As a small business owner, you will know all too well the issue of late payments and how missed invoices can have a damaging impact on cash flow. That’s why our new FSB Debt Recovery service, launched in June 2020, is here for members as part of our ongoing commitment to support small businesses facing late payments.
How can FSB Debt Recovery help you to chase late payments?
In the first year alone, we helped over 10,000 members get paid sooner thanks to our new FSB Debt Recovery service. You can access fixed fees for sending a solicitors’ letter to the debtor, issuing proceedings for non-payment and taking enforcement action to recover under a judgment. You also have access to the tools, advice, guidance and materials needed to take these steps yourself should you wish to do so.
- Specialist advice on your legal position and options to progress
- Free downloadable guide to the debt recovery process
- Guides on specific legal aspects, such as insolvency action
- Unlimited use templates: late payment demand letter and letter before action (both tailored to whether the debtor is an individual or a business)
- Free interest calculator so you can easily and accurately work out the interest due (based on a contractual rate or the default position at law)
- Access to clear, discounted costs to pursue legal action by instructing Markel Law
All letters before action are fully compliant with the relevant pre-action protocol, meaning that if you do need to issue Court proceedings off the back of them, then you can do so safe in the knowledge that a Court should not penalise you on costs for not having first given the debtor adequate opportunity to pay.
In the first 12 months:
10,193 total debt documents downloaded
5,521 template letters downloaded
575 calls booked with advice line to discuss debt issues
319 instructions to Markel Law to pursue debts on behalf of members
Total of over £550,000 recovered for members
Debts recovered range from £114.00 to £125,781.60
Average value of the debt pursued by Markel Law is £8,000 – no debt too small
Largest debt recovered has been £125,781.60
We go far beyond the basic offering of debt collection agencies because we know just how vital getting paid is. Our results show that our approach is effective and gets results.
Need more support?
Expert debt recovery support is by your side when you instruct Markel Law.
You can instruct Markel Law through FSB Debt Recovery and have peace of mind thanks to clear, discounted fees throughout. Sending a solicitors’ letter from the start shows clear escalation and can carry more weight for those on the receiving end.
- Solicitors’ letters have a fixed fee of just £30 plus VAT to prepare and send the letter.
- Letters are sent out within 24 hours of receiving payment and the relevant documents from you.
- Unlike other debt recovery services, we apply the facts of a case to our templates, rather than rigidly sticking to them. This ensures that our letters do not have a generic appearance and as such are more likely to be taken seriously by the debtor.
- You’ll be assigned a dedicated member of our team who is then responsible for the life cycle of the case.
- We will use reasonable endeavours to pursue the debtor on your behalf following submission of the letter. This might involve chasing for a response, discussing the matter with you/the debtor by telephone and/or advising you on any offers made in response to the letter.
- If the debt remains unpaid, we will advise you on the next steps available, which may include attempting to come to a payment arrangement with the debtor, issuing proceedings at Court or taking steps to make the debtor insolvent.
- Where debt falls under Scottish Law or Northern Irish law, we’ll instruct a partner firm. You’ll continue to benefit from reduced fixed fees.
Get late invoices paid
What if my client still doesn’t pay?
If a letter before action has been sent but the debt remains unpaid, then you may issue your claim at Court. We offer discounted fixed fees to members for uncontested debts of less than £10,000.
Where judgment is obtained, but the debtor still does not pay, we offer members competitive fixed fees for enforcement and/or insolvency action.
How long could it take?
Claims of under £10,000 are likely to be allocated to the small claims track. Where the debt is uncontested, it will usually take around 2 months to secure a judgment against the debtor. If the debt is disputed for any reason, it could be as long as 15-18 months before the matter is determined by a Judge.
For debts over £10,000, or where they are contested, we will charge for the work that is actually carried out based on a discounted hourly rate.
Once a claim is issued, the debtor has 14 days to acknowledge it, and up to 28 days to file a defence. Where a debtor fails to respond to the claim in time or at all, we can make a request that the Court enters judgment in default, for a fixed fee.
