Debt recovery guide · First steps
Someone owes me money and won't pay — what can I do?
You have more power than the silence suggests. In the UK, money owed under an agreement — an invoice, a loan, rent, a contract — is a legal debt, and there's a well-trodden escalation path: gather your evidence, demand formally, add what the law lets you add, then hand it to a professional or the court. Most debts settle well before the end of that path.
Start with the paper trail, not the argument
Recovery is won on evidence: the agreement (written terms, emails, even a consistent message history), proof you delivered your side, and a clear statement of what's owed and since when. An hour assembling this is worth more than another month of chasing texts.
Then make one final, unambiguous request in writing — the amount, the deadline (7–14 days is normal), and what happens if it passes. Vague nudges teach a debtor you'll wait forever; a dated deadline changes the conversation.
Make delay cost them, not you
If the debtor is a business, you can usually add statutory late-payment interest — 8% plus the Bank of England base rate — and fixed compensation of £40–£100 per invoice. Our late payment calculator works the figures and drafts the wording.
Even for personal debts, a court can award interest, so mentioning it in your demand is fair warning rather than a bluff.
Escalate before the debt goes stale
A formal demand from a debt collection agency lands very differently to another message from you — it professionalises the situation and signals court is genuinely next. Typical models are a fixed fee, commission on recovery, or a hybrid, all agreed up front.
Court is the backstop, not the first move: a county court money claim (small claims for most sums under £10,000) turns the debt into a judgment you can enforce. Debts also age badly — in England and Wales you generally have six years, five in Scotland, and recovery odds fall long before those limits.
Where this fits in the bigger picture
This is one step of a well-trodden path — demands, statutory add-ons, professional recovery, court, enforcement. The complete debt recovery guide walks the whole process, and the late payment calculator works out what you can add to a commercial debt today.
Related situations
General information, not legal advice.