Debt recovery

The Debenhams Ottaway Debt Recovery team is a leader in cost effective and professional debt recovery. We do not operate a one size fits all service and will tailor our service to your specific needs.

We operate fixed fee services for non-defended actions. Where the matter becomes defended we provided a cap on the costs of the proceedings proportionate to the level of the debt.

We boast a number of household names as clients across various sectors. We see our debt recovery team as an extension of your own credit control department.

We ensure that we claim Late Payment interest and Statutory Compensation for you on all of your outstanding invoices. These additional sums can be used to assist you in funding your legal costs on defended actions.

Our debt recovery services include the following:

  • We will send a letter before action to the Defendant claiming:
  • The principal debt
    • Late Payment interest at 8% above base rate
    • Late Payment compensation at either £40, £70 or £100.
  • For bulk clients all sums recovered, including interest and compensation are initially remitted to you without deduction or commission.
  • We will help identify and locate the correct Defendant.
  • We will advise, where possible, on the Defendant’s financial position and the likely chances of recovery.
  • We will diarise for issue after 7 days.
  • We offer a variety of value added services and incentives for bulk clients details of which are available on request.
  • We prepare, issue and enter Judgment on undefended cases for a fixed fee.
  • We identify the correct Defendant where invoices are rendered to a trading name.
  • We identify the correct address for service.
  • We calculate and claim statutory interest and compensation.
  • When an action becomes defended we provide you with a case plan.
  • If there are no reasonable prospects of the Defence succeeding then we will apply to strike the Defence out so that your staff are not required to attend Court.
  • If there is a triable issue then we will advise on merits and prepare the case for trial.
  • All cases are handled by experienced Solicitors and Trainee Solicitors not paralegals.
  • We offer a lower hourly rate for bulk debt recovery clients as a value added service.>
  • We also cap our fees in small claims where legal costs are not always recoverable.

Obtaining Judgment is often the straight forward part of debt recovery. The key to successful debt recovery is successful enforcement.

  • We advise on the most suitable method of enforcement including:
    • Registration and transfer to the High Court
    • High Court Enforcement (Sheriffs or Bailiffs)
    • Attachment of Earnings
    • Third Party Debt Orders (over bank accounts and other debts)
    • Charging Orders (over property and shares)
    • Insolvency proceedings
  • Where necessary we instruct enquiry agents on a “no trace no fee” basis to trace absconders.
  • In higher value cases we instruct private investigators with a proven background, often ex-police officers, who carry out in-depth enquiries.
  • We advise on jurisdictional issues.
  • In some cases we can issue proceedings in England and Wales and serve them on a foreign Defendant.
  • We instruct foreign lawyers on your behalf including lawyers in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland with whom we have established relationships.
  • We advise and effect enforcement of Judgments obtained here abroad.
  • We register and enforce foreign Judgments in this country.

Where the debt is not disputed and cash flow difficulties are cited we can take insolvency proceedings for you which include:

  • Winding up petitions
  • Service of statutory demands
  • Bankruptcy proceedings

We work with various sectors and understand that different businesses have different ways of working.

We can arrange in-house workshops or training programmes for your staff at our offices.

We also offer consultancy to your credit control departments and can train your staff to issue proceedings, request Judgment and take enforcement action in-house. We can also draft a precedent Particulars of Claim for use by your business. We then provide back up support for defended actions.

Workshops, consultancy and training is included as a value added service for bulk debt recovery clients.

Our training sessions include:

  • Identifying the correct Defendant
  • Carrying out free company searches
  • Carrying out online research/li>
  • Contents of the letter before action
  • Drafting and issuing proceedings
  • Requesting Judgment
  • Deciding on enforcement action>/li>
  • Tracing absconder debtors
  • Collating evidence for defended actions

We understand that it is important to our clients to be able to monitor the status of the debt recovery process.

We advise you at each stage in each individual case. We also provide monthly reports for bulk debt recovery clients showing the status of each and every case which are included as a value added service.

We are in the process of preparing an online reporting system which will enable you to remotely log in and check the live status of your debt recovery online.

For further information on our Debt Recovery services or to arrange an appointment please contact Luke Harrison on 01727 735639 or lth@dolegal.co.uk

Lawyers

Penny Fisher
Debt Recovery Manager
01727 738246
Dispute Resolution - Personal Legal Services, Debt Recovery, Dispute Resolution, Recruitment and Employment
Luke Harrison
Senior Associate Solicitor
01727 735639
Commercial Dispute Resolution, Company Commercial, Debt Recovery, Dispute Resolution, Insolvency, Business Rescue and Restructuring, Insurance Litigation, Recruitment and Employment
 

Luke Harrison

Penny Fisher