We would like to remind all our customers of our debt recovery process.  The Association will adopt a flexible and reasonable approach to ensure that arrears are minimised and outstanding debts are recovered.

  • Payment of invoices should be made within 28 days.

  • If unpaid, a statement letter is issued.

  • If the invoice remains outstanding, then a further reminder letter is sent detailing the next course of action, if still unpaid within 14 days.  The debt will either be passed to our Sheriff Officer / Solicitor, or Court action will be raised where we will request a Decree for Payment to be granted.  Costs incurred with these procedures will be added to the owner's account and could amount to £200.00 of additional charges.

  • A Decree for Payment recorded in the owner’s name may also adversely affect their future credit rating.  This Decree then allows us to use other avenues to collect payment such as earnings arrestment, bank account arrestment, inhibition orders, rent attachment (if you are letting out your property) and, in extreme cases, applying to have a person sequestrated (bankruptcy), depending on the level of debt.

  • If your debt is over £250.00, the Association may instruct our solicitors to register a Notice of Potential Liability on the property, which means that the property will not be able to be sold without clearing the debt, or the new owner would have to agree to take on the debt before the sale could proceed.  Costs incurred by registering / deregistering this notice will be added onto the owner's account and could amount to over £400.00 of additional charges.

  • In addition to the above, if your debt is over £250.00 and decree has been secured against you the Association may instruct our Sheriff Officer / Solicitor to register an Inhibition Order. This is registered against you as an individual rather than the property and will prevent you from selling or remortgaging any property you legally own, not just the property the Association have an interest in. Costs incurred by registering / deregistering this notice will be added onto the owner's account and could amount to over £200.00 of additional charges.

As invoices are sent to owners for work that the Association has already front funded by up to 9 months for factoring, and 14 months for landscaping, we would appreciate prompt payment.  If customers would prefer to spread the payment of their invoices we can arrange for owners to set up monthly Direct Debit payments, based on clearing the debt within 6 months.  Any customers who wish to set up Direct Debits can contact the Finance team on 01475 807000 to discuss this in further detail.  Please note that as charges can fluctuate, your Direct Debit payment amount may also require to be adjusted from time to time, and we will notify you when we need to make an adjustment.