Do not let unpaid bills become your business’s epitaph

How would you feel if after making it to the finish line in a race, you were told you had to run another mile, uphill, in order to get your medal?

This is the message which business owners all too often receive from their customers. So much that one of the leading causes of businesses failing in their first year is customers failing to pay their bills on time.

Unsurprisingly then debt recovery is a notable aspect of commercial litigation. One that can be tricky to navigate. While pursuing another business in respect of an unpaid bill can be tricky enough, pursuing individuals carries with it a greater obligation in terms of the procedural steps you ought to be following.

One important point here is the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims. Under it, not only must you issue the debtor with a letter before action and give them a minimum of thirty days to reply. You must also include information about organisations who can support the debtor and allow the debtor to outline their financial circumstances. Should the debtor request more time to respond, or otherwise indicate they are seeking legal advice in relation to the matter; you ought to agree to an extension of the period for them to reply.

If however, the minimum of 30 days has passed and you have received no reply, you can proceed to issue a claim against the debtor in order to recover the money they owe you.

As you can appreciate therefore, debt recovery can be a potentially tricky, and certainly time consuming area of commercial litigation. In order therefore, that you are not required to take time away from running and growing your business, it can be helpful to instruct solicitors experienced in this area of law to recover the debt on your behalf.

At Askews, our commercial law team is highly experienced in recovering unpaid debts, of all amounts and even from debtors who are not resident in England and Wales. Should you be having any problems with customers who have not paid their bills, please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to discuss the matter with you.