What Happens If A Debtor Defends A Claim
If a company owes your business money, then the first thing to do is contact them to try and recover the money owing.
Sometimes, this may result in the company defending your claim against them, which will usually result in court proceedings. Your claim will be allocated to one of three tracks depending on the size of the debt.
The most common for small businesses is the fast claim track where claims are less than £10,000. This will involve an exchange of questionnaires relating to the case and the defendant and claimant will be offered every encouragement to settle the case before it ends up in court. This include free mediation.
There will be the option of having legal representation, however this depends on the size of the debt involved. Legal costs can often defeat the purpose of going to court in some cases.
The next level is the fast track for claims between £10,000 and £25,000. This will be a more formal process where some form of legal advice will be needed to help you comply with the rules.
For cases where businesses are owed £25,000 and above, the process becomes a lot more complicated and legal advice will normally be essential in dealing with such cases. This advice should be sought at the earliest stage of proceedings to ensure the best outcomes.