What is the best type of Process Server?

May 12th, 2008

What qualities do you like best about your process server?

1 - Ability to serve anywhere in the UK?

2 - Price?

3 - Ability to trace the servee in the event that they have moved on or are evading service?

4 - Ability to serve same day (if required)?

5 - Ability to serve outside normal working hours?

6 - Effectiveness

While all the above are important to an instructing solicitor, price is probably the least important according to my research. Most solicitors would tend to put it last.

The best type of Process Server is one who has a combination of all six abilities as described above.

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What’s the difference between a Private Investigator and a Process Server?

April 5th, 2008

The government (in the form of the SIA) has been wrestling with the definition and still isn’t sure. You see they are trying to license Private Investigators in the UK and in order to do that they have to define what they do.

In all their definitions, what is clear is that a Process Server is not one. As far as I’m aware, a Process Server will not need a SIA license.

Often a Private investigator is also a process server. The main difference is that a PI will be able to carryout investigations and inquiries while a process server will not. They will only be able to serve process. No house to house inquiries, no tracing if the person is not at the address specified.

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Prohibited Steps Order on a Friday night

January 5th, 2008

There I was getting ready for a nice Friday night when the telephone rings at five to five in the afternoon. A barrister, no less on the other end of the phone. Wants to know if it’s possible to serve a court order on the hurry tonight, before 9pm?

“yes” I tell him, “no problem” one of my Process Servers will do it.

So at 8pm I am in the middle of the east end knocking on someone’s door and would you believe it, there’s no one home. I’ll have to go back tomorrow!

But why are these Court Orders always obtained on a Friday afternoon and why do they always have to be served on the hurry? What’s wrong with Tuesday or Wednesday?

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How to have a Statutory Demand (SD) set aside

January 1st, 2008

There are many creditors who are issuing Statutory Demands (SD’s) inappropriately i.e. as a threat only and have no intention of going the whole route of making someone bankrupt. I have therefore set out a step by step guide to defending yourself from these types of threats.

Now in my job as a Process Server, I serve a lot of SD’s and people generally have a misconception that they can avoid or evade being served. This misconception clearly comes from the influence of American movies where you see the process server attempting to serve the person who refuses to receive it in their hands.

In England, it is generally impossible to evade service of a SD and if a person is being evasive then we simply send them a letter of appointment via 1st class post and serve them through alternate service i.e. by putting the SD through the person’s door or even leaving somewhere and informing the person of where it is and what is on it. Alternate service is just that, some other way of serving the document and I have known documents being served by publishing it in the local papers or taking out an advert. Once the SD is served, generally a statement of service is written and signed by the Process Server

So what is an Statutory Demand?

A Statutory Demand is the first step to bankruptcy against an individual and this is prepared and served without any court involvement. A statutory demand can be served as soon as the debt is due and a judgement is not necessary. The link here is a PDF of a Debt for Liquidated Sum Payable Immediately and also Debt for Liquidated Sum Payable Immediately Following a Judgment or Order of the Court and Debt Payable at Future Date

So that’s what they look like. Lets look at the common strategies for dealing with them.

How to reduce the risk of bankruptcy following a statutory demand?

(a) To avoid bankruptcy reduce the debt to less than £750.
(b) Offer to pay the debt by instalments.
(c) Make a reasonable offer to settle the debt.
(d) Apply to have the Statutory Demand set aside on the grounds that the debt is in dispute.

After the period of 21 day from the statutory demand being served the person issuing the statutory demand may begin the process that petitions the person’s bankruptcy.

To successfully get a statutory demand set aside one or more of the following must be satisfied:-

* The amount stated on the statutory demand is disputed.
* The person issuing the statutory demand also owes money. This is called a counterclaim.
* The person issuing the statutory demand is holding security that equals or exceeds the amount owing.
* The demand was issued in error.
* The amount owing is less than £750
* Execution has been stayed on a judgement debt.
* The debtor is complying with an instalment order. This would mean the debt is not actually owed as it is being paid back.
* The creditor failed to comply with the rules and prejudiced the debtor in the process.

Step 1 - So the best way of dealing with an SD is to accept the SD because it has lots of important information that you are going to need.

Step 2 - Read it carefully and decide if the particulars are correct. The debt has to be over £750 and not in dispute.

Step 3 - Write to the person named in part B of the SD informing him/her that the debt is in dispute and say why.

Step 4 - Print out an Application to Set Aside a Statutory Demand and an Affidavit in Support of Application to Set Aside Statutory Demand which you must fill in and present at the court within 18 days of being served.

I would have a read of this thread over at the Consumer Action Group which has some very sensible advice too.

And that’s the process. If you have any doubts about how to do this then I would strongly recommend consulting a Solicitor.

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Process Server or just glorified courier?

December 15th, 2007

I was thinking this week about the role of the Process Server. Are we just professionals or just a glorified courier service. I mean some process servers are out there selling themselves for a pittance. In today’s climate with licensing just around the corner and at the end of the 2007, it’s time we started to really value ourselves and charge the client a real professional fee equivalent to what the job is actually worth. What do yo think?

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