Rent arrears - debt collection agencies?

Fat_Debtor

Hi

I've recently taken my house back after renting it privately for 2 years to a complete nightmare.

Anyway, my ex tenant owes me about £3k in unpaid rent - is there a quick and easy way of getting my money back, or should I just write this money off? What are my options for recovery?

I'm thinking about debt collection agencies - any one know if they are any good or have any advice on chasing a debt racked up by a private tenant?

Cheers

clutton_2

debt collection agencies have no legal authority whatsoever to force a debtor to pay up - they do so by constant harrassment and frequently intimidation. having said that some of them do get a fair percentage of monies back for their clients.

if your ex tenant has money, or is working, then you could take out a small claims case and get an attachment of earnings order so that the money can be taken from his wages directly

missile

Been a while since I checked, but there was (and I believe there still is?) a limit on what one can claim via small claims court.

Debt collectors charge a fee (circa £200) and/or take a percentage of what they recover. Saves you a lot of hassle, so it could be a good option for you. See here > http://www.drukgroup.co.uk/membership.html

tbs624

missile wrote: »

Been a while since I checked, but there was (and I believe there still is?) a limit on what one can claim via small claims court.

Max of £5000 - see http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/claims/index.htm

bubblesmoney

clutton wrote: »

debt collection agencies have no legal authority whatsoever to force a debtor to pay up - they do so by constant harrassment and frequently intimidation. having said that some of them do get a fair percentage of monies back for their clients.

if your ex tenant has money, or is working, then you could take out a small claims case and get an attachment of earnings order so that the money can be taken from his wages directly

if they have no legal authority and private individuals hire them for debt collection, what happens in the scenario where they harass the person owing the debts. if that person then makes a complaint of harassment, would the person who commissioned the debt collection agencys services also not become vicariously liable for the debt collection agencies actions under the provisions of the protection from harassment act??? there are civil and criminal penalties under the act. best to make sure if this method is legal or not, otherwise one could be losing money instead of getting money back +/- a criminal conviction if things go pear shaped

Fat_Debtor

Thanks for the advice so far. Anyone got any actual experience of debt collection?

clutton_2

bubbles - the only authority for debt enforcement in this country is a court order.

Debt collection agencies are companies who offer a "collection" services to folks who are owed money. They "fool" the debtor with letters which Look like Court Orders which are not from the court, they fool the debtors with phone calls threatening court proceedings and court costs and added interest. None of these things are payable WITHOUT a court order. Dont be fooled by debt collectors.

Folks owed money used debt collectors as they think they can get money back without going to court. If the collectors dont get any funds - they hand the debt back to their client.

i fought someone who set debt collectors onto me last year - i replied that "the debt was in dispute" and refused to pay, and finally i took them to court and won.

i also know of someone who had 10 different debt collectors chase her for the same disputed debt before the beggar gave up and finally realised she was not going to pay up.

debt collectors are also very clever at what constitutes "harrassment" - they dont put in writing those things which are semi-legal and ring folks on friday afternoon after 5pm so that they have the weekend to worry in

Premier_2

I doubt any agency would be prepared to buy the debt off you.

So, if you do employ one, they'll charge you a fortune for what you can do yourself

http://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk

Of course, the first thing to establish is that the debtor has funds or an income stream so that they can actually repay you, else you'll be throwing good money after bad.

Hopefully, the references you took out prior to handing the keys over 2 years ago will already have assured you of that.

mlz1413

Fat_Debtor wrote: »

Thanks for the advice so far. Anyone got any actual experience of debt collection?

Hi Fat Debtor I looked into debt collectors for my work years ago and as stated previously there is an up-front fee which is often inline with the court fees and then a % of the amount collected and as they can only 'persude' people to part with their money we decided to go to court. But you can get quotes from local and national companies for free.

I personally have also gone to court for an ex-tenant that owed me money - its quick and surprisingly easy to file a court order and then if you wish to follow through with baliffs or attachment of earnings you have the legal right to (if you win!)

Before you go through any process I would make sure of a couple of points -
Do you know where they live now, will you be able to keep track of them?
Do they have the money to pay, if not lump sum weekly or monthly installments?

Rising and getting a court order are the easy bits - getting the money is the hardest part.

Fat_Debtor

Thanks for that. If I take them to court and win, are they required to pay by law? If they don't pay, does that mean it's a criminal rather than civil offence?

Fat_Debtor

Premier wrote: »

I doubt any agency would be prepared to buy the debt off you.

So, if you do employ one, they'll charge you a fortune for what you can do yourself

http://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk

Of course, the first thing to establish is that the debtor has funds or an income stream so that they can actually repay you, else you'll be throwing good money after bad.

Hopefully, the references you took out prior to handing the keys over 2 years ago will already have assured you of that.

Thanks for that.

I didn't actually take any references out as he was a colleague and supposed mate. I know how much he earns and it was about the same as me, maybe a bit more. I seemed to manage to live on it, so am not sure how he doesn't