How to Recover Multiple Debts
Outstanding invoices can impede your cash flow and affect the running of your business, which is why recovering debts owed to you is so important. But what should you do if there are multiple debts owed by the same (or different) clients?
In this guide, we’ll explain how to begin the debt recovery process, and help you understand the key advantages that come from working with a firm of debt collection Solicitors. Keep reading to learn more about reclaiming multiple debts, and the ways we can help you…
What are the stages of recovering multiple debts?
Committing to multiple debt recovery is a journey, and it’s vital that you take the right steps along the way to ensure you get a favourable result. As such, in this section we’ll explore the preliminary stages to multiple debt recovery and how to begin the process.
Confirm the details of the debt
The first stage to any debt recovery is understanding the details of the case. You need to know who owes you money, for what service, and how much of the payment is outstanding.
You should also take the time at this stage to collect as much information about the debtor and your business relationship as possible. For example:
- Is this the first time they’re behind on their payments, or are they frequently causing issues by dodging invoices?
- Have they missed one or multiple payments?
- What is your working relationship like? Are they a long-standing supplier, or new client?
This will help you develop a strategy further down the line, and should inform your response to their non-payment.
Once you have a complete understanding of what is owed to you, and by whom, it’s time to move onto the next stage in trying to recover your debt.
Get in contact with the debtor
At this early stage, it’s worth getting in contact with the debtor with a payment reminder. This could cause them to send the payment over, or open a dialogue between you and them as to why the money is still outstanding.
Sending an email reminder, or giving their team a call, can help move the process along without the need for further intervention - especially if it’s the first time they’re behind on an invoice.
Top tip - try to initiate contact a week before payment is due to prevent a late payment.
If they owe multiple back payments, getting in contact is a good way to inform them that you are considering moving forward into a more formal debt recovery plan. This may convince your debtor to pay sooner, or work out a system through which you’ll receive your money.
However, this doesn’t always work, and you may find that you’re still being ignored and unpaid. If this happens, you’ll need to decide on your next steps.
Determine the next steps
The debt recovery process can vary depending on the type of debtor you have, which means you’ll have to consider your next steps with this in mind.
If you’re owed money by a company for example, you’ll need to follow the commercial debt recovery process. This starts by issuing a letter before action, or late payment demand encouraging them to pay before you take legal action.
Alternatively, the debt collection process against a sole trader requires you to follow a pre- action protocol to ensure fair and reasonable measures are undertaken to recover the outstanding balance.
It’s absolutely vital that you follow the correct steps when you’re attempting to recover multiple commercial debts. Inappropriate conduct could cost you if the case goes to court, either in legal fees, or in a reduction of interest and compensation owed to you by the debtor.
Contact a debt collection firm of Solicitors
Once you’ve decided on the appropriate course of action, you either need to start the proceedings yourself, or contact a firm of Solicitors who specialise in debt collection to intervene on your behalf.
Debt collection Solicitors are specialised companies that understand how to recover outstanding payments. They will handle all the legal matters, and provide a sense of authority to your payment demands that can sometimes be missing from your own efforts.
As we’ll explain further below, debt collection Solicitors provide an exceptional service, and offer businesses the best option for their debt recovery needs.
Why choose a debt collection firm of Solicitors?
Choosing a debt collection firm of Solicitors is the best way to recover outstanding balances from customers and clients alike. Debt collection Solicitors like Thomas Higgins Solicitors understand the debt recovery process, and are especially valuable when it comes to multiple missing invoices.
Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of choosing a debt collection firm of Solicitors …
Recover your time
Chasing missing payments can take up a lot of your time that could be better spent towards running your business and making your company a success.
Using a firm of debt collection solicitors saves you time and energy as they can handle all the legwork involved in recovering your money. This includes contacting your debtors, sending letters on your behalf, and liaising with the courts to issue any legal documentation required for the case.
Get specialist advice
Understanding the debt collection process can be difficult, especially when you’re trying to manage recovering the money alongside running a business. Doing it yourself means you could miss out on claiming for everything you’re owed.
For example, did you know that you can claim compensation and interest on late payments? This extra finance is a condition applied to debts to reduce the financial impact of a delayed invoice that you could miss out on if you don’t know how to properly process a debt recovery claim.
Choosing a firm of debt collection solicitors prevents you from missing out on compensation, and you can reap the benefits of their combined years of expertise in the field.
Find cost-effective debt management
Collecting outstanding balances from clients not only costs you time, but it can also cost you money. Sending letters, working with the courts, and various other legal fees can result in you sending good money after bad - with little to show from it.
A firm of debt collection solicitors can help you make the whole process much more cost- effective. You can manage your case, and all the fees associated with it in one place with a debt collection specialist.
However, many debt collection agencies and solicitors work on a commission basis, so you will have to take this into account when you’re choosing the right one for you.
At Thomas Higgins, we don’t charge a percentage for any debt we recover for you. We’ve made our costs as transparent as possible to make sure you’re not met with unexpected charges or hidden extras - as you can see for yourself in our costs and fees breakdown.
Accommodate bulk debt recovery
You can only collect the same debt once, so it’s vital to keep proper records of which debts have or haven’t been collected. But, if you have multiple debts from one client or customer, it can be hard to keep track of all the required information.
With a firm of debt collection solicitors, you’ll have someone to help you keep your invoices and cases in order. This can help to accommodate for multiple debts by streamlining the process and clarifying what debts are still outstanding.
Get access to a central information hub
Choosing a firm of debt collection solicitors to handle your claims helps you to create a centralised point for any and all information relating to the case.
This makes it easier for you to see what actions have already been taken, as well as what needs to be done in the future to continue with the process.
At Thomas Higgins you will have access to your case via our free 24/7 online case management system. Our secure portal allows you to monitor and control your claim whenever you need to, whilst our app offers you the flexibility to update your account from anywhere in the world.
Get tailored solutions
No two businesses are the same, so why should your debt collection solutions work that way? Whilst the actual procedure needs to be followed properly, the way you liaise with your clients and enforce collection can vary.
At Thomas Higgins, we understand that you know your customers better than we do. That’s why we want to work with you to provide a debt collection service to ensure you receive what you’re owed without irreparably damaging your professional relationships.
Choose Thomas Higgins for your debt recovery needs
At Thomas Higgins, we have four decades of experience in the debt collection industry. We have a dedicated and experienced debt collection team and with a reputation for excellent customer satisfaction and industry-leading insights into business-to-business debt collection process, you can trust that we’ll work hard to reclaim any outstanding balances owed by customers or clients.
