If you are owed money

Use a mediation service, send a statutory demand, go to court or make someone bankrupt if a person or business owes you money. If someone owes you money and hasn’t arranged to pay it back after you’ve spoken or written to them, mediation is an option.

Mediation

Mediation is when an impartial person - trained in dealing with difficult discussions between 2 opposing sides - acts like a referee in a dispute. There can be a fee for mediation but it is cheaper than hiring a solicitor and taking court action. The fee is based on how much is owed. You can find a mediation process online to start the process. Use the Scottish Mediation Network if you’re in Scotland.

Court action

If mediation doesn’t work, you can make a court claim for your money. If the money owed is less than £100,000 and owed by no more than 2 people or 2 organisations, you can make a claim online. The court can order the money to be paid.

Making someone bankrupt if they can’t pay

You can use a statutory demand to ask for money you’re owed. If the person who owes you money ignores the statutory demand or can’t repay the money, you can ask a court to make them bankrupt (but only if you’re owed more than £750). However, the costs are high and you may not get any of your money back. If a limited company owes you money, you’ll need to get the company ‘wound up’.