So you’re an English Company with Scottish Debts?
If you are an English Company with Scottish debts then you have a choice to make – do you raise court action in England or Scotland?
So Why Scotland?
If the action is raised in Scotland, it could work out faster and cheaper for you! There are many real advantages with Scottish proceedings. Here are just some of the benefits:
A. Fast Track Collections Taking Action Now!
If you are particularly concerned about a bad we offer a "Fast Track" service using the statutory demand process available both for individuals and limited companies. If the debtor is a limited company we can also check the debtor’s status from our vast database. We may have sued them before! We can also ‘screen’ the debtor by using our ‘Free Debtor Search’ service where we check the debtor with our insolvency experts. This is a procedure you may wish to use if you are particularly worried about payment of a large debt and you think the Debtor organisation is in financial difficulty. "Fast Track" can be used either on its own or along with court action.
What do we do: We prepare a formal demand in terms of either Insolvency or Bankruptcy legislation and instruct court officers to serve it on the Debtor.
What happens next?: If there is no denial within 21 days after service we are able to institute insolvency proceedings. If there is a denial and you want to take the matter further you can instruct a court action.
B. Pre-judgement Remedies: Quicker cash for you!
If the action is raised in Scotland then you can take advantage of our unique Scottish pre-judgement remedies, such as Arrestment.
An Arrestment stops a third party, owing money to your Debtor, from paying the cash over to the Debtor. It is similar to an English Garnishee Order. An Arrestment can be instructed at a very reasonable fee and you will be surprised to know one of the real benefits of an Arrestment is that it can be carried out at the same time the Summons is issued. So we do not have to wait for the court’s judgement. As soon as the Summons is issued an Arrestment can be immediately instructed. This is of enormous benefit to you, with our experience showing that it is an incredibly effective way of you getting paid almost immediately, and after all, this is what you want.
C. Effective Summons issue: Find the "Gone Aways" faster!
If the Court action is raised in Scotland the Debtor can be traced quicker if he has moved from the address you provide. This is because if the Debtor has absconded we can find this out from the Court within approximately 5 days after the Summons issue date. It is unnecessary to wait until judgement is entered, by which time the Sheriff is instructed, and additional costs run up. This is what may have to happen in England. However, once the Court tells us service is ineffective, then you can instruct a ‘Trace’ which will help locate the Debtor, establish his asset position and see if it is worthwhile to instruct Sheriff Officers to effect service, and later enforce judgment.
So again all of this speeds up the processes involved and means you have a far better chance of having your cash recovered sooner!
D. Our Fee Structure: Less Risk for You!
One of the traumas of bad debt is that unfortunately recovery is not always possible. This can happen in any jurisdiction but if the action is raised in Scotland the blow can be softened. This is because the maximum issue fee in Scotland will be restricted to £57.00, and in some cases much less than that. If you are trying to recover a high value debt in England these fees can be as much as £1700!
