Charging Interest on Overdue Invoices

[psychocandy]

NorthernLad, as I've explained, I don't see what a lawyer or debt-collector could do for me that I can't do for myself at the moment. Does anyone have specific advice on the 2 questions I've asked above?

To be clear, I'm concerned that their business is not yet making money and that they will only be able to pay me if current investment rounds are successful.

But the other businesses cashflow problems are not your concern. I'd be more concerned about getting my claim in quickly while theres a small chance they might have some money left.

[psychocandy]

Yeah, a debt-collector and/or lawyer.

They wouldn't have left it 6 months before taking action...
They would know the answer to your question about small claims court...
They would know what steps to take in your position....

That is three reasons they are a better bet than you pounding a free forum....

Not a good day when I agree with everything NLUK says in a post....

[northernladuk]

Not a good day when I agree with everything NLUK says in a post....

Show me the love baby!!!

[Safe Collections]

Enough making me feel like an idiot, you've made the point by now. Does anyone have any actual advice on the following:

1. There is no dispute about the amount they owe to me, they're just avoiding paying. Is there any reason for me to go to a Small Claims Court?

2. Assuming the above answer is no,

- From what I've read online I have to give them 7 days notice that I intend to issue a Statutory Demand or employ a Debt Collection Service, which I've now done.
- After this time, I can issue a Statutory Demand myself and there's a template for this here: https://www.gov.uk/statutory-demands...atutory-demand
- If that still doesn't get a response (they have 21 days to pay), I would pay £450 for a solicitor to issue a Winding Up Petition

We gave you advice and pointed you in the direction of a guide that answers the questions you have, however to clarify:

1. Issuing a Statutory Demand yourself is worthless as it is unlikely to be taken seriously and any experienced solicitor will want to send a further three day winder anyway.
2. A winding up petition is likely to cost in the region of £1500 - £2000 in total not £450.
3. A winding up petition does not guarantee you will get paid. If the company is insolvent you will get nothing.

Winding up a company is a last resort and the court is likely to want evidence that you have tried to collect the monies owed in other ways first. Additionally if a company is new or does not have significant assets all you will be doing is increasing your loss for no gain.

How would employing a Debt-Collection service speed this up, or improve my chances, and is there any benefit in going to a solicitor earlier?

No agency can guarantee to collect in a certain time or without legal action (and you should avoid any agency that does), however we do this all day everyday. We know how to interpret company accounts, we can tell if the directors have a history of dissolving companies (useful to know before you spend £2k) and some of us are also licensed credit referencing agencies. Which means we can and do provide payment data to other credit referencing agencies

So as in the link previously your options are, in order of upfront costs:

Collections Agency (usually £0.00 in advance)
Small Claims (Court fees, varies by amount owed)
Winding Up (£1500-2000 in solicitors fees, costs and disbursements)

Hope that helps