In the space of 24 hours, Advocate Commercial Debt Recovery has recovered £31K across two clients who submitted their instructions the previous day. Advocate’s proven debt recovery process makes handling debts in the tens of thousands just as effective as handling the lower values.
£18K Debt Recovery
At the time of instruction, the principal £18K debt was 18 days overdue. During this time, our client made no fewer than six attempts to recover payment using the medians of phone and email. Prior to this, they had touched base several times to confirm receipt of the invoice. At the time of taking on the commission, our architectural glazing client had expected their cash-rich construction customer to easily afford the bill. Even with modest jobs such as this one, our client still requires a 50% payment upfront before production commences. Once made, the bespoke glass will not fit any other building other than the one being constructed. The deposit invoice was raised, and the upfront payment was received later than expected, along with a poorly fabricated excuse for the delay. When the job was completed, and the final invoice was raised, our client had not forgotten the alarm bells rung by the delay in depositing the money. Despite being promised payment, our client was then met with invoice date and statement format queries. Having humoured the debtor for 18 days, Advocate was instructed. We issued a Notice of Court Proceedings containing £18K of principal debt and £1.7K of statutory late payment charges. Just 24 hours after instruction, the debtor made the same day for the principal sum, initially claiming it had been sent by BACS the previous week before conceding and paying the £1.7K.
£13K Debt Recovery
At the time of instruction, the principal £13K debt was 124 days overdue. Our client operates in the hospitality industry with a corporate events division run from their 4-star hotel. In normal operating conditions, the client passes debts to Advocate at 14 days overdue. A combination of self-isolations, sickness and back-office staff being called forward to cover a customer-facing recruitment shortage saw this £13K overlooked for several months. Incidentally, the corporate event was a big success, with high praise from delegates. Limited payment feedback from the debtor indicated no dispute, an intention to pay, and delays seemingly caused by their own staff shortages. Even a PLC debtor such as this one can suffer from absences and unfilled vacancies! With director-level contacts in hand, Advocate commenced action on the £13K principal debt plus late payment charges. In keeping with the integrity and authenticity crucial to the debtor’s brand image, they communicated and made full payment less than 24 hours after Advocate’s instruction.
The Impact of Advocate
In both cases, Advocate’s fees did not exceed 15%. By industry standards, this is at the low end of charge rates payable by debtors. Advocate’s proven commercial debt recovery process utilises a lower fee structure so as not to detract from the core goal of recovering payment of your overdue invoices. Debtors such as the £18K and £13K would not have paid so quickly or amicably had the late payment fees been higher. Although both clients operate in very different industries, Advocate, as the common denominator, achieved the same quick debt recovery within 24 hours of instruction.