Pursuing a commercial disputed debt tends to be a costly, lengthy and risky undertaking. Your lawyers will typically bill you based on the amount of time they spend working for you. Given that the average litigation case for a small or medium-sized business is around 12 – 18 months, it’s not uncommon for these bills to spiral to the level of the damages that you’re claiming. Even if you can find a lawyer to act for you on a ‘no win no fee’ basis, you’ll still have to pay up front for disbursements such as court fees. And, of course, you could be liable for the defendant’s costs as well as your own if you lose the case. It’s hardly surprising, then, that many businesses decide against pursuing a claim and reluctantly write-off what they are owed.
Should larger debts that we are collecting need to go down the litigation route HCS are a delivery partner of Escalate Dispute Resolution.
In a two step process, HCS t/a My Debt Recovery will first focus on resolving disputes without litigation through a typically three month to four month negotiation period to reach a settlement. Should negotiation fail, the debt would pass to our Escalate lawyers to litigate. Negotiations are supported by the knowledge that legal recourse could follow by way of Conditional Fee Agreements (CFA’s) and After the Event insurance (ATE).
The process minimises costs through fixed fees that are ONLY PAYABLE if the recovery and/or settlement of a debt is successful. There is also a CAP ON ALL COSTS to ensure that the client (claimant) is always the main beneficiary of any amount recovered.
The process will be aided by the My Debt Recovery team led by Sean Husband, working alongside the Escalate team to assess each potential claimant action.
