Updating post from Reddit.
I took a previous tenant to court earlier this year for none payment of rent and won by default (they never defended it) What's the best course of action to attempt to recover the money now? It's not a large sum of money around £2.5K but more the principle
I'm so glad that people take action even if they don't get their money back quickly it's important to highlight people that just stop paying rent so that future LL if they perform their due diligence won't accept them as future renters.
Thank you for taking the time and expense op to pursue.
But it’s of no consequence unless a CCJ is recorded.
I thought so were recorded. I'm what circumstances is it not?
If the tenant has a job. Attachment of earnings.
Small Claims Court MCOL, I did this to someone who stopped paying back a loan and got everything back thanks to an attachment of earnings.
Well done for bothering with this, so many LL dont.
You need to escalate to the High court for enforcement and instruct a HCEO firm who will collect the debt.
we have used https://www.qualitybailiffs.co.uk/southampton-bailiff-services.html in the past and they were very good, but there a loads of firms.
Attachment of earnings. I've done that and it gets deducted from their salary by their employer. Assuming they're working ofc.
Check out their past history and current status before you go further. You might be one of many in a very long queue. There are fees that may not be recoverable. Obtaining a CCJ is the easy bit, actually getting the money is something else altogether.
I'd love to find my ex tenant and do the same. Unfortunately they've done a runner and I can't find them
You don't have to find them. Leave that to the authorities. For example, bailiffs have access to a lot of government data and software such as NameTracer Pro but they recommend to wait at least 6 months after eviction to give time for that data to get updated.
there are legal routes to trace and find a person who owes a debt.
They can track and find anyone on the grid.
With a CCJ hanging around their neck they will have a lot of trouble in life from now on. Unfortunately £2.5k is not worth your time and effort to get back from them.
I mean once you have the CCJ, just pass it to HCE and then handle the chasing
Personally, I’d just let the £2.5k go and focus on renting it out.
Find a High Court enforcement company. They'll take care of tracing and contact. If there is money to be returned, they should get it. If not, you lose the original fee, which is worth the chance of recovery. The important part is that CCJ had been issued for future.