Where a creditor is unable to collect unpaid invoices, it often resorts to sending a letter before claim. The letter before claim can be sent by the individual creditor itself and it may have precedents to do so if it is a business. However, non solicitor demand letters are often ignored and something more hard hitting is required to unblock the log jam.
What can make the difference in a letter before claim is making sure it is a well written solicitor’s letter. Solicitor’s letters are far more likely to be dealt with by a debtor as a well drafted solicitor’s letter before action will make even the most stubborn of debtors sit up and take notice.
Therefore, when considering a letter before claim, we would always advise that a well drafted solicitor’s letter before claim should be sent. At Francis Wilks & Jones we have experience of sending tens of thousands of letters before claim and we have a suite of different letters suitable for every type of occasion. For example, it might be that you want to keep on trading with a particular customer but you just need some help in collecting an outstanding debt. We can therefore send a toned down version of a solicitor’s letter simply prompting them to make payment.
In circumstances where a debtor is being extremely difficult and you no longer want to trade with them, we can send a much more “hard hitting” letter before claim. It is also important to understand with letters before claim that there is something called the pre-action protocol which governs all types of recovery claims and there is certain information which must be set out in the letter before claim for it to be valid. Failure to do so can cause a significant cost risk if the creditor later issues court proceedings.
At Francis Wilks & Jones we can advise you on all aspects of a letter before claim and how best to collect non-payment of an invoice. We have recovered millions of pounds of unpaid invoices for our clients over the past 15 years and are one of the country’s leading debt recovery specialists. Our solicitor’s letters are highly effective and our recovery rates are outstanding.
