Providing a "Letter before Action" setting out what is owed
A Letter before Action (LBA) or Letter of Claim (L of C) is a formal letter that requests a payment of a debt to your business and warns of the imminent issue of a County Court Claim.
The L of C sets out what is owed to you from a debtor and sets out a time scale in which to pay. This is an essential requirement of the debt recovery process.
If you intend to issue County Court Proceedings against a debtor it is a legal requirement that the L of C needs to be sent, providing them with one last opportunity to pay.
We have substantial expertise in both Commercial and Consumer debt recovery; therefore, we can ensure the relevant L of C’s are prepared, regardless of the nature of the debt.
Our existing client’s use L of C letters as a cost-effective way of debt recovery. We understand that sometimes issuing County Court Proceedings is not commercially viable, however, sending the L of C can be enough to prompt payment from the debtor.
Our specialist legal team ensure all L of C’s sent out are compliant with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims and / or the Practice Direction - Pre-Action Conduct (“PDPAC”), to ensure the best chance of recovery. Failure to comply with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, can lead to costs consequences later if a claim is disputed.
We also review all paperwork or details of the debt owed to you, and using our legal substantial legal knowledge apply interest and statutory compensation to your claim which you may not have known you could claim from the debtor. We therefore ensure you are recovering the maximum amount possible.
We pride ourselves on our quick acting teams. Therefore, provided we receive your instructions before 4.00 pm (Monday – Friday), we aim to process your L of C that same day. If instructions are received outside of these hours, we will process the L of C within 24 hours of receipt of the initial instructions. We are also able to work outside of these times at an additional cost, such you have a necessity for such.
We aim to ensure all instructions are actioned as smoothly and efficiently as possible. We can therefore provide a template pro-forma for you to complete when instructing us to ensure we have all the necessary information at hand to prepare a compliant L of C. This will allow us to guarantee there are no delays in sending the L of C to the debtor as per your instructions. It will also provide you with the assurance that once you have passed the matter to us, it is unlikely we will need to contact you again (unless a dispute is raised by the debtor), thus allowing you to concentrate / attend to other important matters relating to your business.
In the majority of cases the impact of our L of C letter is sufficient to evoke a response / proposal and / or obtain payment in full from the debtor without recourse to further legal proceedings.
Upon expiration of the L of C we will contact you to establish if payment has been made directly to you and if not, we will then advise you on the most appropriate next steps to take to recover the money that is due and owing to you from the debtor.