Letter before Claim for Unpaid Debt (Debt Protocol) - Word & PDF Template Form

________

________

Tel: ________

Email: ________

Reference: ________

________

________

Date: ________

SENT BY: ________

Dear ________,

LETTER OF CLAIM (LETTER BEFORE CLAIM)

Issued pursuant to the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims

(Civil Procedure Rules — Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols)

THE PARTIES

________

(the ‘Creditor’ / ‘Party A’)

- and -

________

(the ‘Debtor’ / ‘Party B’)

§ 1. Purpose and Status of this Letter

1.1 This letter is a letter of claim sent by the Creditor to the Debtor in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (the ‘Protocol’), which forms part of the Civil Procedure Rules and supplements the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols.

1.2 This letter is sent on the basis that the Debtor is an individual (including a sole trader). The Creditor is a business or an individual to whom the debt described below is owed.

1.3 The Debtor is advised to read this letter and its enclosures carefully and to seek independent legal advice and/or appropriate debt advice as a matter of urgency. The Debtor’s attention is drawn in particular to the enclosed Information Sheet and Reply Form.

§ 2. Background

2.1 The Parties entered into an agreement on ________ (the ‘Agreement’). The Agreement was ________ (whether written, oral or partly written and partly oral).

2.2 Under the Agreement, the Creditor agreed to:

________

2.3 Under the Agreement, the Debtor agreed to pay the Creditor the sum(s) described below in consideration of the matters set out at clause 2.2.

2.4 The Creditor has duly performed all of its obligations under the Agreement.

2.5 In accordance with the Agreement, the following invoice(s) were rendered to the Debtor by the Creditor: ________.

2.6 Sums remain unpaid in respect of the said invoice(s), full particulars of which are set out at § 4 below.

§ 3. Basis of Claim

3.1 The Debtor is in breach of the Agreement in that the Debtor has failed to pay the sums properly due to the Creditor by the date(s) on which payment fell due.

3.2 The Creditor reserves the right to claim interest, compensation and reasonable recovery costs in respect of the unpaid sums, whether under the terms of the Agreement or, where applicable, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 and the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013, or pursuant to section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984.

3.3 Details of any interest or charges already applied (and the basis on which they are claimed) are as follows: ________.

§ 4. Particulars of the Debt

The full details of the debt claimed are as follows:

4.1 Invoice number(s): ________

4.2 Date(s) of invoice: ________

4.3 Total invoice amount: £________ (________) including VAT.

4.4 Date payment fell due: ________

4.5 Days outstanding: ________ days

4.6 Principal amount outstanding: £________ (________)

4.7 Interest claimed to date: £________

4.8 Other charges/recovery costs claimed: £________

4.9 Total amount now claimed: £________ (________)

4.10 The Creditor is entitled to add further daily interest at the rate of £________ per day until payment or judgment.

§ 5. Payment

5.1 The Debtor is requested to pay the total sum of £________ (________) within 30 days of the date of this letter.

5.2 Payment may be made to the Creditor in the following manner:

________

5.3 If the Debtor is unable to pay the sum in full, the Debtor may propose a repayment arrangement by completing and returning the enclosed Reply Form and Financial Statement. The Creditor will consider any reasonable proposal in accordance with paragraph 5 of the Protocol.

5.4 Should the Debtor wish to discuss payment or any other options, the Debtor should not hesitate to contact the Creditor using the contact details stated at the head of this letter.

§ 6. Enclosures

In accordance with paragraph 5.1 of the Protocol, the following are enclosed:

6.1 Information Sheet (Enclosure A)

6.2 Reply Form (Enclosure B)

6.3 Standard Financial Statement (Enclosure C)

6.4 Copies of the relevant invoice(s) (Enclosure D)

6.5 A statement of account in respect of the debt (Enclosure E)

6.6 Where any agreement, deed or other document is referred to above and is not enclosed, the Debtor may request a copy and the Creditor will provide it within 30 days of the request in accordance with paragraph 5.2 of the Protocol.

§ 7. Next Steps and Time for Response

7.1 The Creditor primarily requests payment of the sum claimed in accordance with § 5 above.

7.2 If the Debtor does not pay in full, the Debtor is required to return the following to the Creditor within 30 days of the date of this letter:

(a) a completed Reply Form; and

(b) where appropriate, a completed Financial Statement.

7.3 The completed documents and any other correspondence should be sent to the Creditor at the address shown at the head of this letter, or by email to the address stated above.

7.4 If the Debtor indicates that they are seeking debt advice, the Creditor will allow the Debtor a reasonable period (of not less than 30 days) for that advice to be obtained, as required by paragraph 6 of the Protocol.

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7.7 The Debtor should seek independent legal advice and/or appropriate debt advice as a matter of urgency, details of which are provided in the enclosed Information Sheet.

§ 8. Reservation of Rights

8.1 Nothing in this letter constitutes a waiver of any of the Creditor’s rights or remedies, all of which are expressly reserved.

Yours sincerely,

_______________________________

________

For and on behalf of the Creditor / Party A

Position: ________

ENCLOSURE A

A copy of the Information Sheet from the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims is to be attached below.

ENCLOSURE B

A copy of the Reply Form from the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims is to be attached below.

ENCLOSURE C

A blank Standard Financial Statement form is to be attached below.

ENCLOSURE D

Copies of the relevant invoice(s) are to be attached below.

ENCLOSURE E

A copy of the statement of account in respect of the debt is to be attached below.