The first thing you should do when someone owes you money is to speak to them to find out why they haven’t paid. After all they may have simply overlooked it.

If they’re struggling to pay you back, you may be able to negotiate some kind of payment arrangement which keeps the relationship amicable.

If they simply won’t or can’t pay you should see your solicitor, who will advise you on what course of action you should take, based on the estimated cost and your likelihood of being paid back.

If the debt is more than $1,000 your solicitor will ask the debtor to pay interest as well as your legal costs. Interest will keep accruing on their debt until they pay it. Your solicitor will tell you the amount you should be able to recover.

That said, the first thing your solicitor will probably do is to write a letter of demand. Often just receiving one of these is enough to make someone pay.

If you don’t pay a judgment debt (or if someone who owes you doesn’t pay) the court has a number of options.

• It can make you return to court to explain your financial position (in which case you risk being declared bankrupt).

• It can issue a garnishee order, in which your bank or employer must remove payments towards your debt from your salary or other payments.

• It can order an officer of the court to seize your goods and sell them to raise the money to pay the debt

So long as you don’t pay the debt, you remain liable for interest on the outstanding amount as well as the creditor’s legal costs.

Don’t delay another moment when faced with problems with debt. Bob and Peter are here to help you.