Overview:

Collection House Ltd were instructed by a Wiltshire-based, deluxe toilet hire company, to recover a debt of £13,889.56, owed by a production company.

Our clients had tried on numerous occasions to obtain payment from the debtor, albeit had received numerous excuses as too why payment had been delayed. Having contacted other companies working for the same employer, they were made aware that they too had not been paid. Our client contacted us to get some advice on how they could recover the outstanding sums.

Initial recommendations:

Having listened to the background of our clients debt, we gave our client two options of how to proceed. Our aim was to get our client paid first, in case the company could not afford to pay all creditors. Option 1 - send an initial letter of claim, explaining the debt and our involvement. 2 - Due to the fact the debt was not disputed, other debtors were also owed money and that payments had been promised but been not realised, we recommended a Section 122 (1)(e) Insolvency Notice. This is a notice of intent to start formal winding-up proceedings, if payment, or an agreed payment plan is not proposed. Our client decided to go with option 1.

Engagement:

Having received our correspondence and voicemails, the debtor contacted the client directly, promising payment by the following week. We followed up this proposal to suggest if payment was not forthcoming, we would proceed with a winding-up notice immediately and without warning. 

On the date the payment was due, the debtor sent an email, making a number of excuses as to why it could not be made (including that he was abroad).

Recommendation:

Based on the advice we gave our client, they passed our details onto another company that was owed money by the same debtor. We liaised with them and gave them the same advice. They were also aware that other creditors had not been paid and wanted to make sure they were at the top of the list of payees. They also decided to go for option 1, and dependent on the outcome of this case, would also initiate a Section 122 (1)(e) Insolvency Notice. A letter of claim was sent to the registered address and a follow-up email sent to the debtor to make them aware we were now acting on behalf of both companies.

Escalation:

We contacted our client immediately after the payment deadline passed, recommending we issue the Section 122 and also suggested this be personally served at this registered address (which was also his home address). Once agreed by our client, documents were created and emailed to the debtor and he was made aware a process server would attend his address.

The debtor emailed immediately to say that payment would be made in full (including additional interest and compensation fees) and that we can cancel the process server - we advised this was already in place and could not be retracted. We received confirmation that the documents were served and that the debtor accepted notice and confirmed their identity.

Payment:

We received full payment (with fees) for both clients, totalling £ 31,616.44 into our account just 2 days later. Both clients were over the moon that their debts had been settled and that the recovery of late fees reduced the cost of our commission.

'First class service, I would recommend these guys as they get the job done, I contacted Craig as suggested by a friend to recover a large unpaid invoice, and not only did they do it very quickly but they also got late payment and interest fees which pretty much cover the collection costs, great job!!'