Latest News
Your Guide to Crowdfunding
The first universally accepted example of crowdfunding was back in 1885 when the New York World appealed to its readers…
The Charleston of Economics & Political Science (sooo not boring!)
Using sources such Barrow 1991, Tabassam et al. 2016 and Dalby 2018 we explore in this ‘sooo not boring’ article…
Are Recessions a Necessary Evil?
When the media and opposition benches bang the drums of recession, it can feel like the four horsemen of the…
Sport & Bankruptcy
Think of your favourite sports person or the club you have followed through promotion and relegation. Could they ever go…
Celebrating 70 Years of Great British Companies – a Jubilee!
With 2022 being a Platinum Jubilee year, we take a look at great British companies which have reigned supreme in…
Late Payment & Mental Health
Although mental health in the workplace is becoming less of a taboo subject, there are still scores of business owners…
The Horizon Sub-Postmaster Scandal
The Horizon Sub-Postmaster scandal saw innocent individuals wrongly convicted of theft and fraud against Post Office Limited (POL) over 14…
Insolvencies are Up – be like an Ostrich!
Figures produced by the Insolvency Service show the number of Creditor Voluntary Liquidations doubled in January and February 2022 compared…
Has P&O Ferries Prioritised Creditors over Employees?
When the BBC’s breaking news banner lit up on 17 March 2022 stating all P&O ferries had been told to…
The Reality of Fictional Businesses
The serious nature of debt recovery leaves little room for folly, except for a certain silly season in April. In…
The F Word and Charity
At Advocate we provide debt recovery services for several charities. For them, having to instruct a debt collection agency is…
Truth and Potential – The Prompt Payment Code
There is no silver bullet to ensuring money filters down a supply chain in good time. As Advocate sees daily,…
What Are Financial Sanctions – Russia and Beyond
In this article, we look at what types of Financial Sanctions can be imposed, how they have been used, and…
Funding Future Matters
In physics, there are five states of matter known as solid, liquid, gas, plasma, and more recently Bose-Einstein condensates! To…
Franchise Debt Collection
The concept of franchising dates back to the 1500s when tax collectors would take a cut of debts recovered on…
A Guide to Bounce Back Loan Fraud
The Bounce Back Loan (BBL) scheme was announced on 27 April 2020 and launched a week later by the Department…
Credit Insurance – a False Sense of Security?
In the same way, your business takes out insurance on plant and machinery, it can also be insured against the…
€2.5 million Write Off
Next time someone tells you there is no such thing as a bad day; you can prove them wrong with…
The Rise and Fall (of Current British Industry)
Don’t worry, we’re not referencing a Madness album or Craig David song with that title! In this article we take…
Is the Queen in Debt?
Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle are instantly recognisable epicentres of the British Royal Family. Much like a penthouse comes with…
The New Economy & Levelling Up
Thatcher had the Falklands, Major had Iraq, Blair had Iraq II, Cameron had Libya. All these prime ministers won consecutive…
The Big Picture – Inflation and Interest Rates
Inflation is a measurement of how much more goods cost year on year expressed as a percentage. The current barometer…
Supplying the Government and Recovering Payment
In 2021 the government put £50 billion worth of contracts out for tender. Out of that 70% were awarded to…
Guide to the 3Cs: Credit-cards, Cash, Cryptocurrency
When you instruct a debt recovery agency, you expect to receive full payment at the earliest possible opportunity. That is…
Do I have to Accept a Payment Plan?
The short answer is no, but it may be in your commercial interest to accept a payment plan. Before we…
Booze in Debt Recovery News
There have been some notable alcohol-themed insolvencies over recent times. Here are the highlights! Wining & Dining on HMRC The…
Santa The Big Spender
Advocate’s clients come from a vast array of industries. Each will have a peak season where demand for goods/services is…
What is the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020?
Cast your mind back to Christmas 2019 when the possibility of a pandemic was first being mooted. Remember that discussion…
How can you stop Directors Voluntarily Striking Off their Company?
When a company is struck off the register at Companies House it ceases to exist. Any assets not already disposed…
Commercial Casualties of Covid
The Corona Virus pandemic has brought about exceptional social and economic disruption on an unprecedented scale. The effects will be…
Starting a Business in a Pandemic Recovery
Unless you’ve been off-planet for the last 18 months, you’ll be aware the pandemic has hit the world’s economies large…
Crossing the Boarders with Debt Recovery
The ability of an individual to obtain justice through their national court is one of many barometers used when assessing…
Personal Debt Collection
Balancing the books of a business is very different to making sure you’ve got enough money until payday. That is…
Dishonest Directors in the Crosshairs
The Insolvency Service is embracing new powers afforded to it out of the coronavirus pandemic. Previously the Insolvency Service would…
Consumers will Drive the UK’s Economic Recovery
Leading economists have advised that consumers are the key to GDP growth and prosperity as the UK begins to recover…
HMRC Resumes Collections as Experts Warn of Financial Distress to thousands
As the UK and the economy emerge from the Covid pandemic and the worst-hit sectors restart trading, Her Majesty’s Revenue…
Debt Collection of Bounce Back Loans
The most popular of the support schemes launched by the Government to assist UK businesses during, and beyond, the Covid-19…
Council use of debt collection agencies continues to rise
Research conducted by Money Advice Trust the debt charity has highlighted the increasing use of debt collection agencies by councils….
Latest figures released by the Insolvency Service
Some interesting statistics have recently been released by the Insolvency Service including figures which show that for the first time…
Taking a debtor to Court – who pays the costs
The legal fees involved in taking Court action against a debtor include: The Court fee A solicitors’ claim issue fee…
The history of debt collection
The necessity to collect debt existed long before currency, even before money was invented, the bartering of goods or services…
Start-ups urged to consider the problem of late payment
The culture of late payment is effecting and even threatening the survival of many UK businesses. Having to wait beyond…
Find out which business sectors and which areas of the UK pay late
New data released by Experian reveals that businesses in the UK settled their overdue invoices on average 1 day faster…
$83 Million awarded to a US woman following an illegal debt collection case
Maria Mejia from the state of Missouri in the United States has recently been awarded a world record $83 Million…
The UK Top 10 excuses for late payment
With UK businesses currently waiting to receive over £42 billion in late payment of invoices for the supply of goods…
Historic Football Club Wound-up with almost 1000 Creditors
A lower league football club famous for its FA Cup giant killing exploits has been wound up at London High…
HMRC Debt Recovery Practices in the Spotlight following Complaints
New research from a top six firm of chartered accountants has shown that HMRC has drastically reduced its use of…
Vodafone Criticised for Mistaken Debt Collection Action
The telecommunications giant Vodafone has been heavily criticised by industry watchdogs for instructing a debt collection agency to recover a…
A Guide to the Process of Debt Recovery Cases in the County Court
Issue Money claims are initially sent to the Northampton County Court Money Claims Centre (CCMCC) to be issued. The Court…
New Law to Change the Funding of Insolvency Cases
The campaign to stop a new law on legal funding of insolvencies is gathering pace as the debate intensifies. Campaigners…
Companies that do not pay on time to be reported
The business world would be a much nicer place if every business paid its suppliers on time. But they don’t!…
What to do when customers can’t pay or won’t pay
A guide to Commercial Debt Collection Do you have customers who never pay to terms, customers who wait for…
North East Borough Council planning to establish an internal Debt Collection agency
It has emerged that a council in the North East is planning to set up an internal debt collection practice….
The Effect of Late Payment on Business
New research conducted by BACS has revealed that over three quarters of UK businesses suffer from late and non-payment of…
Court Fees to Increase Sharply
Commercial Debt Recovery Claim Costs to Increase If you go back just a few years Court fees just about covered…
New £5,000 Statutory Demand Minimum Debt Threshold
The eagerly awaited rise in the minimum debt threshold for insolvency action has been announced by the Government and met…
What are the Pre-Action Protocol Requirements for Debt Recovery
Pre-litigation conduct in respect of the requirements for debt recovery claims has become more and more comprehensive over the years…
Debt Collection Advice for Small Business Owners
The vast majority of small business owners that contact us for help in recovering debts do so for two…
Know Your Customer and Avoid Commercial Debt Recovery
Businesses of all sizes rely on a steady stream of new customers to safeguard and expand their operation. Depending…