If a client, or even a friend or family member, owes you money, you may be considering taking legal action against them to recover your loss. These days, instigating any sort of legal action costs a lot of both money and time, so taking steps to investigate your debtor is always advisable. 

We offer something called “trace and pre-sue”, which is a two pronged approach to recovering your losses. Commonly used by insolvency practitioners and solicitors, these reports are used as a first line method of investigation which allows decisions to be made on whether further, more detailed investigation, such as surveillance, is needed. We’re also finding that these reports are becoming popular in the business community, where they can dismiss or confirm suspicions about unusual business practices.

First of all, we will take the time to locate the individual you’re trying to take action against. It seems all too common for debtors to make themselves “disappear” these days, deactivating their social media or email accounts, changing their phone number and moving house in the hope of dodging the debt collectors. Really determined debtors may also change their appearance or choose a new alias, building their life around this. 

With the debtor traced, we move on to the pre-sue report. This is where our financial research skills really come into force. We carry out enquiries into the financial status of the individual who owes you money, and look into other potential assets which they may be trying to hide, such as property or vehicles. Once all these reports are concluded, we’ll be able to advise you on whether it’s worth continuing to pursue the individual. We would only advise pursuing a case where we feel our client would be able to receive a successful resolution. There is no point spending thousands of pounds chasing a debtor who is about to file for bankruptcy, or has no assets which could be sold in order to repay their debt. If we think taking action will lead to a successful conclusion, we can offer advice on the best way to begin this.

Remember that information of all sorts is vital in helping both yourself and a court make a decision about your debtor. We can help deliver the information that will turn the tables back in your favour.