youtu.be
 
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The best way is to think creatively. First of all, cut back all of your unnecessary expenses and put them into your loan and also involve into more than one job.
 
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Latest update. We issued an LBA and received no response. I was just about to start a MoneyClaim but I've now noticed that in the last two weeks the company has had two CCJ's issued (1.7k and 2.6k). Previously they had a clean credit record.

Is it still worth us spending £115 to go down the legal route, or hand this over to a collections company (any recommendations?) - or just give up on it?

Thank you all for helping by the way :)
 
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