In a series of articles about recovering a debt from a company, we now look at issuing a money claim and obtaining a County Court Judgment as an alternative to winding up a company.
When can I issue proceedings?
A money claim can be issued for debts as low as £50.00. You should be able to show what the debt is owed for and that reasonable requests for payment have been made. We are able to draft such letters on your behalf.
Should the requests for payment fail, then you may issue a money claim in the County Court. Court fees range from £35.00 and increase in accordance with the amount of your claim and go up to £10,000.00. If your claim is successful, the Court will order that the Defendant company pays the Court fee back to you.
What to consider
When considering issuing a claim it is advisable to weigh up the costs of the claim against the benefit you will receive should your claim be successful. For example, you may wish to look into whether or not the company is able to pay the debt or has assets (such as buildings or machinery) over which the debt could be secured. We can assist you with these investigations.
Results
Once your application has been issued, the company will have the opportunity to submit a Defence. If the matter is then disputed, this will fall into the hands of a Judge to decide the case.
The Judge will decide on the evidence before him, whose argument he prefers. If he agrees that the Defendant owes you money, the Judge will make an Order for payment.
The Defendant will have a short amount of time to pay the debt, however if the payment is not forthcoming, the Judgment will need to be enforced. There are many ways to enforce a Judgment and methods will be discussed in the coming weeks.
If a company owes you money, we can help. Call our experienced Debt Recovery team today on 0113 244 9931.
