In debt recovery, there are steps you must follow in order to gain your missing funds in a court of law. The law of England and Wales requires evidence that you have tried and failed in attempts to get your payment before contacting them and going through a court process. It is very expensive to hire a solicitor, appear in court, and try to get your payment. The amount owed is not always in your best interest to pursue in a court of law. The debtor may know this or they may not. However, you still have a course of action you should take in debt recovery.
The first step in debt recovery is the Debt Reminder Letter. This letter typically states the debtor has 7 days or 14 days, depending on what you prefer, to make a payment from the date they have received the letter. After waiting the 7 days or 14 days you can immediately send out the second letter, which is step two.
Step two is the Late Payment Chaser Letter. This letter will be similar to the Debt Reminder Letter in that it states the client name, the amount owed, and when you expect to receive payment. The tone of the Late Payment Chaser Letter will differ from the first Debt Reminder Letter. In the first letter you have a polite, but firm tone. In this second letter you are still polite, so as not to offend the receiver of the letter; however, your tone will be firmer to enforce the first letter.
The letter often states that you will begin seeking an alternative method for obtaining the payment owed to you, such as a court proceeding. At the mention of going to court it will often spur the debtor to respond either with the money or at least to ask for a payment schedule they can afford. Sometimes even the second letter does not receive any action on behalf of the debtor which then allows you to move on to step three.
For a small fee you can download our Late Payment Chaser Letter template. The template has been designed with the legal information and wording you need to get your payment. It is clear and concise. The template has also been drafted by a solicitor to ensure its legality and reliability. You are able to customise the letter as it is in DIY style. You can make changes to the content, add content, or delete certain content that may not apply. The template is in a general form to make it easy for you to use. Still, you may find there are times changes need to be made. Since the document template can be saved to your computer hard drive you are able to reuse it as necessary. In business you will likely have cause to use the Late Payment Chaser Letter several times.
You are also able to get the four debt recovery templates in a package deal to ensure you have all documents needed in order to satisfy the court protocol.