Sector: Healthcare
Debt type: Former Employee Debt
Debt amount: £777.96
Amount Paid : £1,000.65 (ongoing payment arrangement)
Costs to Client: £68.00 plus court disbursements
Brief
The Ambulance Trust instructed us to collect £777.96 from a former employee. At the time of leaving their employment, a balance under the salary sacrifice agreement was owed.
The Trust utilised our online Debt Manager system to communicate with us and provide information about both the debtor and the debt. The use of our debt manager system streamlined the debt recovery process.
At the point of our instruction, no money had been repaid. We were supplied with a copy of the invoice by our client and we advised them that should we have to commence Court action we could add statutory interest to the amount owed at a rate of 8%.
Solution
We discussed numerous recovery strategies with our client and we were instructed to commence a 30 day pre-legal collection strategy. It was agreed that we would send three letters, accompanied by emails and telephone calls. An address check was undertaken in the first instance which provided us with a new verified address for the debtor.
The debtor responded to our first letter and advised that her current employment had ended and she was seeking advice about state benefits. We agreed to delay any further action for seven days in order for her to seek necessary advice and support.
After seven days we sent our second letter and email to the debtor which prompted a response, but no offer of settlement was forthcoming. The debtor asked for proof of debt, which the Trust was able to supply to us alongside a breakdown of the debt and how it had accrued. This was forwarded to the debtor who subsequently requested to repay the debt through instalments. Based on this approach to repayment, we advised her that a personal financial statement was required which we sent to her to complete. The debtor did not respond to this, so we sought instructions and offered advice to our client about Court proceedings.
We advised our client that before we could commence Court action we were required to send a Letter before Claim in order to comply with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims. The letter has to include statutory information including whether there is a payment arrangement in place, the type of agreement entered into between the parties, the date of the agreement and whether the agreement is available should it be requested. The letter also has to include a Financial Statement, a Reply Form and Information Sheet. The letter also gives the debtor a mandatory 30 days within which to reply.
The debtor failed to reply to the Letter before Claim. Our client subsequently instructed us to issue Court proceedings, with a Claim Form served.
The debtor responded with a full admission of the debt advising that she was in full time employment and offering to repay the debt at the rate of £100 per month. We notified our client about the intention to repay and it was accepted. We applied to the Court for judgment in order to protect the repayment plan. We agreed that if the debtor defaulted in any way, then alternative enforcement options would be available.
Once the judgment was received by our team, we set up a direct debit with the regular monthly repayments continuing and reviewed every six months in order to monitor whether or not the debtor’s financial position has changed.
