Submit A Debt Form - Terms & Conditions

Definitions

1. These terms and conditions apply to the collection of outstanding debts by Veritas Legal Services Ltd ("Veritas", "we" or "us") for the Client;

2. The "Client" means any individual, company, partnership or trader using the services provided by Veritas Legal Services Ltd;

3. All references to the "Act" shall mean the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 as amended by the Late Payment of Commercial Debt Regulations 2002, as may also in future be amended or consolidated;

4. "Compensation" shall mean compensation pursuant to the Act;

5. "Commission" shall mean the rate of commission payable by the Client to Veritas after an account has been settled or any monies received via any source after intervention by Veritas

Authority

6. The Client undertakes to provide Veritas with the appropriate consent and authority, whether orally or in writing, including electronic media and instructions received via the Veritas website;

7. Veritas are authorised by and on behalf of the Client to collect payments and issue receipts in relation to the Clients debtor and to deduct and retain fees owing to us for services rendered. Payment of the recovered balance (less the retained fee) will be issued to the Client 10 days after being banked, allowing ample time for effects to clear.

8. Once a case is passed to Veritas and a part payment results in a balance outstanding, the case will remain with Veritas until the full amount is cleared. Withdrawal of an account before Veritas recommends closure, is subject to a commission charge equal to that of a full collection, unless an alternative rate is agreed with us before final action;

9. The Client agrees to provide Veritas with all supporting documentation to validate the existence of a lawfully due debt from the Client’s debtor within a reasonable timescale after it first having been requested. Should any such requests be ignored or not complied with, then Veritas reserves the right to make such charge as it deems fit if recovery efforts are prejudiced as a result;

Indemnity and Liability

10. The Client must recognise that whilst every effort is made by Veritas to recover the outstanding balance, no guarantee is either expressed or implied that such money will be recovered;

11. The time Veritas takes to perform any obligation under this contract shall not be the essence of the contract;

12. Reports or information provided to the Clients may, in whole or part represent expressions of advice or opinion based on data supplied by third parties, the accuracy of which Veritas will be unable to verify in every case. We will accept no liability for any errors therein or omissions therefrom;

13. Veritas will not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever as a result of the Client's use of any report or information supplied by us;

14. Veritas shall be indemnified by the Client for any actions taken by itself, the debtor or its agents, if such actions prejudice the ability of Veritas to collect, we reserve the right to charge such commission that would be due as if the debt had been collected in full;

15. The Client agrees with Veritas to indemnify, and keep indemnified, Veritas from any and all loss, damage or liability (whether criminal or civil) suffered, and legal fees and costs incurred, by Veritas resulting from a breach of this contract by the Client, including any act, neglect or default by the Client, its employees or agents, or any breaches in respect of any matter arising from the supply of services under these terms and conditions resulting in any successful claim by any third party;

16. The Client agrees that its rights and obligations under these terms and conditions are in lieu of and to the exclusion of any other warranty, condition, term, undertaking or representation of any kind, whether express or implied (whether by statute or otherwise);

17. The Client acknowledges that it has not been induced to enter into any contract with Veritas by reason of any representation made by Veritas or any of its agents or employees; no representations made by Veritas and/or its agents or employees have any contractual effect to override these terms and conditions;

18. The Contract (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 shall not apply to this contract;

Debt Collection

19. The Client must notify Veritas immediately if there is any change in the amount due in respect of any account passed to us for collection;

20. Veritas reserves the right to retain 50% of any late payment interest recovered under the Act on behalf of the Client at its absolute discretion;

21. If a case is recommended by Veritas for litigation, no action will take place without the Clients approval, and only after all legal tariffs have been discussed and agreed upon by both Veritas and the Client;

22. It is the Clients responsibility to advise Veritas where any payment is received directly from the debtor after legal action has been instigated. We will not accept liability for any unnecessary costs, which might arise as a result of any such failure to notify us;

23. It is accepted that the Client will be notified in advance of any additional costs resulting from legal action, or fees the Client is likely to incur whilst Veritas carries out the Clients instructions;

24. Where agreed in advance, Veritas will accept settlement of the debt by instalments. The agreed upon fee will be taken from each instalment collected (i.e. 20% of each part payment).

Billing

25. Veritas will raise invoices to the Client at the successful conclusion of a matter and at its discretion. Payment shall become due in accordance with the payment terms contained herein;

26. In the event of legal action the Client may expect to receive invoices from Veritas to fund the cost of legal action, in the form of court fees and other disbursements as may be required from time to time to progress matters. The Client undertakes to pay all such invoices in accordance with the payment terms contained herein;

27. All invoices or charges not settled strictly to terms, may render at our discretion, the entire account including all work in progress due and payable immediately;

28. Upon full payment of the principal sum, (subject to these conditions and to the debt in question being subject to the Act), Veritas will be subrogated to the Client's entitlement to receive Compensation and late payment interest, and the Client acknowledges that we will be entitled to retain any such Compensation and late payment interest recovered, and, if necessary, issue and pursue legal proceedings against the Client's debtor in the Client's name, seeking payment of the Compensation and late payment interest;

29. The Client agrees to provide all such information and supporting documentation to Veritas in order to allow us to pursue and recover the Compensation;

30. The Client, upon receiving payment of the principal debt plus any interest shall be entitled to request in writing within seven days following receipt that Veritas shall not pursue Compensation on behalf of the Client, whereupon Veritas will invoice the Client for a sum equivalent to 10% of the principal sum paid, not to exceed the statutory equivalent for Compensation relevant to the principal sum referred to Veritas for collection;

31. The Client undertakes that it shall not prejudice the right of Veritas to pursue Compensation, whether in the Client’s name or that of Veritas and it acknowledges that if such prejudice occurs then the Client will be liable, and invoiced for the same, for a 10 % commission (restricted to the statutory equivalent for Compensation under the Act) pertaining to the value of the original debt referred, plus any court fees or disbursements incurred by us;

32. In the event that the Client is not entitled to Compensation under the Act, Veritas will charge 10 % commission for all monies recovered, (restricted to the statutory equivalent for Compensation under the Act) pertaining to the value of the original debt referred to us. It is acknowledged that Veritas will make every effort to pursue the Client’s debtor for interest and/or any reasonable debt recovery costs in accordance with the Client’s contractual provisions (if any). However, the commission invoiced by Veritas will not be subject to the Clients contractual elements being recovered from the debtor, and shall be payable by the Client in any event;

33. In the event that any debt referred to us by the Client is disputed resulting in a credit/set off being raised or the Client’s debtor makes a full and final payment which is/not accepted by the Client, then the right by the Client to claim Compensation may be prejudiced, in which case Veritas will charge the Client 10 % commission restricted to the statutory equivalent for Compensation under the Act pertaining to the value of the original debt;

34. If for any reason, Veritas is unable to recover a debt, prior to the issuing of legal proceedings, whether due to issues of liablility, the Client not being prepared to fund a tracing instruction, the Client not being prepared to fund legal action, any documentation requested by us not being forthcoming, then we will report the position back to the Client for feedback and confirmation of intent. The Client shall have a period of 45 days in which to consider its options. If the Client does not provide further and concise instructions within that timescale, then we reserve the right without further reference to the Client to close the file, destroy all papers lodged with us and invoice the Client an administration fee of £10 plus VAT;

Payment Terms

35. Payment is due within 30 days from the date of invoice and cannot be varied or altered without the written consent of a director of Veritas.

36. The Client agrees to pay Veritas promptly without demand, deduction or set-off any sum payable by the Client to Veritas under these terms and conditions;

37. Veritas reserves the right to exercise its statutory right to claim interest and compensation in relation to any overdue invoice sent to the Client at the rate specified under the Act;

Termination

38. Any failure by the Client to comply with these terms and conditions shall be a fundamental breach of the contract between Veritas and the Client, and shall entitle us at our election, to terminate the contract. In the event of any breach of this contract by Veritas, the Client shall not be entitled to terminate the contract unless, having given Veritas written notice to remedy the alleged breach within thirty (30) days, Veritas has failed to so remedy the breach;

39. In the event of termination of this contract for any reason whatsoever, the Client shall immediately pay to Veritas all sums due and owing to us by the Client;

Confidentiality

40. All information given by the Client to Veritas will be treated as strictly private and confidential and will be subject to the regulations as outlined under the Data Protection Act;

41. All information provided by Veritas under these terms and conditions shall be treated in confidence by the Client and shall not other than by County Court Order be communicated, copied or otherwise divulged to any person or party whatsoever;

Jurisdiction

42. This contract shall be governed, construed and enforced in accordance with English Law, which shall be the proper law of this agreement. Both parties hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts;

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