Reply to: Who and how to sue?

[Andy Hallett]

At a guess you are either dealing with a very small agency or haven't got to the right person at a big one. As others have said, follow a procedure of invoice, remind and then just use a small claims court.

I would add the step of speaking to the most senior person you can at the agency if you haven't done so.

[Safe Collections]

Just to clarify a few points that have been raised here:

If you have an uncontested claim for less than £10k it is entirely possible to issue and win a claim in the County Court without a solicitor. Judges are used to dealing with litigants in person and will often overlook small procedural issues they'd hang a solicitor for. You can get a very good, in depth guide from the Civil Justice Council here. That said...

Issuing proceedings for a contested or defended claim without sufficient legal knowledge is not recommended. Whilst it is rare to have costs awarded against either party in a small claim it is not unheard of and if you annoy the judge enough you may well find yourself paying for it. This is especially true if you have made no attempt to resolve the situation prior to issuing proceedings, as one of the things a judge will be looking for is evidence that you have tried to resolve the situation yourself.

As for legal/solicitors costs: If you use a solicitor for an uncontested claim you will pay the issue fee and fixed solicitors costs, and these are recoverable in full from the debtor if the judgment is paid.

However, if the claim is defended you will then be expected to pay for the solicitor to deal with the defense. In a majority of cases you will be looking at £100-200 per hour in unrecoverable costs. So it can be prohibitively costly to pursue a low value, defended claim using a solicitor as your unrecoverable costs can outstrip any subsequent judgment value.

In regard to additional late payment penalties and fees, our advice is to stick to the letter of the law and avoid muddying any claim with "admin fees" or other charges that have no legal or contractual basis.

Current late payment legislation states you are entitled to recover your "reasonable costs" in addition to the statutory interest and costs, but this part of the legislation is largely untested. So you should exercise caution and make sure you can illustrate the legitimacy of any additional fees claimed.

As for including a term relating to the legislation on your invoice, it certainly wont hurt but you are not under any legal obligation to do so. It is a statutory instrument so applies to all B2B sales between UK entities, irrespective of if it is announced on the invoice or not.

Plus any terms on your invoice will probably be unenforceable anyway, as invoices are generally issued long after the contractual agreement between the parties has been formed.

Hope that helps!

[WTFH]

unless you've been in court before (a business court not criminal) and know how to conduct yourself. It's feasible to use solicitors for the letters and procedural parts and go to the actual court on your own. I think that you take a barrister into the actual court rather than a solicitor (although it may be possible to take a solicitor).

The chances are you'll annoy the judge if you don't know the formalities required.

Yup, you're right - it's a barrister for court, but the solicitor to do everything before that.

[VectraMan]

I've been through the process of getting a CCJ against a non-paying direct client, and I didn't even need to leave the house. It cost £500 at the time, 2/3rds of which I could have got back. It was ultimately a waste of time as the client had no means to pay, but that probably isn't the case with an agent, and an agent is not going to risk a CCJ appearing on their credit rating.

I used a letter before action with another client as well, and that certainly got their attention and they paid up immediately having been ignoring my letters, phone calls and emails for the previous 2 months. £3 well spent.

Lovetts were who I used on both occasions.

[Lance]

If you'd quoted the first line in my post rather than just selecting the one you chose to quote, you'll see I said that.
I was pointing out the costs IF you choose to go down the legal root, and no, you most certainly do not want to go to court on your own, without a solicitor.

unless you've been in court before (a business court not criminal) and know how to conduct yourself. It's feasible to use solicitors for the letters and procedural parts and go to the actual court on your own. I think that you take a barrister into the actual court rather than a solicitor (although it may be possible to take a solicitor).

The chances are you'll annoy the judge if you don't know the formalities required.

[WTFH]

But you do not need solicitor. Only cost is your time.

If you'd quoted the first line in my post rather than just selecting the one you chose to quote, you'll see I said that.
I was pointing out the costs IF you choose to go down the legal root, and no, you most certainly do not want to go to court on your own, without a solicitor.

[SueEllen]

Can you see a difference between a letter from "Contractor Ltd" and a letter from "Debt Collector Ltd"? Which one will be more effective?

I've not had problems chasing my debts with my contractor Limited.

Then again I've a habit of doing one telephone talk and everything else being documented in writing including registered letters. I'm not interested in agents excuses.

Anyway its better to talk to Safer Collections than going to court.

Debt recovery agencies are very good at getting money out of non-payers if they have any money. If they don't then they don't waste their time chasing them.

If you go to court and the agency has no money or folds you get SFA.

[Kugel]

You'll need to engage a solicitor and the costs could be in the region of £10k.

But you do not need solicitor. Only cost is your time.

[Lance]

Give SafeCollections a shout (they post on here from time to time).
Should you choose to go down the legal route yourself, your case would be against the agency, not the end client, and if you do decide to go legal, make sure you keep all documentation, emails, etc, relating to the contract.
You'll need to engage a solicitor and the costs could be in the region of £10k. Even if you won, you might not get them all back and it can take several months.
So for 3 days work (not 4), is it worth it?

To add to this. In the small claims court you can't claim for costs so that £10k will not be something you can include to sue the agent for. You'd need to go to a different court, and as the claim is likely to be less than £15k you'll get roasted by the judge for being in the wrong court (and still not get your costs).

[Kugel]

Also there is no need to pay a solicitor to write a Letter Before Action they are very easy to do yourself.

Can you see a difference between a letter from "Contractor Ltd" and a letter from "Debt Collector Ltd"? Which one will be more effective?

[WTFH]

Give SafeCollections a shout (they post on here from time to time).
Should you choose to go down the legal route yourself, your case would be against the agency, not the end client, and if you do decide to go legal, make sure you keep all documentation, emails, etc, relating to the contract.
You'll need to engage a solicitor and the costs could be in the region of £10k. Even if you won, you might not get them all back and it can take several months.
So for 3 days work (not 4), is it worth it?

[radish2008]

1. Read this The Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013 - Pay on Time.
2. Invoice agency. Do not forget to put "We understand and will exercise our statutory right to claim interest and compensation for debt recovery costs under the Late Payment Legislation if we are not paid according to agreed credit term" text on your invoice.
3. If they do not pay - follow advice from point 1. As a first step consider using Business Debt Collection & Recovery Solicitors | Thomas Higgins Limited to send Letter Before Action to agency for only £3 + VAT.

Point 2 should be on everyone's invoices.

You can also charge an admin fee and add it to the debt and also charge interest at 8% above base rate. This is obviously once your payment terms have expired. Personally for 3 days I'd walk away (and have done once in the past for 2 days direct). You might find your time spent quickly chews up the money you would get back. It's a bitter pill to swallow but that's life.

[SueEllen]

1. Read this The Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013 - Pay on Time.
2. Invoice agency. Do not forget to put "We understand and will exercise our statutory right to claim interest and compensation for debt recovery costs under the Late Payment Legislation if we are not paid according to agreed credit term" text on your invoice.
3. If they do not pay - follow advice from point 1. As a first step consider using Business Debt Collection & Recovery Solicitors | Thomas Higgins Limited to send Letter Before Action to agency for only £3 + VAT.

Maybe you should read a thread and follow links before jumping in.

Also there is no need to pay a solicitor to write a Letter Before Action they are very easy to do yourself.

Chasing a debt the first time is hard but after that it is easier.

[Kugel]

From what I understand, my business is done with agency only, and I have no legal right to demand anything from the end client. I did call to the agency a number of times and reminded them Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, regulation 12, prohibits the agency from withholding payment because a timesheet is not signed. Given that I never opted out from it, it is not my responsibility to chase the client and suffer the financial loss because they can not recover the monies.

1. Read this The Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013 - Pay on Time.
2. Invoice agency. Do not forget to put "We understand and will exercise our statutory right to claim interest and compensation for debt recovery costs under the Late Payment Legislation if we are not paid according to agreed credit term" text on your invoice.
3. If they do not pay - follow advice from point 1. As a first step consider using Business Debt Collection & Recovery Solicitors | Thomas Higgins Limited to send Letter Before Action to agency for only £3 + VAT.

[LondonManc]

Just PM safe collections on here, give them the whole story and they'll lend you the benefit of their experience as to whether your claim has any merit or not. /thread