Should I always pursue unpaid debts?

It is very frustrating when money owed to you is not paid within an expected or agreed upon timeframe. However, when deciding to pursue unpaid debts, you should consider:

• If the expenses incurred by pursuing the recovery of the debt are worth the amount in dispute. With the Helix zero risk option the debt is  always worth pursuing if the debt is greater than £1,000. If you don’t get paid, we don’t get paid.
• If you choose to write off small debts (usually under £1000), whether this could set a precedent of late or non-payment to other debtors.
• Before writing off a debt think about how much work you would have to do to replace that bottom line profit. If your profit margin is 10% then writing off a debt means you have to do 10 more jobs of that size to replace that lost profit.
• If you have thoroughly investigated why the debtor has not yet paid – there may be a dispute regarding the quality of the goods or services you provided; or the debtor may be in financial difficulty (in which case you may negotiate a payment plan, part-payment, extending the payment deadline, or writing off the debt)
• Whether there are any pre-existing County Court Judgments (CCJs) against the debtor which may impede the likelihood of recovering the debt
• Whether the debtor has secured a Debt Relief Order, which could impede your chances of recovering the money. This means that their financial situation currently absolves them from being able to settle debts.