If a person or company owes you a sum of money and refuses to pay, there are a number of options available to you in law. It is important that these options are attempted before court action is taken, as the legal costs and court fees involved can be high. In many ways, these alternative options can indeed be more effective at resolving any potential dispute in the long run. Not only can they be more cost effective, but also much less time consuming as well.

You should attempt to resolve a debt recovery by firstly making contact with the other party to negotiate an informal agreement. Failing that, you should write them a letter advising how much they owe and explaining the issue in detail using any supporting evidence to try to come to an agreement. The advantage of doing this is that there will be no additional costs and professional legal advice will not be needed at this stage. In addition, you may be able to come to an agreement which both parties find beneficial. It is important that details of all your correspondence are retained at this stage, as this information could potentially be relied upon later in Court. If you are unable to come to an agreement at this stage, others steps should be taken.

Mediation is a cost effective alternative to legal proceedings and aims to resolve disputes without the need to go to court. The fundamental purpose of Mediation is to help establish some common ground between the parties upon which an agreement can be made. The process focuses much less on the legal framework surrounding the dispute at hand, and more so at the interests and intentions of the parties involved. It is therefore the primary aim of the first meeting to establish what each party wants out of the agreement and to ensure that the eventual solution addresses as many of the parties key interests as possible.

The mediation process operates as a very effective alternative to legal proceedings, but does not always work in every case. If, after having used mediation, you are still unable to come to an agreement over the debt, it is advisable to seek professional legal assistance. At Seatons, our team of highly trained legal professionals have a wealth of experience in debt recovery and provide clear, easy to understand legal advice at low sensible fees. For more information, feel free to give us a call on 01536 276300.