Terms & Conditions

1. The following Terms & Conditions are the only Terms & Conditions. London Debt Recovery, as a trading style of AWT Associates Limited, Company Number:12578681, whose registered office is at Fortress House, 301 High Road, Benfleet, England, SS7 5HA. Our VAT registration number is 406001460, (hereinafter called ‘The Company’), contracts with the party whose name and address appear on their instructions (hereinafter called ‘the client’). The Client hereby instructs the company to pursue debt(s) by whatever means within the law it deems necessary, including visits to the debtor’s address as supplied by the client or at the address which the company has traced.
2. The Terms and Conditions will not be varied unless specifically agreed in writing.

The Service

3. In consideration of:

   3.1 The payments of any contract price as shall be agreed and subject to the terms and conditions herein, the company, its servants or agents, shall provide a debt recovery service for the period of 120 days, but not exceeding one year, or

   3.2 The payment of the contract fee as detailed and subject to strictly the terms and conditions of the company its servants or agents shall provide a recovery service in relation to the individual debt as described and fully detailed within the recovery demand completed by the client, if there is more than one debtor on a completed recovery demand then this will be marked as a multiple case contract internally.

4. The service shall commence immediately upon receipt of instructions, and any agreed contract fee must be paid to the Company immediately as cleared funds.Where the Client is a limited company, by instructing London Debt Recovery, the directors accept joint and several liability for all commission, costs, fees and charges due and payable to London Debt Recovery, its agents and recommended lawyers arising from such instructions.

   Commission shall become due and payable in full upon instruction where, following our engagement, any of the following occurs:

   (a) we recover payment of all or part of the debt from the debtor;

   (b) the debtor makes payment directly to the Client;

   (c) the Client instructs us to pause, withdraw or close a case after we have made contact with the debtor;

   (d) the Client and the debtor enter into negotiations directly and subsequently agree any settlement, compromise, repayment plan, payment arrangement or other agreement relating to the debt, whether or not payments have commenced under that arrangement; or

   (e) the Client otherwise reaches an arrangement directly with the debtor without our involvement.

   In the circumstances described in paragraphs (b), (c), (d) and (e), our commission shall be calculated on the full principal debt value placed with us for recovery and shall be payable in full immediately upon the settlement, agreement or arrangement being reached. If the Client receives payment directly from the debtor, the Client must notify us immediately and pay the commission due upon receipt of such payment.

5. For the purpose of this contract not being a yearly service, we shall undertake your debt for 120 days. If by this time there have been no collections, we will, at our discretion, have the right to extend the contract at no further cost to our client.
6. The company is under no obligation to provide interim written reports. We will provide updates on the case where an update is required to be given, and when there is news to give.
7. The company expressly excludes liability whatsoever arising from any delay in the provision of service where:-

   7.1 The full and precise details of the debt and any other information pertaining to the debt have not been and/or are not able to be provided to its servants or agents by the client, whether expressly requested or otherwise:- or

   7.2 Documents and/or letters issued are delayed and/or destroyed in circumstances beyond the control of the company, its servants, or agents:- or

   7.3 The individual or company named as debtors in bankruptcy, liquidation or receivership, or any insolvency proceedings as defined by and/or pursuant to the Insolvency Act 1986, or any amendments to the act or subsequent act of parliament, are reasonably believed to be immediately pending.

   7.4 The Company has to pause operations due to a natural disaster, such as COVID-19.

8. The Company shall be under no further obligation to the client in respect of any debt placed for recovery with the company and pursuant to this agreement, where:-

   8.1 The debt has been paid to the company and account made to the client, its servants or agents, pursuant to the terms and conditions hereunder:-

   8.2 The debt has previously been or is subject to court proceedings, and/or commencement of the litigation process has been made pursuant to such proceedings:- or

   8.3 The service to be provided by the company, its servants, or agents has been exhausted, or

   8.4 The client, its servants, has failed to respond to reasonable requests and/or correspondence from the company, its servants or agents; or

   8.5 The debtor is / or becomes subject to the actions described under clause 7.3; or

   8.6 In the opinion of the company, its servants or agents, there exists no reasonable prospect of discharging the civil burden of proof within the courts of England and Wales, or Scotland. For this reason, the debt is deemed such that there is no reasonable prospect of recovery, or the expiry of the term of this agreement

   8.7 Expressly exclude any liability for the set off and/or counterclaim arising from any action and/or proceedings to recover the contracting parties’ debt

12. The company expressly exclude any liability for any cost arising, incurred or awarded as a result of the attempts of the company to recover the debt owed to the contracting party.
13. Should circumstances negate, or the debtor’s whereabouts prove insuperable, or in the event of the debtor not being, for legal reasons, able to underwrite the debt a written report outlining events in relation to the above will be issued to the client if so the client requests, and will conclude this contract, the company will not be held responsible/liable for such events.
14. You may terminate this agreement at any time; the only cost therefore would be the contract fee that has been charged at the outset of this contract and any commissions due as per this agreement, as per sections 11.1 and 14

    11.1 Terminating the agreement when collections have been made from the debtor either to the company or to the client directly during the contract will result in the full commission as per section 14 becoming due immediately. This includes any extension of the contract as per section 5

15. Legal Proceedings and Costs

12.1 From time to time, the Company may, in the pursuit of the debt, recommend formal legal proceedings to be taken. In such circumstances, the Company will offer to the Client an introduction to our recommended lawyers, or if expressly instructed by the Client, we will liaise with alternative solicitors on the Client’s behalf.

12.2 Should the Client (or the Company on the Client’s behalf) provide lawyers with instructions to act upon their behalf:

• (a) All costs, fees, disbursements, and associated legal expenses will be at the prevailing rate quoted and set by those lawyers.
• (b) Recovery of Fees: To the maximum extent permitted by law, all such lawyers’ fees, costs, and disbursements shall be added to the balance of the debt to be pursued against the debtor. Any recovered legal fees or disbursements received from the debtor or as part of a settlement shall be retained by, or applied to repay, the party who funded or remains liable for those costs.
• (c) Company-Funded Fees: Where agreed in writing between the Company and the Client prior to the commencement of legal action, the Company may elect to advance or bear the lawyers’ fees and disbursements initially. In such cases, these advanced costs shall be added to the debt pursued against the debtor and, upon recovery or settlement, shall be repaid to and retained by the Company prior to any distribution of remaining funds to the Client.
• (d) Client Liability: Unless otherwise agreed in writing under Clause 12.2(c), the Client remains ultimately liable for all costs, fees, and disbursements levied by the appointed lawyers. The Company is not authorized to agree, vary, or negotiate costs levied by these lawyers. The Company accepts no liability or responsibility in connection with the conduct of these lawyers.

12.3 If a matter becomes defended or disputed either (i) after sending a Letter Before Claim or (ii) after issuing proceedings, additional legal fees may be payable. The Company or the appointed lawyers will discuss such costs before proceeding further. A case becomes defended or disputed when the debtor challenges the debt for any reason.

12.4 Any monies recovered or secured upon the Client’s behalf from the date of instruction to the lawyers will be subject to the Company’s agreed commission charge at the rate established upon initial instruction (or as subsequently varied in writing). The Client explicitly instructs and authorizes the appointed solicitors to account directly to the Company in respect of all monies recovered, enabling the Company to deduct its commission, any advanced lawyers’ fees/disbursements under Clause 12.2(c), and any other agreed costs prior to remitting the net balance to the Client.

12.5 If the Company is instructed by the Client for any additional legal or specialist work outside the scope of this agreement, such work will be outsourced to our recommended lawyers and charged accordingly.

Key Updates Made To Your Clause

1. Addition of Fees to the Debt (Clause 12.2(b)): Explicitly states that lawyers’ fees and disbursements will be added to the debt total pursued against the debtor and repaid out of any settlement or recovery.
2. Company-Funded Option (Clause 12.2(c)): Formally incorporates the option for the Company to fund/advance the legal costs (if agreed in writing prior to action) and ensures those advanced fees are recouped by and retained by the Company first upon settlement.

Priority Breakdown on Monies Recovered (Clause 12.4): Authorises the appointed lawyers to account directly to your Company so you can deduct both your agreed commission percentage and any advanced legal costs before sending the remaining funds to the client.

Receipts & Payments

13. The Company shall under no circumstances become a party to any agreement howsoever made, reached or created between the client, its servants or agents, and any debtor / or third party, its servants or agents.
14. The Company shall charge a commission charge with a rate set at 20% of all monies recovered unless agreed differently in writing.
15. The client, its servants or agents hereby agrees to provide to the company, its servants or agents, at its registered office address written notice of receipt of monies pursuant to debts placed with the company for collection and subject to the terms and conditions here under and receive directly by the contracting party, its servants or agents, with seven days of receipt of such monies being received.
16. The contracting party hereby agrees to pay the company costs, interest and agreed commission and V.A.T. thereon, at a rate set by parliament from time to time prevailing on monies received by the contracting party.
17. Any sums paid to the client directly from the date of instruction will be deemed a collection and therefore our commission charge will be charged and will be immediately payable.
18. The company reserve the absolute right and discretion to place funds into accounts, as it thinks fit for the purpose of holding such monies where the client consents to a debtor’s request to discharge sums due by way of an instalment arrangement, fees and/or commission charges due to the company will also be charged up to the aggregate value of the total instalments agreed in accordance with the current rates agreed between the client and the company and all such charges, will be subject to V.A.T. Payment will become due from the client upon receipt of the first instalment from the debtor.
19. Where a debtor defaults upon an agreed instalment, the company will endeavour to recover the balance of the sums due. In the event of which, the client will not be entitled to any refund of commissions or fees, whether the company are successful in securing the balance of monies due or not.

Sub-Contracting and Assignment

20. We can at any time assign, transfer, charge, subcontract or deal in any other manner with all or any of our rights under these Terms and Conditions and can subcontract or delegate in any manner any or all of our obligations to any third party. You must not, without our prior written consent, assign, transfer, charge, subcontract or deal in any other manner with all or any of your rights or obligations under these Terms and Conditions.

Agreement

21. English Law shall govern the construction, performance and validity of these terms and conditions and of any contract between the company and the client. The company and the client shall submit to the jurisdiction of the English Courts, as the company shall in its sole discretion direct.
22. The company will not discuss any part of your agreement with any third party unless specifically agreed by the client, and therefore, this contract is bound as a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). The NDA will remain in place and will not be removed even at the conclusion of this contract. Both parties agree that no part of this contract is to be discussed with any other party unless expressly agreed. No part of this contract is to be discussed in the public domain, either during or after the contract has expired, including online forums, social media, and online review sites, without the express permission of The Company under The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Any breaches of this NDA will result in immediate injunctive relief with an immediate significant cost order.

WE WILL NOT UNDERTAKE CASES UNDER A CREDIT AND CONSUMER AGREEMENT (CREDIT AND CONSUMER ACT 1974)