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Stephen Cowan Examines Changes to Court Procedures in Scotland when Recovering Debts
ON the 28 November 2016, Scotland’s court procedure to recover debts of less than £5,000 was radically altered. The old Summary Cause and Small Claims procedure has been swept away by new, more simple rules, with unrepresented litigants in mind. The new rules will allow the Sheriff to ‘take an interventionist approach to identify the issues, assist parties to settle if possible, and to determine how the case progresses.’
A relatively quick and inexpensive way of recovering cash from a slow paying limited company is the use of the statutory demand for payment. Many creditors prefer this to taking court action which is perceived as being both slow and costly.
Regular readers may remember the Cavendish Square Parking Litigation (Cavendish Square Holding BV [2015] UKSC 67)
ParkingEye charged £85 on an individual, Mr Beavis, for overstaying a two-hour permitted period of free parking at a retail park in Chelmsford. The Court of Appeal (in agreement with the High Court decision) rejected an argument that the charge was penal.
If I were to mention the term ‘Summary diligence’ most of you would attempt to stifle a yawn. But if I were to say that ‘summary diligence’ could avoid you in having to take court action to recover a debt because it’s the equivalent of a court’s decree then wouldn’t you sit up and listen?
Have you, like me, sat through courses on telephone collections? How many times has the course leader emphasised that we must have empathy with the customer. After all if you make “friends” with the customer you’ll be able to establish a rapport and gather information the net effect of which will improve recovery rates. All techniques we’ve been taught – open questions, closed questions, how you open the call and finally closure. Add in a bit of “treating the customers fairly” into the mix and we have the recipe for effective pre-sue collections.
The 14th January 2008 saw the introduction of new Scottish Court Limits. You will see from the below that the changes are considerable:
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Yuill + Kyle are an extremely focused firm who are achieving great results for us north of the border. Their client-focused staff keep us 'in the loop' so we are able to make timely decisions, helping us to recover more of our money.
I would not hesitate to recommend Yuill + Kyle's services to other business colleagues. I recently sent Yuill + Kyle's pre-sue letter to 2 debtors. Within 2 days of Yuill + Kyle sending these letters one of the debtors paid his £560 and the other his £750, all for the fee of a 7 day letter!
I instructed Yuill & Kyle to send a pre-sue letter to my debtor. This resulted in the debtor paying their outstanding £2750. We also received a letter of apology from them!! Great result!!
I have to say that Yuill + Kyle have represented my best experience to date with solicitors, and although I was unable to take this matter further on this occasion I would have no hesitation in using you again or recommending you to others.
I would really like to recommend your services to everyone considering litigation. Your online service is fast, efficient and easy to use. We found that your costs are simply unbeatable for pre-litigation and I feel sure that when we require legal support, Yuill + Kyle will be our first choice.
Yuill + Kyle successfully recovered £19,000 for our client. We were delighted with their professionalism and fully intend to use them again in the future.
Contact our debt recovery specialists.Call 0141 331 2332
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