For anyone in the legal sector who has an interest in getting paid, a new book highlighting ways to retrieve money from debtors using the judicial system has been written by one of the leading experts in enforcement.

Debt Recovery through the Courts details the various procedures of collecting debt, from the initial stages of credit control through to the court action itself.

Claire Sandbrook, the Chief Executive of the country’s largest high court enforcement agency Shergroup, said: “I thought it was really important people should have a handbook to guide them through the debt recovery process, to ensure they are aware of their rights and hopefully receive what they are entitled to.”

The new 400 page first edition, which is available through legal publishers Sweet & Maxwell for £79, offers a range of options to enable creditors to recover their money whether it’s personal debt or business to business, no matter the amount.

Claire, a qualified solicitor, said: “Debt Recovery through the Courts provides all the relevant legislation and tools in one place, making it easy for you to build your case and cover all the appropriate actions that can be taken so that your clients are aware of all the options available to them.”

The first edition includes:

The actions that can be taken for the interim preservation of assets.
Coverage of County Court and High Court procedure, including changes to the rules on service under CPR part 6.
Analysis of the Consumer Credit Act 2006 and claims to be taken through the claim process under the new legislation. Insolvency and its place in debt collection procedures.

The strategy for enforcement anticipates the impact of the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 as well as giving practical advice on the various methods of enforcement, including using warrants and writs, third party debt proceedings, charging orders and orders for sale and the attachment of earnings.

A completed set of precedents using a simple case study
A series of flow charts outlining debt recovery procedures

With a Foreword written by Philip King, the Director General of the Institute of Credit Management, the book offers debt recovery practitioners a comprehensive reference for the most common debt recovery problems, particularly when a case is escalated from the collections stage to legal proceedings and then on to enforcement procedures.

Claire is the Chair of the High Court Enforcement Officers Association and was elected to Treasurer of the Institute of Credit Management in September 2008. In her career in enforcement she has had contributed to 5 other books and was a member of the Lord Chancellor’s Enforcement Group on enforcement delivery. Her last book “Enforcement of a Judgment” is perhaps the most easy to read book on a topic which many debt recovery professionals find difficult. Claire said, “I like writing books that answer the questions that I think people get stuck on!”. Hopefully her latest edition to the bookshelf will help people tasked with collecting debts to collect more cash.

Royalties from the book are being donated to Shergroup’s Charitable Foundation, “Sherbet”, which has been founded to help families affected by enforcement action.