Debt Recovery Service Solicitors | Pre-Legal Action
At Carlisle Solicitors, we know that taking the first step towards legal action for recovering a debt can be daunting.
Before moving straight to legal action, we advise that you first consider the pre-legal action that you can take in the debt recovery process. There are two elements of pre-legal debt recovery:
Step 1 – Debt Recovery Solicitors Demand Letter
When should you send a demand letter? If your debtors are ignoring your request for payment of unpaid invoices, then you should think about moving one step further and contacting a debt recovery solicitor to have a demand letter issued.
The demand letter will state the sum of money due to you and will notify your debtor of your intention to issue legal proceedings to recover the debt from them. We recommend setting a notice period of 7 days in your demand letter. This means if the debt is not paid within 7 days then you will proceed to legal action against them.
The demand letter will also inform the debtor of your intention to recoup legal costs and interest from them if they do not pay within 7 days of receipt of the demand letter.
Step 2 – Negotiation & Communication with your Debtor
If your debtor has responded to the demand letter this is our opportunity to negotiate with your debtor on your behalf, with the view to securing payment. We communicate debtor responses and proposals to you quickly allowing you to make commercial decisions about how the debt should be collected.
What happens next?
At this point, if a payment plan has been implemented, a settlement achieved or the debt has been paid in full and you are satisfied with the result, there is no need for you to move to the next stage of our debt recovery service.
However, if your debtor has not responded or you are not satisfied with the outcome of negotiations, then you need to consider moving to the next step of the debt collection process and taking legal action to collect your debt.