Best way to collect a debt

[butterfm]

Hi,

I know this type of questions comes up quite frequently so I apologise in advance.
My wifes business is owed in the region of £2500 from a customer. So far we have issued a claim on Moneyclaim which the customer ignored. We then requested a judgement. The letter again was ignored by the customer.
It seems we can now issue a warrant at the cost of £100 however i've heard that the county court baliffs are not usually very successful. Could anyone pls suggest what our alternatives are ?

As far as I understand it we can :-

1. Get an attachment of earnings.
2. Get a private debt collector to pursue the Debt
3. Anything else ?

Do any private debt collection companies work on a comission basis. i.e. Take a % of what they retrieve ?
I would be quite happy to pay a % of the debt if it was collected however I'm reluctand however to pay a private company up front as I've no way of knowing whether they will retrieve it or not.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

M.

 

[Consistency]

Best way to collect a debt



Pay up or I will get the boys round.



Not the legal way, but the best way........after other methods of failed.



Of course I do not endorse that and am joking!

 

[butterfm]

If all else fails I'll give you a call

 

[termsandconditions]

Yes, county court bailiffs can be a bit toothless especially when they give one weeks' notice of a visit ...just enough time, you might think, to squirrel away anything of value and park the BMW round the corner.

As you have already laboured some way through our court system, I would consider upgrading your Warrant to a High Court Writ. Then you can get High Court Enforcement Officers on the job which have greater powers than bailiffs and can enter commercial premises at will. Once there, they can start unplugging equipment and the cash usually miraculously appears. As such, this is great for business debts. But before embarking on this course of action, check to ensure you have a good address and that the debtor is still around.

The only thing a debt collector can do is to leverage the various consequences of enforcing the CCJ.

Best Regards

 

[butterfm]

Thanks for the advice, it seems like the high court writ may be the best way forward.
The customer is not a commercial customer so do the high court baliffs have the same powers to enforce the writ as they do for commercial properties.

M

 

[vvaannmmaann]

People ignore letters from the Small Claims Court?

 

[mountrecruitment]

try a debt collector - i think a lot of this can be quite psychological and if they are just hoping you will go away a debt collection agency will change their minds.

There are some that just take % but it may be worth paying for one that takes a payment upfront then adds a % onto the final amount owed - often these companies also provide a credit check for future clients etc

best of luck

 

[termsandconditions]

Thanks for the advice, it seems like the high court writ may be the best way forward.
The customer is not a commercial customer so do the high court baliffs have the same powers to enforce the writ as they do for commercial properties.
M

I don't know the answer in detail so I recommend that you actually talk to a firm of HCEOs called Sheriffs. I have a contact at the Croydon office and can let you have his name etc if you PM me.

Best Regards

 

[SelectCM]

Hi Butterfm, I have sent you a private message.

Thanks,
Tom
Select Credit Management Limited

 

[daniel.benson]

Thanks for the advice, it seems like the high court writ may be the best way forward.
The customer is not a commercial customer so do the high court baliffs have the same powers to enforce the writ as they do for commercial properties.

M

A HCEO is the best option of enforcement, the only difference between a commercial debtor to an individual debtor is forced entry cannot be made to a residential address where a commercial property forced entry can be made as long as it meet a few requirements.

If you already have a judgement, a debt collector would be pointless as they have already ignored past letter from the court and yourself.

If you need more info on High Court Enforcement feel free to pm me.

 

[Steve Thornbury]

Seems you have chosen the court route you have to stick on it so most debt collectors would be unable to help you. You need a HCEO and' like above, we use The Sheriffs Office based in Croydon.
Should you require a name feel free to contact me and I'll introduce you.

Good luck!

 

[butterfm]

Thanks all for the helpful replies. I'll consider all the option but it sounds as the HCEO may be the best route to try at least initially.