Tracing a debtor before issuing a claim: a creditor's guide to service, judgment and enforcement

Why the address matters at every stage

• The letter before claim. Sent to an address the debtor left two years ago, it runs its 30 days against nobody, and the debtor can later say they were never given the chance to respond.
• Service. Under Civil Procedure Rules rule 6.9 a claim form is served on an individual at their usual or last known residence, but where you have reason to believe they no longer live there you must first take reasonable steps to find their current address.
• Judgment. A default judgment rests on service. If the debtor shows the claim form went to the wrong place they can apply to set the judgment aside, and you are back at the start.
• Enforcement. Enforcement agents attend an address. An order to obtain information is served personally. An attachment of earnings order needs the employer. A charging order needs a property. None of them works on an old address.

Trace Bureau finds the current registered address and can add an employer where on file. It does not collect debts, and nothing in this guide is legal advice.

Limitation: the clock a trace does not stop

Under the Limitation Act 1980 a claim on a simple contract, which covers most invoices, loans and rent arrears, must be brought within six years of the cause of action accruing, usually the date the money fell due. A debt under a deed has twelve years. A written acknowledgement signed by the debtor, or a part payment, restarts the period from that date. After it expires the debtor has a complete defence.

Tracing the debtor does not stop the clock. Issuing the claim does. If limitation is close, issue first: the claim form must then be served within four months of issue under rule 7.5, which is ample time for a Priority trace within 24 hours and service by a process server.

The Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims

The Protocol applies where a business, including a sole trader or a public body, claims a debt from an individual, including a sole trader. It does not apply between businesses, though the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct still expects a letter before claim and a reasonable time to reply. Under the Protocol the Letter of Claim must set out the debt and how it arose, whether interest or charges are continuing, any assignment, how to pay and where to reply, and must enclose an up-to-date statement of account together with the prescribed Information Sheet, Reply Form and Financial Statement form.

The letter should go by post unless the debtor has asked for another method, and proceedings should not be started until at least 30 days from the date of the letter, longer if the debtor replies asking for documents or for time to take advice. A court can penalise a creditor who skipped the Protocol in costs or by staying the claim. A letter posted to an address the debtor has left satisfies none of this in substance.

If the debt arises from an agreement regulated by the Consumer Credit Act 1974, further steps apply before enforcement, including a default notice, and a judgment on a regulated agreement is enforced in the County Court rather than the High Court. Take advice on those.

From claim to judgment

Money claims are issued centrally, online for most straightforward claims or on paper through the County Court Money Claims Centre, and the claim form must give the defendant's address for service. A claim form served in the jurisdiction is deemed served on the second business day after it is posted, delivered or handed over, and the defendant then has 14 days to acknowledge or defend, or 28 days to defend if they acknowledge. No response, and you can request judgment in default. If the claim is defended and the defendant is an individual, it is usually transferred to the court nearest their home address.

Enforcement: what each method needs

• Warrant of control in the County Court: enforcement agents attend the debtor's address to take control of goods. Judgments under £600 must stay in the County Court.
• Writ of control in the High Court: judgments of £600 or more can be transferred for enforcement by High Court Enforcement Officers, and judgments of £5,000 or more must be, unless the debt is under a Consumer Credit Act regulated agreement.
• Attachment of earnings order under the Attachment of Earnings Act 1971: the County Court orders the debtor's employer to deduct from wages. The debtor must be employed rather than self-employed, and you need the employer's name and address, which is why an employer can be added to a trace for £35 where on file.
• Charging order: secures the judgment against a property the debtor owns. It needs a property you can identify in their name, and a sale is a further application.
• Third-party debt order: freezes and takes money held for the debtor, usually in a bank account, so you need to know where they bank.
• Order to obtain information under CPR Part 71: the debtor is ordered to attend court and answer questions about their means. It must be served personally, so without a current address it goes nowhere, and with one it reveals the employer, bank and property that the other methods need.

Why a dated, rated report matters if service is challenged

When a debtor applies to set aside a judgment on the basis that they never received the claim, the court asks what the creditor did to establish where they lived. "We used the address on the invoice" is a weak answer. A report dated before service, stating that the address served was the current registered address on that date and rating the confidence as Confirmed or Probable, is a strong one, and Trace Bureau provides a signed statement on request for exhibiting to a certificate or statement of service. If a trace fails, you receive a note of what was checked, which supports an application for alternative service under rule 6.15. Serving court documents without an address covers that procedure.

Checklist: what to gather before instructing a trace

1. The debtor's full legal name and any other names used. A limited company is served at its registered office; this guide is about individuals.
2. Date of birth, or an approximate age.
3. The last known address with the dates they were there, and any earlier addresses.
4. Phone numbers and email addresses, even old ones.
5. Employer, trade or business name, and any partner, relative or guarantor.
6. The debt: the amount, the date it fell due, the agreement, any acknowledgement or part payment that affects limitation, and any assignment.
7. Your deadlines: the limitation date, any hearing, and the four-month window if a claim has been issued.
8. Your purpose, which is recorded as the lawful basis for the trace under UK GDPR Article 6(1)(f).
9. Whether you need extras: an employer for attachment of earnings, a mobile number for pre-action contact.

The minimum to instruct is the full legal name plus a date of birth or a previous address.

When to instruct a professional trace

Before the letter before claim, so the Protocol period runs for real. Before issuing, so the claim form is served where the debtor lives. Before instructing enforcement agents, so they attend the right door. A Standard trace is £100 in 3 to 5 working days, Express £150 within 48 hours and Priority £195 within 24 hours, same working day when instructed before noon; firms instructing ten or more a month pay £85 on a monthly invoice through a firm account. Nothing is charged unless a current registered address is delivered. See trace a debtor, or instruct a trace now.