Getting your money

[Soup Dragon]

It seems like an impossible task to get a rightful payment from a debtor. The small claims court is a farce, the bailiff is less than useless and unless you already have reams of information on the debtor beforehand, you may as well kiss goodbye to your debt.

What is the point of legal system that has no teeth?

I have a string of judgements in our favour but no payments because they don't want to pay or the bailiff can't gain access or they just don't answer any calls etc - WHAT? There should be ways to make people pay who clearly have the means. Arghhhh

yes I am frustrated today

[Ian J]

20 years ago I published a free newspaper and there were loads of customers who were loathe to pay and I must have put at least 50 into County Court, winning every case in the process.

Gaining a County Court Judgement is only half of the battle as it's a complete waste of time unless you can enforce the judgement and get paid. I never received one penny from any of the "court customers" as they all seemed to know how easy it was to give the bailiff the runaround. All it seemed to take was for the debtor to answer the door and tell the bailiff that he didn't live there any more and that was the end of the matter.

My advice is always not to waste money on County Court proceedings unless you know that the debtor has the means to pay. If we are talking larger sums I would always recommend the High Court even though it costs more as the Sherriffs aren't salaried employees and they don't get paid if they don''t collect.

[Soup Dragon]

Agreed, but even the high court sheriffs only have the same legal means of entry and collecting money as the bailiffs so its not much more effective to be honest.

I can't understand why after so many centuries we still have such a stupid legal system when it comes to debt. The genuine person or business who is out of pocket is basically on their own.

Basically unless you cover your costs at the point of sale or before giving a service you can expect to loose money regardless of how good your service or product is because people are becoming more savy to how easily they can just get away without paying.

We never had this problem 10 years ago.

The only people who win are the legal profession - every time! As you say, don't waste money on the courts but make sure you get your payment up front or at the time of sale - its the only way.

I'm going to be taking credit card details up front from now on, then if they don't pay, I will collect on their card.

[trainershack]

Originally Posted by Soup Dragon

I'm going to be taking credit card details up front from now on, then if they don't pay, I will collect on their card.

and then it will be you in court on charges of credit card fraud for taking payment without authorisation...

[Soup Dragon]

Yes, Trainershack - thats true. Having verbal terms and conditions which the client agrees to (recorded for training purposes etc) are essential.

[Lee Tumbridge]

try the guys at key2law, not sure of the contact details but I know they helped out a mate of mine a few weks ago. they have some tie up with an international debt collectin agency that started out collecting parking fines cross border!
if all else fails then suggest a large person to visit!

[PeterCarruthers]

Many of my clients have the same problem. After closing a business in 1992, and losing everything in the process, I was on the receiving end of a whole pile of judgements for sureties for business debts. After five years struggling to recover, I resolved 2 things for my future:

• Never sign a surety or guarantee again. No business has an assured future, and sometimes the unexpected happens -- and it's not worth losing your family home.
• Ensure that nobody owed me enough money that I would want to sue them. Instead of having a few high-value clients, I opted for a business model with a much higher number of clients, each paying me a small amount of money. That way, if anybody strikes a big enough challenge that they can't pay me, it doesn't hurt.

I'm not sure if it helps, but sometimes those bad experiences are simply the universe educating you. And education is always painful!

[bwglaw]

High Court Enforcement Officers have power to use force with the assistance from the Police. Also, CCJ can be enforced any time so keep an eye on the debtor i.e. they buy a house, then get a Charging Order.

Happy to give free advice if you email me below

Jonathan

[PeterCarruthers]

In South Africa a judgement debt lasts for 30 years -- and you can collect at any time during that period -- if the debtor acquires any assets, or a reasonable income. (Without a judgement, the debt cannot be collected after three years.)

What is the period that a judgement is collectable in the UK?

[bwglaw]

Originally Posted by PeterCarruthers

What is the period that a judgement is collectable in the UK?

I believe no time limit but need to check this and whether there is indeed a limit i.e. 6 years. I have not yet had a case where this was an issue.