Pursuing Debts

[atkinsonr]

The company I work for owes another company approx �500 from an invoice that relates to Aug 08. This morning we have received a court summons to recover the debt, however at no point over the last 6 months have we received a phonecall or letter pursuing the debt. Admittedly, it is overdue and we have not sent payment, however in the current climate we are holding on to every penny until it is pursued, as soon as this happens then payment is released . I know if we didnt chase our debts no one would be forthcoming to pay them! My question is, do you not have to go down certain lines of persuing debts before issuing a court summons, ie phonecall, first letter, second letter/final warning! We certainly adopt this practice before considering legal action. Payment will be released for the amount owing, however I do begrudge having to pay a court fee of �75. Any advice appreciated.

[Meg888]

A lot of Court Summons are not actually the real thing. I work in accounts, and have received several "court summons" - but when the correspondance is read correctly, they're quite often fakes! And basically it's threatening that if you dont pay, they'll go all the way. What some suppliers do, is keep photocopies (whether this is legally right or wrong - I'm unsure) - and then send them; if they are lucky the recipient panic pays, including the court & solicitor fees too! If you're certain its a genuine, you could just send payment for the outstanding amount of the invoice, sooner rather than later and keep your fingers crossed they'll let you off with the legal costs! I've got away with this plenty, it may not be very moral, but hey, it's dog-eat-dog out there!

[sandmaster]

It is unusual for no reminder to be sent in the way of a letter of demand or just a statement. But it is not essential. The invoice was correctly issued and the time to pay has expired. End of.....

[kempie]

You took a chance at holding off payment (just as many UK businesses do) and in this case it has backfired.

Of course there are more amenable ways to chase a debt but you acknowledge that it was overdue so what kind of justification are you seeking for the non-payment? If you had paid you would have nothing to begrudge.

[Stuart-Elmes]

It's highly unconventional to jump straight at court action, not least because there are costs associated for the company you owe money to! However, you have stretched your credit significantly - taking six months to pay your supplier - so it's perhaps not surprising that they have reacted in this way.

This article explains the process of taking a non-paying customer to court.

http://www.mycreditcontrollers.co.uk/Articles/2015_04_CCJ_How_to_Take_Someone_to_Small_Claims_Court.html