Alternative Debt Dispute Resolution Wins the Day Over £67,000 Late Payment Debt
When a late payment claim is contested, the case is passed to our specialist debt recovery solicitors in the commercial litigation department, headed up by Mark Edwards. Each case is different and our solicitors will use their legal knowledge and expertise to advise on the best best course of action. Sometimes the issuing of County Court proceedings is the only course of action that will make the Debtor settle. However, as this case study shows, when appropriate we do use alternative debt dispute resolution methods, which avoid the time and expense of taking the Debtor to Court.
The Details of This Case
We were recently instructed by a Client who was owed just over £67,000.00 in relation to building works that had been carried out.
The Debtor was resisting all attempts by our Client to obtain payment even though there was no justifiable dispute or Defence.
We were instructed to write a detailed Letter of Claim to the Debtor demanding payment or threatening County Court proceedings or, as an alternative, Insolvency proceedings.
This quickly had the desired effect of prompting the Debtor to start communicating and led to dialogue being opened between the Debtor and ourselves, paving the way for an alternative dispute resolution process to settle the debt.
The Alternative Debt Dispute Resolution Worked and the Debtor Paid Up
We were able to successfully negotiate and agree settlement whereby the Debtor not only paid our Client the overdue debt, but also interest (pursuant to the Late Payment Compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998) and our Client’s legal costs.
We are delighted to report that the Debtor has now made the final payment clearing the debt agreed in full. The whole process only took a matter of months, which is much quicker than if proceedings had been issued. Click here to see some more of our case studies.
The Process Brought the Debtor to the Table
The successful outcome of the process meant that there was no need to issue Court proceedings to try to recover the debt – it was simply a case of bringing the “Debtor to the table” and obtaining a satisfactory outcome and resolution for our Client. In the circumstances, this was a quicker and cheaper solution than having to issue County Court proceedings, and certainly demonstrates the potential effectiveness of alternative debt dispute recovery to deliver the results our clients want. A word of warning, however, is that some Debtors will not pay without having to resort to litigation. It all depends on the facts of each individual case.
Talk to our debt Recovery Solicitors if you are Suffering from Late Payments
Late payment is very prevalent in the UK and can cause cash flow problems and even insolvency. In most cases, a solicitors’ letter before action will succeed in getting the debtor to pay. However, when the debt is disputed or payment is not being made, then litigation, or the threat of litigation is needed.
If your firm is suffering from late payments, please contact our debt recovery solicitors or call us on 01922 700730 for a FREE initial chat. We are the longest established specialist firm of debt recovery solicitors in the country. Over the past 40 years, we have recovered £10s of millions in late payments for our clients If you decide to instruct us, we can often start the debt recovery process on the same day.