BPPG provides guidance to creditors forced to take legal action

Going to court should be the last course of action applied by businesses chasing outstanding debts. However, those businesses left with no alternative should visit the Better Payment Practice Group’s [BPPG] website which now hosts free advice on how to instruct a solicitor to begin legal proceedings to obtain unpaid debts.
The form, available by clicking here, captures all the relevant information required by a solicitor in a clear and succinct format.

The form is designed to ensure that businesses avoid the inaccuracies that can undermine a claim, such as:

• The need to ensure that the name under which a business is suing matches up with the name of the company or trading division with which the customer originally contracted.

• The need to identify the status of the debtor, i.e. whether they are trading as a sole proprietor, as a firm or as a company. This is vital to ensure that the proceedings are being taken against the right party/individual.
  

Stuart Blake of the Forum of Private Business and member of the Better Payment Practice Group commented, “Businesses suffering with late paying customers should think carefully before taking legal action. A proper credit management strategy, incorporating reminder letters, telephone calls, personal visits, statutory interest and compensation charges, can go a long way to improving collection results. The use of commercial debt collection agencies can also be considered.

It is inevitable that there will be occasions when all other measures fail and legal action is the only way forward. By making sure all the facts pertaining to the debt are clear at the outset and by conveying them accurately to a solicitor, businesses can help to avoid hitches or delays in the proceedings.”

The new form is the latest addition to a suite of debt collection letters and templates that have been launched recently on the BPPG website. To view the new form, please click here

You can keep up to date with the Better Payment Practice Campaign by sending us an email