We’ve all been there: the awkward waiting game when someone owes you money. Maybe it’s your friend who forgot about the lunch tab (again), or worse, a client who’s conveniently ignoring your invoice. While a delayed repayment from a friend is annoying, when it’s your business or livelihood on the line, the situation gets a lot more serious. Recovering money in these circumstances, unfortunately, takes a lot more than sending a few awkward text reminders.
Let’s walk through your options for reclaiming what’s rightfully yours – no wrestling with awkward confrontations required.
Pre-Litigation Measures – (The nudge)
Sometimes, all it takes is a gentle, or not so gentle, nudge. This can come in the form of negotiation, setting up an alternative payment plan, or sending a demand letter. A demand letter can take two forms. It could be a simple demand for payment which essentially says, ‘Hi there, you owe me X amount, please pay within Y days- thanks!’ Simple, but sometimes effective, especially if the debtor just needs a bit more time to pay up. Alternatively, a less friendly approach is to send a demand letter in line with pre-action protocols; here we can threaten to pursue legal proceedings if payment isn’t made within 30 days of our sending the letter. This can be used if the debtor has had a significant amount of time to pay or has a substantial sum to pay.
A well-worded letter can often shake loose the change without the hassle of going to Court (or racking up legal fees). But if the debtor is particularly stubborn and these methods get you nowhere, you may then need to consider the Court route.
Court Proceedings (When politeness fails)
If the gentle approach didn’t do the trick, and we have sent a demand letter in accordance with pre-action protocols and payment still hasn’t been made within 30 days, we can escalate the matter by filing a claim in the County Court. If the claim succeeds, the Judge will order the debtor to pay up and will set out the date by which payment must be made.
You should be aware that, even if you win, the legal fees might not be fully recoverable. So, you could come out victorious, judgement in hand, but still be slightly out of pocket.
Enforcement (Because sometimes even winning isn’t enough)
So, you’ve got your court judgement, but the other party still refuses to pay. This is a situation that unfortunately, many individuals find themselves in, but you’ve got options. You can:
Ideally, they’ll pay up before things get to this point, but if not, you have these options.
The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, the goal is to get your money back without draining your own bank account in the process. Court should be a last resort; it’s better for everyone if you can settle things before then. But if it comes to that, we’ll be here to help you.
