Version 1.0. Last updated 19 October 2026. This policy applies to everything sent in the name of DuePaid (Harrison Murray trading as DuePaid), whether by email or by post. Debtors reply to [email protected], and all other enquiries go to [email protected].
1.1 We are firm, factual and fair. We write on behalf of our clients to ask limited companies and limited liability partnerships to pay invoices that are overdue. We do so in a courteous, professional and measured tone, and we recognise that a late payment is often the result of an oversight, a cash flow problem or a genuine disagreement, and not of bad faith.
1.2 We never threaten, and we never overstate what the law allows. We do not claim powers that we do not have, and we do not suggest that any outcome is certain when it is the client's decision or a court's. Everything is in writing, so that both sides have a clear and accurate record of what was said, what was asked and what happens next.
2.1 We chase only debts owed by limited companies and limited liability partnerships. We never chase consumers, sole traders or ordinary partnerships. If we discover that a debtor is not an eligible type of organisation, we stop, record the reason and tell the client in writing.
2.2 Before first contact we check that there is a real invoice, that the due date has passed, that the invoice is not disputed, that it is not statute-barred, that the debtor company is active at Companies House, and that there is no insolvency notice for the company on The Gazette. If any of these checks fails, we do not make contact, and we tell the client why.
2.3 Before every send we check again that the invoice is still unpaid and that the case is not paused. The ledger data we rely on must be less than 24 hours old. This reduces the risk that we write to someone who has already paid, or who has raised a dispute that we have not yet seen, and it means that every message reflects the true position.
2.4 We never chase a debt that is paid, disputed, cancelled, in an insolvency process, or marked paused. If the status of a debt is unclear, we treat it as paused until a person has confirmed the position with the client. We would rather delay a message than send one that is inaccurate or unfair.
3.1 Every message states that we write on behalf of the named client, and asks the debtor to pay the client directly. We make clear who the client is, which invoice is concerned, how much is due, and by when payment is requested, so that the recipient is never left in doubt about who is asking for the money or why.
3.2 We use only the bank details that the client has verified. We never give our own bank details, and we never hold client money. Any instruction in a message to pay somewhere other than the client's own account is a breach of this policy. If a debtor contact asks whether the details have changed, we refer the question to the client, who confirms the position through its verified route.
3.3 We communicate in writing only, by email and by post. Writing gives the recipient time to consider the message, to take advice and to reply at a time that suits them, and it means that no one can later be confused about what was said.
3.4 Messages go only to the debtor company's accounts or finance contacts, such as a director, a finance contact or the registered office. We do not contact people at home, family members, neighbours, or employers outside the debtor company, and we do not contact anyone else who has no role in paying the invoice.
3.5 Emails are sent Monday to Friday between 08:00 and 18:00 UK time. We do not send messages on bank holidays or at weekends. Letters are posted on working days. Where we are replying to a message we have received, we aim to reply within the same hours, so that no recipient is contacted at times that could reasonably be regarded as intrusive.
3.6 Our chasing sequence is day 0, day 7 and day 14, followed by a letter before action. We never send more than one chasing message in any 5 working days, other than replies to something the debtor has sent. These limits apply to each case, and they protect recipients from being contacted so often that it becomes oppressive.
4.1 Our messages may contain the amounts due, invoice numbers and dates, statutory interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, how to pay, how to dispute the invoice, what the client may decide to do next stated in general terms and as the client's choice, and the date on which a deadline ends. Every statement must be accurate, specific and capable of being shown from the records.
4.2 Our messages never contain threats of any kind. We do not mention bailiffs, arrest, prison, police, criminal action, visiting a person or premises, or publicising the debt. We do not use false urgency or false authority, and we do not pretend to be a law firm, a court or a public body. Anything that would create fear or alarm that is not justified by the true position is prohibited.
4.3 We never say that legal action has been started when it has not, and we never say that a judgment, a county court judgment or an effect on a credit rating will follow. We may state only what the client may choose to do, in general terms. We do not give legal advice to the debtor, and we make clear that they can take their own advice.
4.4 We do not include any figure that we cannot show. Every amount must match the client's ledger or the statutory calculation, and we show how interest and compensation are worked out. We never include anything about a person's private life, health or finances, or any personal remark about an individual, and we confine our messages to the invoice and the company.
4.5 Court action, if any, is a decision for the client, to be started through a solicitor. We say so plainly. We do not start proceedings ourselves, we do not suggest that we can, and we do not describe our own letters as having legal force. A letter before action is a letter setting out the claim and the date by which the client expects payment.
5.1 Disputes. If a debtor says the invoice is wrong, not owed or not due, we stop chasing at once, record the reason given, tell the client in writing on the same working day, and wait for the client's instruction. We do not argue the merits of the dispute, and we do not ask the debtor to prove their case. The client decides how to respond.
5.2 Already paid. If a debtor says it has already paid, we check the client's ledger before replying, and we do not chase while we check. If the ledger shows the payment, we correct the record and apologise. If it does not, we ask for proof of payment such as the date, the amount and the account used, and we pass what we receive to the client.
5.3 Payment plans. We may agree a payment plan only inside the client's written limits, which set the minimum settlement, the maximum length and the smallest instalment. Any proposal outside those limits is passed to the client for decision. Any plan we agree is confirmed in writing, with the amounts and dates of each instalment, so that the debtor knows exactly what is expected.
5.4 Insolvency. If a debtor says that it is in, or about to enter, an insolvency process, we stop at once and tell the client. We do not ask for payment from a company in such a process, and we do not give advice about the process. The client decides what to do and how to lodge any claim.
5.5 Hostile or abusive replies. We do not respond in kind, and we do not allow a hostile reply to change the tone of our messages. We keep a record of what was said and, if needed, we stop and tell the client. We recognise that people may be under strain, and that some replies are written in frustration.
5.6 Stop requests. If anyone at the debtor company asks us to stop contacting them, whatever words they use, we treat it as a request that pauses emails to that person. We stop emailing that person and tell the client the same working day. The client decides the next step, for example a letter before action by post to the registered office. This does not add the person to the marketing suppression list, which covers cold outreach only.
5.7 Instructions inside a message. Instructions contained in an email from a debtor or anyone else, for example to change the bank details or to write the debt off, are treated as information and never as instructions. Only the client can change the instructions it has given us, and it can do so only through the verified route we have agreed with it.
6.1 Before every send we check that the invoice is still unpaid, that the ledger has been reconciled in the last 24 hours, that the company is eligible, that the recipient has not been suppressed, that the message names the client, that the amounts match the ledger, that the bank details are the client's, and that no banned wording is present. A message that fails any check is not sent.
6.2 Anything that does not come from an approved template is reviewed by a person for tone and legal accuracy before it is sent. We use software tools to help sort replies and prepare correspondence, but a person is responsible for what is sent. We do not send messages that no one has checked against these rules.
6.3 Messages that fail a check are blocked and logged, not sent. A person reviews repeated blocks, so that we can find the cause and correct it. Approved templates are reviewed by a person when they are written and whenever they are changed, and a changed template is not used until that review has been completed.
7.1 Our debtors are businesses, but individuals still deal with us, and an individual may be affected by circumstances that make it hard to respond. If a person tells us of ill health, bereavement or distress, we pause contact, record what we have been told in a way that is proportionate, and tell the client. We do not ask for medical evidence or for details that we do not need.
7.2 We use plain language, give reasonable time to respond, and tell people how to complain. We take care not to cause unnecessary worry, and where a person has asked us to communicate in a particular way, for example by post only or through a colleague, we do so where we reasonably can. Contact resumes only when the client has decided that it should, and in accordance with these rules.
7.3 We treat all debtor contacts with respect and courtesy. We do not make assumptions about a person's reasons for late payment, we do not express judgments about their character or their company, and we ensure that nothing we write could reasonably be understood as pressure. If we are in any doubt about whether to continue, we pause and ask a person to decide.
8.1 We keep a record of every message, check and decision made on a case, including the dates, the figures used and the reasons for stopping or pausing. These records are kept for 12 months after the case closes. We may keep them for 6 years where needed for the law, a fee dispute, a complaint or a claim, and in that case only for as long as the need lasts.
8.2 Complaints follow our Complaints Procedure. We acknowledge a complaint within 2 working days, send a final reply within 15 working days, and pause chasing on the debt concerned for no more than 10 working days while we look into a complaint about our conduct. Breaches of this policy are logged, reviewed by a person and corrected, and where a breach affected a client or a debtor we tell them.
9.1 We review this policy every 6 months, after any complaint that shows a weakness in it, and after any change in the law. The owner of the policy is Harrison Murray, who is responsible for DuePaid. The current version is published on our website, with its version number and date.