Using Gov MoneyClaim to claim a debt

[AndyC_123]

Hi

Have a bad payer that I'm struggling to get money out of.

They currently owe just shy of £4k, 5 invoices between May and July this year. They aren't flush, but will easily find the money if they have to.

Couple of questions really...

They are sending a cheque for about £1k every month.... am I best just letting them do this until the debt is paid?

I'd like the money now ideally, as I'm simply bankrolling their business (they're currently buying elsewhere). If I was to use the Gov MoneyClaim service, it'll cost £185 to start the ball rolling. Once that claim is started, what happens if they clear the £4k debt? Do I lose out on the £185 court cost?

Thanks

[DocJock]

No. Your costs are added to their debt if your claim is successful.

[Mr Pointy]

Well you may well win but you've then got to actually get the money out of them & at least you are getting paid at the moment. If you issue the claim they may well stop paying you so you'll have to wait even longer for your money. I don't know how long it takes to get a judgement issued but in four months you'll have your money anyway.

Maybe just take the money & reconsider if they stop paying.

[Muzzer79]

AndyC_123 said:

Hi

Have a bad payer that I'm struggling to get money out of.

They currently owe just shy of £4k, 5 invoices between May and July this year. They aren't flush, but will easily find the money if they have to.

Couple of questions really...

They are sending a cheque for about £1k every month.... am I best just letting them do this until the debt is paid?

I'd like the money now ideally, as I'm simply bankrolling their business (they're currently buying elsewhere). If I was to use the Gov MoneyClaim service, it'll cost £185 to start the ball rolling. Once that claim is started, what happens if they clear the £4k debt? Do I lose out on the £185 court cost?

Thanks

Couple of points

£4k isn't really a lot, but I don't know what size business they are. How do you know they'll find the money if they have to?

If they plead poverty in terms of paying it all in one go, I suspect a legal route would look at the payment plan they've offered you and ask why you haven't taken it.

You (rightly) say you don't want to be a bank. So charge interest on the payments. £1k a month payment back to you, but with a 10% interest rate meaning you will get £4400 back from them.

[AndyC_123]

Hi

I meant if they decide to clear the debt before judgement, can I then go on to claim the court cost from them separately?

They're sat on several hundred grands worth of assets.

I don't desperately need the cash, but it's more that they're taking the piss

[Mr Pointy]

Breadvan72 has a very pithy view of litigating on a point of principle. You're getting paid so you're way ahead of the curve anyway.

[Burwood]

It will take months to get paid via the Court system and you might piss them off if you file(yeah i know!). They stop paying. It's very frustrating but if they are sticking to the 1k monthly them i'd write them an email and tell them that X dates/payments in a schedule is acceptable. Then you have it in writing.

[Simpo Two]

AndyC_123 said:

They are sending a cheque for about £1k every month.... am I best just letting them do this until the debt is paid?

Yes.

If I was in their position and got a summons when I was already repaying the debt I'd be highly annoyed, stop paying you and start thinking of reasons not to pay. Then you get a long messy court case you might not win, not least because I was already paying the debt off.

I like Burwood's idea, just to help stop them drifting off.

[chml]

The Courts are massively backlogged right now and you'll probably be waiting longer than 4 months by the time you've gone through the LBA stage, MCOL sending out paperwork, the acknowledgment and then any directions before you get to a hearing. Given that the person/company will likely stop making any payments whilst this is ongoing then I'd be tempted to just continue getting the £1k per month and move on from this in 4 months or so once it's been paid.

[anonymous-user]

I've used MCOL twice.

Once was on an ex-client who owed me £3700 and spent 4 months saying he "Was going to pay it next week". I knew he had the money, but he was clearly hoping I just went away.

Him receiving an initial MCOL email was the kick up the arse he clearly needed and he paid up in full that same morning, and was straight on the phone asking me to do whatever I had to do to cancel/end the MCOL case.

The threat of any kind of court action or black mark against his name was like lighting a rocket fuse.

But, I agree with others in the thread that if he is paying in instalments and you have no reason to suspect he will stop paying, then just let him carry on. The threat of MCOL will likely do more harm than good.

[Pot Bellied Fool]

I use Peter at www.tridentrecovery.co.uk to handle late payers and anyone taking the proverbial but I think he'd turn down the commission on a scenario like this and say "Just keep taking the money!"

That presuming you've put them on 'Stop' and aren't supplying any more goods or services to them.

There's long delays in the moneyclaim system at the moment so you'd be unlikely to get it any quicker by issuing on him. But be prepared to if the payments dry up, the fact he's making payments is a great indicator in your favour anyway if it ever did end up in Court but I doubt it will. Just keep the pressure up for regular payments and see if you can turn the pressure up a bit... "My collections guy is saying we should go legal but if you can manage £1500 this month and then another payment in 3 weeks then I should be able to hold off..."

[48k]

I used MCOL In March to attempt to recover costs from a tenant who had not paid rent and trashed the house. Total £9300 with costs. The tenant never responded to the paperwork so in April I got a default judgement in my favour. Great that I win by default and they have a CCJ on their record but I still have to get the money out of them. Court date set for December for them to disclose their earnings and employment status so that I can then apply for the correct method to get the money from them. Frankly, I'm holdiing out zero hope.

In summary - the MCOL process is quick but getting the actual money out of the person isn't, even with a judgement. If you're actually receiving installments right now, you're on to a winner and personally I'd stick with that.

[Simpo Two]

48k said:

I used MCOL In March to attempt to recover costs from a tenant who had not paid rent and trashed the house. Total £9300 with costs. The tenant never responded to the paperwork so in April I got a default judgement in my favour. Great that I win by default and they have a CCJ on their record but I still have to get the money out of them. Court date set for December for them to disclose their earnings and employment status so that I can then apply for the correct method to get the money from them. Frankly, I'm holdiing out zero hope.

Transfer it to the High Court. Cheap and vastly more effective. Small claims is pretty toothless if they're professional non-payers.

[Burwood]

Simpo Two said:

48k said:

I used MCOL In March to attempt to recover costs from a tenant who had not paid rent and trashed the house. Total £9300 with costs. The tenant never responded to the paperwork so in April I got a default judgement in my favour. Great that I win by default and they have a CCJ on their record but I still have to get the money out of them. Court date set for December for them to disclose their earnings and employment status so that I can then apply for the correct method to get the money from them. Frankly, I'm holdiing out zero hope.

Transfer it to the High Court. Cheap and vastly more effective. Small claims is pretty toothless if they're professional non-payers.

This. I have one coming up, a slam dunk. Will get judgement then move to high court for enforcement

Trashing your rental. I’d be baying for blood

[Jockman]

AndyC_123 said:

Hi

Have a bad payer that I'm struggling to get money out of.

They currently owe just shy of £4k, 5 invoices between May and July this year. They aren't flush, but will easily find the money if they have to.

Couple of questions really...

They are sending a cheque for about £1k every month.... am I best just letting them do this until the debt is paid?

I'd like the money now ideally, as I'm simply bankrolling their business (they're currently buying elsewhere). If I was to use the Gov MoneyClaim service, it'll cost £185 to start the ball rolling. Once that claim is started, what happens if they clear the £4k debt? Do I lose out on the £185 court cost?

Thanks

There is a payment plan in process.

Take the money and learn from it. Even then, no system is foolproof.

In March next year take yer missus for a slap up binge at mrs miggins pie shop and forget about it.

[Cyberprog]

If they weren't paying a jot then I'd say MCOL every day long.

But as they are dribbling the cash to you, then I'd just keep chugging along with that. Right now, by the time it gets to a court hearing you'll be 2-3 months down the line and that cash will probably stop coming the minute they finish paying.

Don't forget to send them a separate invoice later for their late payment charges (see www.payontime.co.uk) for interest + statutory late payment charges per invoice based on when it was issued and when it was paid. This will relate a lot to if you want to keep them as a customer or not, but you can go back 6 years and hit them for every late paid invoice etc.

[Simpo Two]

Cyberprog said:

Don't forget to send them a separate invoice later for their late payment charges (see www.payontime.co.uk) for interest + statutory late payment charges per invoice based on when it was issued and when it was paid. This will relate a lot to if you want to keep them as a customer or not, but you can go back 6 years and hit them for every late paid invoice etc.

Again, if I was in their shoes and got that I'd tell him to stick it. Late payment charges are a lovely theory but can be met with 'No, fk off' and then if you want them it's court time for sure.

That money would have earned zip interest even if it had been paid on time so it's a fool's errand IMHO.