Which debt recovery route should you take?
Answer ten quick questions to see which recovery route may fit your debt—and what to check before taking action.
Takes around 2 minutes
No account needed
No documents required
No action authorised
Free indicative result
Find the route that fits your debt
Choose the answer that best matches your situation. Your indicative route and confidence level will update as you go.
Before acting, check the route against your documents
Send us the debt for a free review before you act. We will check the evidence, debtor position, dispute risk and whether the suggested route is commercially proportionate.
Why this route was suggested
Review the alternatives, confidence level and suggested next steps before deciding what to do.
What to do next
What a manual review would check
Why choosing the right route matters
The strongest route is not always the most aggressive. It should match your evidence, the debtor’s position, the debt’s value and age, any dispute, and the realistic prospect of getting paid.
Clear invoices, contracts, purchase orders, delivery evidence and correspondence make formal action easier to justify. If liability or the amount is genuinely disputed, the route may need to focus first on resolving the factual issues.
A trading company with assets and cash flow presents a different recovery profile from a dissolved, insolvent or dormant business. The legal route must fit the debtor’s actual status and ability to pay.
The likely return should justify the time, court fees, legal costs and enforcement risk. A commercially proportionate route aims to maximise recovery rather than simply escalate pressure.
Where judgment already exists, the focus usually shifts from proving the debt to choosing the most suitable enforcement method. Previous demands, payment plans and broken promises can also affect the next step.
A good route therefore combines legal suitability with commercial judgment: whether the action is available, whether it is proportionate, and whether it is likely to produce payment.
Routes you may be shown
- Commercial debt recovery or a Letter Before Action
- County Court proceedings
- Statutory Demand or insolvency suitability review
- Enforcement of an existing judgment
- Evidence, dispute or debtor-viability review
What could change your result
Your documents, any dispute, the debtor’s circumstances and realistic enforcement prospects can all change which route is suitable.
Factors that may point to a different route
- An existing unpaid judgment may move the case directly to enforcement review
- A genuine dispute may make insolvency pressure inappropriate
- Weak evidence may require file strengthening before escalation
- Insolvency warning signs may make standard chasing commercially weak
- Low-value debts may require a more proportionate route
What we check before recommending action
- Debt value and age
- Debtor legal status and trading position
- Supporting documents and admissions
- Dispute position and previous recovery activity
- Likely assets and enforcement prospects
- Whether the likely cost and risk are proportionate
Compare the main recovery options
Use the guides to compare your options, or send us the debt for a case-specific review.
Recovery methods
Suitability checks
Calculators and support
Your debt is handled with clear safeguards
You receive qualified commercial credit expertise, transparent terms, appropriate insurance and registered data-protection controls.
HK Commercial Debt Recovery is a trading name of HK Credit Services Ltd, Company No. 17265874, registered in England and Wales.
Get a case-specific view before you act
Submit the debt for a free review. We will assess the evidence, debtor position and most proportionate next step before you authorise any action.