We provide cost effective support for clients seeking the recovery of debts across the UK. An initial letter of claim or service of a statutory demand can often be a very effective way of getting a debtor to pay their debt and often this can be achieved at quite a low cost. Many unpaid debts are resolved within a few days in this manner.

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Please send us an email to dominic.tryb@tryb.co for more information and a quote or call us on 0203 440 2750.

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If the initial correspondence does not resolve matters and end with payment of the unpaid debt, we can advise further as to cost effective methods of recovering unpaid debts. There are largely two sets of proceedings that are available to a creditor, as explained below. The first, set out below, is where the debt is disputed by the debtor (and / or there is a counterclaim) in which case the court will need to decide whether the debtor is actually liable for the debt. 

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The second, where there is not a genuine dispute with reasonable prospects of success, is to initiate insolvency proceedings where the debtor is put on notice of the intention to initiate such proceedings by serving a statutory demand. If the statutory demand remains unpaid and there are no grounds for a dispute the court can be asked to wind up the debtor company or bankrupt the individual debtor.

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In any event our team will press hard for payment and have a very high success rate in resolving debt recovery issues. Where a dispute arises our litigation team can deal with it.

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Price transparency: For debt recovery of debts up to £100,000 typical initial costs could include £300 - £750 + VAT for an initial review of the situation with pre-action letter or statutory demand. The hourly charge out rate is £250 + VAT for solicitors. We often use process servers to serve documents. Their costs are usually around £100 + VAT.

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If a claim needs to be issued with proceedings leading to a trial. A court fee will need to be paid  details can be found on the government website

 

https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/court-fees

 

The cost of full proceedings could range between £10,000 - £50,000 + VAT depending on a number of factors including the amount of disclosure, evidence, witnesses, whether an expert witness is needed, number of days of a trial, complexity of issues etc. A tailored fee estimate can be given once the specifics of the case have been reviewed, broken down for each of the stages of the proceedings.

 

Please send us an email to dominic.tryb@tryb.co for more information and a quote or call us on 0203 440 2750.

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The main stages of a disputed claim are set out below:

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Issue of the claim and defence

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The Claimant will need to issue a claim form and file and serve particulars of claim. The Defendant can then defend the claim by filing a defence within the requisite timeframe. If there is a counterclaim against the Claimant, the Defendant may also file a counterclaim.

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Costs Case Management Conference

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The first hearing is largely procedural in nature. It deals with the timetable for the claim, whether any expert evidence will be required, the trial length, the estimated costs of the proceedings and any other procedural concerns. There is no witness evidence and often the parties are not present and are only represented by their respective legal advisers. The court will issue directions as a result of the hearing which form the timetable of the case.

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Disclosure

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The court will usually order that the parties search for and disclose all documents and evidence relevant to the case - both documents that help a party's case as well as those that are adverse or help another party's case. The parties then exchange documents so that they can review all documents that are relevant to the case.

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Witness statements

 

Once the parties are satisfied that each party has disclosed all relevant documents and the documents have been reviewed, the parties draft witness statements for each witness that is going to give evidence on their behalf, if necessary referring to disclosed documents by way of an exhibit. The parties then exchange witness statements. 

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Expert evidence

 

Some cases need expert evidence. For example, a dispute concerning the quality of a builder's work may need the input of a surveyor to inform the court of what could reasonably be expected from the builder. The court may direct that a single joint expert is instructed by the parties or may decide that each party can have their own experts.

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Pre-trial review

 

This a further largely procedural hearing which may be dispensed with in some cases. In others the PTR may be necessary if there are still lingering or unresolved issues that need the court's input.

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Trial

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If the case has still not settled the parties will go to court to have the case tried in front of a judge. This will usually take at least a day in more complex matters, with a larger number of witnesses or expert evidence this can take a number of days. The judge will listen to the evidence and each party has the opportunity to cross examine the opposing witnesses on their witness evidence. The judge will then come to a decision as to which party has been successful and what order should be made as to costs. It is usual for the successful party to have their reasonable costs paid for by the losing party (often around 60%).

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Statutory demand

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Another method of achieving payment, where the sums are not in dispute is by issuing a statutory demand.

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A statutory demand must be drafted an served on the debtor. The debtor then has 21 days to either pay or dispute the debt on substantial grounds. The dispute must be genuine and often debtors are keen to invent one in an attempt to stymie the statutory demand process.

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If the statutory demand and there is no reasonable dispute or counterclaim then, in the case of a company, a winding up petition can be sought, or in the case of an individual a bankruptcy petition can be served. This initiates insolvency proceedings against the debtor which can result in the debtor's liquidation (if a company) or bankruptcy (for an individual). This is often quite a motivating factor for making payment of a debt and can be a useful method of achieving payment early on without too much cost.

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As in all cases though it is worth considering whether the debtor has the resources to actually make payment otherwise any victory in court will only be 'pyrrhic' as the costs of the proceedings may not be recovered.

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The above is a summary and overview of some of the features of proceedings in court, It is not a substitute for legal advice and should not be relied on.

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For further information please contact us on 0203 440 2750 or dominic.tryb@tryb.co for further details.