The late payment of invoices is becoming an increasing problem for all types and size of business within the UK. It is a real problem that businesses need to get to grips with and tackle because it can cause cash flow misery. Indeed it will be unsurprising for many to hear that cash flow problems continue to be one of the biggest causes for business failure within the UK.
At Palmers we recognise that instructing a solicitor to chase book debts and overdue invoices is something that is often avoided by businesses that do not want to get dragged into a costly legal dispute. Therefore, Palmers offers a number of debt recovery/advice schemes that ensure that your business retains cost effective control of its debt recovery process whilst benefiting from the involvement of legal experts.
- The Debt Recovery Scheme is designed to take away the valuable time and effort that a business expends in chasing undisputed invoices.
Palmers is able to assist in a cost proportionate way at all stages of the debt recovery process. Often all that is needed is for a debtor to receive a letter from a solicitor to demonstrate to them that a business is serious about debt recovery. Palmers can therefore:
- Send basic letters to debtors chasing payment of outstanding invoices with an escalating scale of seriousness for as little as £50 plus Vat for up to 10 letters per month.
- Escalate the debt recovery process by drafting a formal letter before claim to ensure compliance with the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct and, if required, draft a Claim Form and Particulars of claim to prepare proceedings for issue, all for a fixed and proportionate sum.
It is the choice of the business involved whether to progress from option a to b and you retain control of that decision. (In the event that the invoice is disputed ordinary hourly rate charges will apply and that information will be provided at the relevant time – see the Debt Recovery Scheme for more information.)
- The Small Claims Advice Scheme is a scheme available to assist where a business feels that it needs legal advice before proceeding with a dispute further. If the dispute is for a sum less than £10,000 then for a fixed fee of £250 plus VAT Palmers is able to:
- meet with the business at our offices (or by telephone if easier) for a fixed one hour meeting
- listen to and discuss any concerns
- provide a letter of advice on the basis of the information received
(The small claims advice scheme also applies to all types of claims and is not limited to undisputed debts.)
If you or anyone else is interested in either of these schemes then please feel free to contact Luke Morgan, the Commercial Litigation Partner at Palmers Solicitors who will be happy to provide you with further information.