FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What's the difference between solicitors and debt recovery agencies?

Solicitors are professionally qualified, are subject to a professional code of conduct and are entitled to represent their clients in court proceedings. They are obliged to hold insurance to cover claims for losses suffered by their clients if the client receives negligent advice. If a solicitor receives money on behalf of a client and misuses the money, his or her professional body, the Law Society , will step in and reimburse the client for any loss suffered. Solicitors typically charge either  on a time basis for work done  or on a fixed price basis.

Debt collection agencies vary considerably but, unless they employ solicitors within their organisation, they are not entitled to act in court proceedings on behalf of their clients nor will they be subject to professional rules of conduct in the same way as solicitors. A small minority of debt collection agencies have in the past received money from debtors of their clients but have failed to pass on that money to their clients as a result of fraud or insolvency, leaving their clients out of pocket. Debt collection agencies often charge by reference to a % of the debt recovered by them.

Is it worth instructing a solicitor for my debt?

It depends on the value of your debt and the "collectability" of your debt. By "collectability", we mean the age of the debt, whether the debtor is likely to dispute the debt and the financial circumstances of your debtor.

As a general rule, it is certainly worth a letter and telephone call from us (our total charge for those 2 procedures will not exceed £30.00 plus VAT).

Before issuing court proceedings, careful thought needs to be given to how you might enforce a court order for payment if your customer will still not pay voluntarily.

We would not generally suggest issuing proceedings if the likely cost involved for your business would exceed around 25% of the debt value.

Always decide on a budget at an early stage for how much you are prepared to spend on legal costs to recover a particular debt and then stick to it!

See our County Court Costs Calculator and our web page on fees to calculate the costs of instructing us!