Debt Recovery Lawyers Glasgow, Scotland

Contacting us does not mean that we will rush into court. We can talk you through the steps that can be considered before litigation.  However, if you have tried to settle an unpaid dead without success, there comes a time when you must consider the pros and cons of proceeding with litigation, otherwise, you will go unpaid. It is an unfortunate fact that often there are few other means of getting your debtors to pay back the money owed to you. We can advise you when litigation has good prospects, not only of obtaining a court decree, but also of getting the money back from the debtor. We will always have an eye on commerciality and financial viability and will advise you accordingly.

Where a debt is disputed by the debtor, litigation can assist in “narrowing down” the issues and we will always try to obtain an interim order for payment of any aspect of a debt which is not disputed.

Our litigation solicitors in Scotland have specialist knowledge in recovering commercial and personal debts. We act for all kinds of businesses and individuals all across Scotland, and cover most types of debt recovery including:

• Building contracts
• Invoice recovery
• Loans
• Professional fees
• Consumer debts
• Contract disputes

In some cases sending a demand letter indicating that litigation will take place if payment is not made is enough, and we have feedback from clients of an 80% success rate further to the issuing of a demand letter.      

We will explain your options to you clearly and concisely to ensure you fully understand how your case will progress, and the timescales and costs.

In litigated cases, our solicitors will raise an action on your behalf in the Scottish courts. Your action will normally be raised in a Sheriff court, unless it is for six figures or more, or the background is complex, in which case we can consider the Court of Session in Edinburgh, which is the highest forum in Scotland for civil recovery.

We may also consider raising an action through the Sheriff Court Commercial Courts which are available in several jurisdictions for “commercial actions” and which allocate a Commercial Sheriff to oversee the case from beginning to end. There are a number of advantages to running a case in the Commercial Court such as flexibility, the Sheriff’s expertise and knowledge of the case, timescale and cost advantages, as the procedural hearings are usually dealt with by way of telephone conference, documents are accepted electronically and pleadings are generally more relaxed.

The definition of a “commercial action” is broad, so a wide range of debt recovery cases will fall into this category.

For lower value debts of £5000 or under, they will follow the Simple Procedure process also through the Sheriff Courts. The Simple Procedure process was set up to allow a fast, effective and inexpensive way for smaller debts to be recovered, but the rules and procedure can be tricky to navigate for the uninitiated! 

In some circumstances, interim protective measures may be required in order to protect your debt against assets, money or property belonging to the debtor. This may including asking the court to freeze the debtor’s bank account or asking the court to prevent the debtor selling their house or land until they have repaid the debt owed to you.

The type of court action raised will depend on your specific circumstances and the action required will depend on the sum due to you by the debtor.

Our specialist solicitors can provide advice and representation tailored to your specific circumstances and can help you recover the maximum debt owed to you.

The UK government has introduced legislation giving businesses a right to reclaim interest and charges on late payment of a commercial debt. The amount of interest  is set at the ‘judicial interest rate’, typically 8% above the base rate. Interest owed to you will run 30 days after the due date of payment. The due date for payment is determined by either the date goods or services were delivered to the debtor or the date on which notice (such as an invoice) was given to the purchaser, whichever is later. If a debt is owed to your business and the payment is late, our solicitors can help you recover the interest which may be due to you under the law. We understand how much difficulty late payments can cause, and we appreciate how much the recovery of debt means to your business. If you need to recover debts owed to you, contact our specialist solicitors today to find out how we can help.

After you have been successful in litigation, the Court will issue a decree. If necessary, we can advise on enforcing the decree and recovering payment of your debt. Enforcement can require several methods of what is known as ‘diligence’ – a legal term used in Scotland to describe methods used to enforce a court order. Diligence may include serving a charge for payment on the party you have been awarded a decree against. A charge for payment is a formal demand and will be served by Sheriff Officers for payment of the sum due to you. The charge for payment is a fourteen- day notice to the debtor to make payment. If the debtor fails to make payment to you, then our team can proceed with further action. Contact us today to discuss your case further, including any enforcement issues you may have the concern with.