Letter Before Action

A ‘letter before action’ is the final letter sent to the debtor before starting legal action against them.

For your debt recovery claim this letter can sometimes be known as a ‘letter of claim’ or a ‘demand letter’.

A letter before action must include the correct name and address of the person or organisation that owes you money; the amount of money owed; the length of time that this debt has been owed; and also an instruction that failure to repay this debt will result in you starting legal proceedings against them.

The letter of claim will usually give the debtor between 7-14 days to respond and pay back what you are owed.

Whilst a letter of claim is not a formal court document, it is a very important letter. It can be used in court to show that you have made all possible effort to contact the debtor and resolve the issue outside of court.

What you write in this letter before action is also very important as a well written demand letter can lead to the debtor quickly understanding the situation, which increases the possibility of you getting paid.

This is why you should instruct Scott Rees & Co solicitors as we have the experience and the know-how to produce an effectively written demand letter within a working day of receiving all of the required information.

If the debtor responds within the given time, then we will update you immediately with their response, which is likely to be one of the following:

1. They admit to the debt, and have repaid this in full (or in part)
2. They admit to the debt, but have not repaid any of it
3. They admit to part of the debt, and have repaid this part in full
4. They admit to part of the debt, but have not repaid any of it
5. They have requested further documents or information from you
6. They have denied they owe a debt to you

If the debtor does not respond within the given time, then we will advise that you instruct us to move on with the debt recovery process and start legal proceedings.