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If someone owes you money that’s well overdue, you’ll want to take action to try and recover it. That’s quite right — but it’s important to go about it in the right way. In particular, it’s crucial to understand why the debtor isn’t paying. Two Types of Debtor Broadly speaking, people (whether individuals or business owners) fail to pay their bills for one of two reasons. Either they choose not to pay, or they simply

When you’re signing a commercial contract with a partner, you may find it includes a penalty clause. Or possibly you’ve included one in a contract you’ve drawn up. This is, in essence, a clause which states that a specific sum is payable in the event of a specific failure, such as late delivery of materials or services, or late payment of an invoice. Liquidated and Unliquidated Damages Penalty clauses have a contenti

If a company or individual owes you money and the usual channels for requesting payment aren’t working, what should your next step be? To some extent, that will depend on the debtor. The aim, of course, is always to recover your money, but the best approach is going to vary. Because not all debtors are alike. Two Kinds of Debtors There are broadly two kinds of debtors — those who can’t pay and those who won’t pay. Re

Bailiffs have traditionally struck fear into people. In the popular imagination, they’re irresistible forces that have the power to strip you of all your possessions. In reality, though, your attitude to bailiffs will depend largely on whether you’re a debtor or a creditor. Using a Bailiff If you’re owed money by a customer or tenant, there are many possible actions for recovering the debt. Most of these involve comm

If a customer owes you money for unpaid invoices, there are a number of ways of pursuing them to recover your money. Ultimately, you can take them to court or initiate an insolvency process against them. Either way, their assets will be assessed, and you can hope to receive at least a proportion of what you’re owed. But what if some of their assets are too well hidden to be found? It’s easier to do now than ever befo

This is the month most of us go on holiday, especially if you need to coordinate with school breaks. If you’re about to go on a well-earned break, have a great time, and if you’ve come back, I hope it lived up to your expectations. Of course, your business has to carry on while you’re away. I highlighted one of the ways criminals could take advantage of your absence, and I’ve also posted that

The law is notoriously pernickety about detail, and if you’re suing a company for a debt (or for any other reason), it’s vital to get everything exactly right. And the potential pitfalls include the name of the company. What Kind of Mistakes Are Made? Company names, especially if the business is registered  as a limited company, are very precise, and giving an incorrect or imprecise name could threaten yo

Takeovers are a fact of business. They’re sometimes good for the customers of the companies involved, sometimes less so, but business never stands still. Debt collection is no exception, although it tends not to get the media attention given to media, engineering or major retail companies, and two significant takeovers have recently been announced in the sector. Two Recent Takeovers Cabot Credit Management, con

The sudden and dramatic collapse of Carillion has thrown into stark relief the whole system of outsourcing public contracts to a few large companies. Even before Carillion’s collapse, though, many experts were nervous that planning for crucial reform of the court system appears to be largely in the hands of these same giant contractors. Digitising the Courts The court system in England and Wales has never been so ove

Tax evasion and avoidance are big news these days, and most of us associate them with the multinational corporations and super-rich celebrities we read about in the news. But HMRC recently revealed who the biggest culprits are — SMEs. SME Tax Evasion HMRC estimates that they’re owed a total of £5.2bn in evaded tax payments, and of course those are only the debts they know about. Tax evasion, unlike tax avoidance, is