Before you send a letter before action: how to check the address is still current

Why the address on the letter matters

A letter before action, also called a letter before claim or a letter of claim, is the formal warning that you intend to go to court. In England and Wales the courts expect one in almost every case. The Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct expects the parties to exchange enough information to understand the dispute and to try to settle it, and to allow a reasonable time for a reply: 14 days in a straightforward case and no more than three months in a very complex one. Where a business claims a debt from an individual, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies instead, with a letter in a set form, prescribed enclosures and 30 days for a reply.

All of this assumes the letter arrives. Sent to an address the person left last year, it gives them no chance to respond, and the timetable runs against nobody. The court can penalise a party who did not follow the pre-action rules, in costs or by pausing the claim, and a claimant who followed them only on paper is exposed to exactly that. The same address then goes on the claim form, where the rules on service apply.

Signs the address may be out of date

Any one of these is a reason to check before you write:

• post returned marked "gone away", "not known at this address" or "addressee has left";
• no reply to anything for months, from someone who used to answer;
• a tenancy that has ended, or a property you know has been sold;
• a phone number that no longer connects, or emails that bounce;
• a business that has closed or moved;
• an address that is simply old, from a contract signed years ago;
• the person told you, or someone else, that they were moving.

These matter later too. Under rule 6.9 of the Civil Procedure Rules, a claimant who has reason to believe a defendant no longer lives at their last known residence must take reasonable steps to find the current address before serving there. Returned post or a bounced email is that kind of reason.

Checks you can make yourself, and what each one proves

Calling at the address yourself is not recommended, particularly where there is a dispute. It can alarm whoever lives there now, it can look like pressure on the person you are pursuing, and it proves less than people expect. What the electoral register can and cannot tell you explains the limits of that check in detail.

Why "probably still there" is not enough

• The pre-action period is wasted. Thirty days, or fourteen, run against an empty letterbox, and you may have to start again.
• The claim goes to the same wrong place. A default judgment on a claim the defendant never received is liable to be set aside, with your court fee and months gone.
• Enforcement follows the error. Enforcement agents attend the address on the judgment, and find a stranger.
• You disclose someone's business to a stranger. A letter setting out a debt or a dispute, opened by the new occupier, is a disclosure of personal data that you made.

What a professional trace adds

A trace answers the question the free checks cannot: where do the records place this person now? Trace Bureau cross-references more than 150 sources, registers and records, a private investigator checks and verifies the result, and you receive a dated PDF report with the person's current registered UK address and a confidence rating: Confirmed, Probable or Possible.

If the address in the report is the one you already hold, you now have dated evidence that it was current when you wrote, which is exactly what you want on the file if the defendant later says the letter never reached them. If it is different, you have saved a wasted letter, a wasted claim and possibly an application to set aside. "Registered" means the address the records currently place the person at, which in the great majority of cases is where they live, and the rating tells you how far to rely on it.

Organisations and professionals acting for a client receive the matter reference on the report, a signed statement on request and a free re-check within 60 days, which is useful if the claim is issued some weeks after the letter.

Sending the letter once the address is confirmed

1. Date the letter and state clearly how long the person has to respond.
2. Follow the Protocol if it applies, with every enclosure it requires.
3. Send it by first class post and ask for a free certificate of posting at the Post Office counter. Email it as well if you have been in contact by email, but do not rely on email alone.
4. Keep a copy of the letter, the proof of posting and the trace report together.
5. If the letter comes back, treat that as a fresh reason to believe the person has moved, and check again before you issue.

How long an address stays good

An address check is a snapshot. People move, and a report from three months ago says where someone was three months ago. Check immediately before the letter goes, and again before you issue if more than a few weeks have passed or anything suggests a move. Reports are dated for that reason. Finding a defendant's address for a money claim covers the step after the letter.

When to instruct a professional trace

Instruct when any of the warning signs above applies, when the address is more than a year or so old, or when the sum at stake makes a wasted claim expensive. Money owed, a former tenancy, legal proceedings and a commercial dispute are all lawful reasons. The minimum is the person's full legal name plus a date of birth or a previous address, and the address you hold counts. Standard is £150, delivered within 3 to 5 working days; Priority is £200, delivered within 2 to 3 working days. There is nothing to pay when you instruct. Your card is only saved, and it is charged only when a private investigator has verified a current address. Not found, no fee. Instruct a trace, or read tracing a debtor before court for the wider sequence.