Urgent legal advice regarding pursuing an outstanding debt - does anyone know my rights or what I should do next??

[MrsArchieTheInventor]

Can anybody help me as I'm now very worried about what's going to happen now regarding an outstanding debt.

In a nutshell...

DS left nursery in December last year with a dispute over his final nursery bill. They sent me a final bill in December for about £155 and I wrote back disputing it, asking whether nursery vouchers had been deducted and to clarify the position regarding this. They sent me a further letter in January making no reference to the letter that I sent but the amount was for a different amount to the final bill that I received, about £10 more. I since moved and wrote to them querying the nursery voucher status and also the higher bill, what the extra amount was for, and also giving them my forwarding c/o address. I've just received a letter to my old address from the nursery dated 14th February saying that they are pursuing the outstanding amount under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act, adding £4.25 interest onto the higher bill plus £317.25 debt recovery costs. The total bill is now for £487.10 and I had until yesterday to pay it, though I only received the letter yesterday as they either haven't received or haven't acted on the change of address letter.

My question is this; do they have a right to pursue the outstanding bill and whack on this late payment charge when the initial bill is in dispute and they have not replied to the letters I sent them in December and January querying the bill? What can I do when I still dispute the original bill but they're pursuing me for a higher amount because I haven't paid it?

Help!!!

I think you should amke an appointment with your local Citizens Advice bureau as soon as possible. I don't think they can add a late fee unless it was in the contract you signed although they are within their rights to charge interest. I don't know what the situation is with a contested amount. Did you get proof of posting for the letters you sent them or did you send them recorded delivery?

They are using fright tactics. And very bad ones at that.

They can add interest to the debt, but normally that only applies once they've issued court proceedings. They are not entitled to ask for debt recovery costs without showing their entitlement and exactly what these costs are and how they've accrued.

Write back stating clearly that this debt has been in dispute since December, that you have written several letters (enclose copies) asking them to clarify their claim, point out that the amounts they have demanded differ and they have provided no explanation. Ask them to defer further action until they have responded to your reasonable request for further clarification.

If they don't and they issue court proceedings, defend the claim on the basis that you do not owe all of the money claimed. If you accept that you do owe some money, pay it immediately - you can send it in full and final settlement of their claim. If they proceed to court, you can produce copies of all your letters showing that they have failed to respond to your reasonable request for information and that you have paid any monies which you accept are owed.

Unfortunately I didn't send them proof of posting. The first letter was hand delivered and left in the place I have previously left letters and the other was just posted.

I've looked parts of it up on the internet and they can, apparently, start to take me to county court, even though the bill is in dispute. I'm frighened even by the though of this but more angry that the legal system allows a company to bully someone into paying something that they dispute they owe with no set protocol or protection for the person being pursued. Surely this can't be the case??

Thank you for all your advice though. I do need to speak to a CAB advisor or solicitor as soon as possible.

But do you accept that you owe some money? If so, pay that immediately, with a covering letter stating that the balance is in dispute and asking them to respond to your earlier letters. It doesn't matter if you don't have proof of posting, just as long as you have copies of your previous letters.

Then, if they decide to sue for the disputed outstanding balance, you can defend on the grounds that it is disputed and they will have to produce in court the evidence that you have been requesting all along. If they do that at that late stage, you could argue that they are not entitled to any costs as, if they had produced the evidence when originally requested, court proceedings would have been unnecessary.