1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192 
I'LL SEE YOU IN COURT GOING TO COURT for debt
Page 55
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
collection is a last resort. Roger Nolan, the FTA's finance director, says:"It's a drastic measure and tends to indicate that the relationship has broken down-soil it's possible to sort the situation out beforehand, it's clearly preferable."
Lawyers can also be expensive, although the small claims court is simpler, does not require lawyers and charges relatively modest fees ranging from £30 for a £300 debt to £120 for a £5,000 debt (which is the maximum permitted claim).
You can now make a claim online at www.moneyclaim.
gov.uk,which gives full guidance on what to do and contact numbers if you have any questions.
When making a claim,you are required to list the documents you intend to rely on, such as contracts, invoices, correspondence and bounced cheques. The defendant is asked to do the same and when the case comes to court you and any witnesses sit alone with a judge. If you win, the judge will usually award the debt, interest and court fees.
But remember that there needs to be money available to pay debts. There is little point in taking a firm in receivership to court, for example.
If you do win the case,the court will send out bailiffs to collect on your behalfbut their ability to collect depends on circumstances.They can confiscate property, but it has to be owned by the defendant. Leased vehicles or office equipment, for instance, will not belong to the defendant and therefore is not collectable against the debt.
Court action is possible and can be successful, but you are probably better to try every other option first.