Debt Collection Letter

A debt collection letter, or debt recovery letter, is an essential tool to be used during the process of debt recovery and fair debt collection. The initial stage of recovering, for example, a small business debt if there has been no response to an invoice and invoice reminder, is to write to the person or business that owes the debt. This is known as a debt reminder letter or late payment letter. If you have a debt recovery solicitor, they will be able to give you a simple template for you to do this yourself, if you wish.

The letter should be polite, in order to help you retain a good working relationship with your client. It will often get results and avoid the need for further action. If this initial debt reminder letter is ignored, prepare and send a late payment letter to reinforce your initial payment reminder. Again, keep it polite and, if necessary, ask your solicitor’s advice.

If this letter is also ignored, a debt collection letter can be sent. This acts as a final demand to the debtor, and is usually the last act before legal proceedings are initiated. However, your debt recovery solicitor may suggest trying a course of action such as negotiation before going down the route of the courts.

There is always a possibility that a debt collection letter has not reached the person or business it has been addressed to, so it is worth checking at an early stage, that the business is still at the address you have. If it is not, you may be able to trace it yourself, but if that proves difficult then it is best to bring in a debt recovery solicitor who specialises in debt tracing and can find debtors more easily.

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