In this article, High Court Enforcement offer some advice on making sure your case is enforceable.
Does your debtor have the means to pay?
Before proceeding to High Court enforcement, it would be wise to undertake some due diligence into your debtor and the situation they are in. As part of this it would be wise to investigate whether or not they have assets. If necessary, it might be worth undertaking a search of public records, these public records include the following:
- Land registry
- Registry Trust
- Companies House
- The Insolvency Service
If you are still unsure you can apply for an order to obtain information. This will give you further detail about the following:
- Employment including employment status
- Details about pay and pay frequency
- Information about dependents
- Other income information
- Details about residence and property ownership
- Savings and investments
- Other assets
- Regular outgoings
- Any payment the debtor is willing to offer
The form that must be filled out by the individual debtor can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/give-a-record-of-evidence-individual-debtor-form-ex140
Have you correctly completed the paperwork?
Have the correct name stated on the paperwork, using the incorrect name can hamper your chances of success, if you spell the name incorrectly or us the wrong name then the case will not be enforceable. You can check that you are using the correct information on Companies House if you are unsure.
Trading as
If the company is trading as, make sure you name both, for example John Smith trading as summer furniture. This is important as many limited companies trade as another name. ensuring you put both names in will give you a better chance of success.
Correct address
Ensuring you use the correct address is important, again this is detail you can check with Companies House, you can also check the defendant’s website for this information.
Correct amount
Ensure you haven’t added extra costs and that you have entered the correct amount onto any paperwork, you will be entitled to claim for interest and a late payment fee, these are both set by Government and the detail can be viewed here:
Interest: https://www.gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery/charging-interest-commercial-debt
Late payment charges: https://www.gov.uk/late-commercial-payments-interest-debt-recovery/claim-debt-recovery-costs
Insolvency proceedings
Ensure that the debtor is not subject to any insolvency proceedings, you can check this on Companies House, companies in liquidation or administration will haver an L or an A beside their name.
