Leading Commercial Law Firm
Serving Manchester and Cheshire

Debt Recovery

We offer a professional and cost effective service to recover debts on your behalf.

At Neil Myerson we understand how important it is for every business to convert outstanding debts into payment as quickly as possible. This is why we offer a professional and cost effective service to recover these debts on your behalf.

Letter of Demand
For debts under £10,000 all you need to do is send us a completed commercial debt instruction form and we will immediately send out a letter of demand to the debtor. This letter will demand payment within 7 days and threaten court proceedings if payment is not made within this time. In some circumstances it may be more appropriate at this stage to serve a statutory demand on a debtor. Further details of this process and the costs involved are available on request.

Issuing Proceedings
We will contact you again (at the end of the 7 day period) to confirm whether or not the debtor has responded to our letter or settled the debt. If not, on receipt of your instructions and the appropriate court fee we will issue proceedings in the county court.

Once proceedings have been issued the debtor has 14 day to respond to the claim and up to 28 days to serve any defence. If the debtor files a defence the matter will be passed to our commercial litigation department and you will be given specific advice relevant to your particular matter

Entering Judgment
If the debtor fails to respond to the proceedings within 14 days we will ask the court to enter
Judgment in default for the debt, interest and fixed costs. This is a County Court Judgment (CCJ) and if it is not paid within one month of the date of the Judgment will be entered against the name of the debtor at the Central Registry of Judgments. Credit reference agencies use this information when carrying out credit checks. An unsatisfied Judgment i.e. a Judgment that has not been paid will affect an individual’s or a Company’s ability to obtain credit. Judgment debts of £5000 or over will continue to carry interest until paid or settled.

Our Fees
The following costs (plus VAT) will apply to an undefended claim up to the point that Judgment is entered.

• Letter of Demand - £15 per letter for debts under £10,000
• Issuing Proceedings - £65 (plus court fee)
• Entering Judgment - £20

In addition, we will retain any monies recovered as costs from the debtor.

Total cost to you of obtaining a judgement - £100 (plus VAT and Court Fee)

Please note that where a claim is defended and the matter is referred to our litigation department
our usual fees will apply. Our usual fees are based on the time spent on a particular matter and will be charged at our standard hourly rates.

Please enquire with us regarding our fees for debts over £10,000.

Enforcing a Judgment
Obtaining a Judgment against a debtor does not mean that you will automatically receive payment of the Judgment debt. The Judgment is a court order that enables you to take further steps to enforce the Judgment against the debtor to recover the debt. There are a number of methods of enforcing a Judgment and the method used will depend on the assets of the debtor. We can discuss your options in more depth with you at the appropriate time. Any background information that you have about the debtor will assist in deciding the most effective method of enforcement to use:

The methods of enforcement are:

a. Charging Order - this is a charge against the property of a debtor and places a restriction on the registered title of the property. The debtor will be unable to remove the restriction without your consent. Once you hold a charging order it is also possible to make an application to the court to sell the charged property to recover the Judgment debt.

b. Bailiffs - can visit the property of the debtor and seize goods to the value of the Judgment debt.

c. Statutory Demand - this is a formal demand for payment and is a precursor to other insolvency action against either an individual or a company.

d. Winding Up Petition - this is an application to the court to wind up a company on the basis that it is unable to pay its debts as they fall due.

e. Bankruptcy Proceedings - this is an application to the court to make an individual bankrupt on the basis that they are insolvent and unable to pay their debts as they fall due.

f. Attachment of Earnings Order - this is an order by the court that a debtor’s employer must pay some of the debtors earnings into court. The court then releases monies in part payment of the ebt. This continues on a regular basis until the Judgment debt is paid in full.

g. Third Party Debt Order - this order is usually made against a bank or building society and orders a third party who owes money to the debtor to pay money to you in part or full satisfaction of the Judgment debt.

Key Contacts

Tim Norman, Partner
0161 941 4000
Full Details...

Laura Evans, Solicitor
0161 941 4000
Full Details...

Adam Maher, Partner
0161 941 4000
Full Details...

Sarah Wellicome, Solicitor
0161 941 4000
Full Details...

Related Documents

Debt Recovery Instruction Form (Word)
Debt Recovery Instruction Form (PDF)
Related Legal Newsletters

Quick Service Finder

Whether you want a lawyer for your business or for family matters, our simple service finder will bring you information you need:

Newsletter Registration

If you'd like to receive our regular newsletters simply complete the following form and indicate which newsletters you would like.

Name Company Address Postcode Telephone Email Commercial Commercial Property Employment Agriculture IT