The issue of a claim and perhaps fighting a case is well within the capabilities of most readers of this article, and so is enforcement action after judgment has been obtained. You should seriously consider the do it yourself route. This is encouraged, though not required, for claims up to British Pounds 5,000 handled in the small claims track. Legal costs will not be awarded in the small claims track.
The second option is to employ a solicitor and this is a requirement for a company issuing a claim in the High Court. Solicitors are specialists likely to give good service and there are advantages in using specialists, even in doing things that we are able to do ourselves. The use of a solicitor is probably wise if the claim is large or not straightforward, and it may make sense if it is likely to be defended.
Thirdly, you could use one of the many credit agencies that offer services in this field. These will employ solicitors or use the services of solicitors as necessary. Credit agencies range from large organisations operating nationally or internationally, through to small businesses specialising in particular sectors of the market or areas. Experience and personal recommendation may well be factors in the choice of solicitor or credit agency, if one is used. Small firms of solicitors are likely to collect debts alongside many other sorts of work. Larger firms are likely to have specialist departments to handle debt collection. These specialist departments do have certain advantages.
The traditional way for a solicitor to charge for his services is on the basis of time expended plus reimbursement for expenses incurred. However, many solicitors and virtually all credit agencies offer some variation of 'NO WIN, NO FEE'. This sounds too good to be true, and of course it is because they are remunerated by a percentage of the money eventually recovered. The precise details are negotiated and the percentages are usually on a sliding scale. The solicitor or credit agency is banking on a spread of cases with the successful ones paying for the failures. It is a matter for negotiation but court fees and perhaps some other costs will probably be payable by the client regardless of the outcome. 'NO WIN, NO FEE' has obvious attractions, but of course solicitors and credit agencies normally make satisfactory annual profits and do not suffer. Do think carefully before handing over a straightforward claim for a large amount and with a good chance of success. This could be expensive.
You may well have heard the advice that having appointed your credit agent or especially having appointed your solicitor, you should step back and let him get on with it, just speaking when spoken to and answering any questions that he may ask. They are after all, the experts. There may be some sense in this and in legal matters you should rarely challenge a solicitor's advice, but in some respects it does not have to be this way.
Most solicitors and credit agents press on remorselessly according to a preset pattern. This is a cost-effective approach and is most likely to achieve the maximum payment in the minimum time. It is exactly what is wanted by most clients. The client hands over the case, hopefully banks a cheque at the end and does not think much about it in between. This is probably right for you, but you can change your mind and you can ask questions.
You can decide to accept a customer's proposal, and you can come to feel sorry for the customer and call the whole thing off. This does happen and not all slow payers are rogues. Some may be facing real personal tragedies. It is of course the solicitor's privilege to give you frank advice, perhaps including the advice that you are being silly. It is probably also the solicitor's privilege to charge for abortive work undertaken.
There may be a little scope for cutting back on your time commitment. Clients routinely photocopy all outstanding invoices for their solicitors and this can be a big job. It may be worth asking if it is really required in all cases. An acceptable substitute may be a list of the outstanding invoices showing the invoice numbers, amounts and invoice dates.
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05082010
1. Interest rates can be included in the contract and are very important
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