When you are owed money, hindsight can be a wonderful thing.

All too often in the rush to complete a business transaction or lending money to a friend in need, you won't think to put in place a legally binding agreement that formalises the arrangement beforehand. After all, you have every intention of holding up your end of the deal and so assume the other party will too.

But if payment doesn't happen and your previous agreement starts turning into a dispute over what is owed, you may need to consider what legal avenues are open to you to get your money back.

The success of any legal action will then depend on what evidence you can provide to show that the debt is owed.

A contract between two parties does not have to be a signed document, contracts can be formed verbally.

While it is ideal to have a written agreement which outlines the a financial arrangement and the terms both parties have agreed to. If the same areas were covered in a conversation, then a legally binding contract may still have been formed.

The key legal principles of a contract are:

• Offer - An offer is made by one of the parties to the other (e.g. "I will lend you £200 for two weeks", provide a quote for a piece of work etc.)
• Acceptance  - The other party confirms that they accept the offer
• Consideration - Each party provided something of value to the other (e.g. pay money, pay interest, provide a service, supply goods etc.)
• Create legal relations - It is the intension of both parties that the agreement should be enforceable in law if breached
• Capacity - Each party has the capacity to enter a legally binding contract (e.g. over the age of 18 etc.)

​If these principles have been met verbally, then a contract may have been formed which you can take legal action to enforce if the terms are breached.
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Yes, but the 'burden of proof' will be on you as the Claimant to show that the amount you are claiming is due. Court should be your last resort in attempting to recover your money and so you should be confident that you have a strong case, sufficient evidence and follow the set pre-action procedure prior to issuing a claim (e.g. sending a letter before action, attempting negotiation etc.)

Ultimately the decision on who owes what will be down to a judge's ruling based on:

1. The applicable law (i.e. breach of contract)
2. The evidence that you can provide
3. The evidence supplied by the defendant/debtor
4. The balance of probabilities

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In the absence of a written contract or agreement being in place, there are various other pieces of information that you may be able to secure which can provide evidence that the money is due.

Bounced cheque or returned direct debit
While the use of cheques is diminishing, over 129 cheques are still issued every year. If your debtor has sent you a cheque that bounced or agreed to a direct debit that has been returned, it is often all the evidence that you need to prove a debt is owed.

In law a cheque is considered a 'promise to pay' and so can be used as a clear admission that money is due.

Unpaid invoices
It is not uncommon for a business to invoice without a signed contract. Most businesses use invoices to request payment so providing copies and proof of them being issued to a customer or supplier will go a long way in proving that a debt is owed, even if they aren't directly attached to Terms of Business or a written terms.

Furthermore, if you provided regular statements of the amounts owed and showing overdue, then these will also be useful as evidence.

Evidence of chasing debts
Once a payment is overdue you will have hopefully contacted the person or company to chase the debt.

Emails, letters, texts or messages exchanged on social media (Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat etc.) can all be used to help prove a debt is owed and overdue.

If the other party has responded to you apologising or asking for more time, then this admission will be extremely valuable in proving that they don't dispute that they actually owe the debt. So, it's important that you save or screenshot these messages in the event they are needed.

Loaned money without a contract
Without an I.O.U. or a loan agreement in place, proving that money provided to someone was a loan that needs to be repaid can be difficult. This is because often money given to friends, an ex, or family member is considered a gift and so isn't required to be paid back.

Enforcing a verbal agreement that money is owed will hinge around providing evidence to show that the cash was transferred as a loan along with any repayments, e.g.

• A bank statement showing a transfer or cheque to the person's bank account
• Repayments received into your account that stopped
• Your account history that large cash gifts are not made to the person on a regular basis
• Evidence of your income, outgoings and savings showing it's unlikely that you could afford to give the amount as a gift

Witnesses to the arrangement
When little or no documentation exists to prove a debt, having an independent witness to a verbal contract can be invaluable.

For example - with a business transaction, did an employee take the order over the phone, deliver goods or perform a service where payment was verbally agreed with the customer? If money was lent to a friend, was another person present to witness the agreement of how/when they were going to pay you back?

But even if an independent witness isn't available, you as a claimant can also present your version of events to the court in a written witness statement. Any witnesses may then need to attend court should the claim go all the way to a hearing.
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Without a written agreement, there should still be plenty of information that you can pull together to prove what you are owed. However, if the other party disputes the amount, or that any debt is owed at all, then you may have a fight on your hands that needs to be settled in court.

It will then be down to the evidence you can gather and how your claim is pleaded to convince a judge that you are entitled to the money owed in the absence of a legally binding written contract. So, obtaining legal advice on the evidence needed for a debt recovery claim and your prospects should be your starting point.
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As a responsible dog owner, receiving notification that someone is pursuing a compensation claim against you after being bitten by your dog can be a shock.

UK research indicates that one in four people have been bitten by a dog in their lifetime, with a third of bites requiring medical attention but only 0.6% requiring hospital attendance. So, while being seriously injured by a dog is relatively rare, any minor injury to a human which involves your pet will still be a cause for concern.

What happens if my dog bites someone?

In the immediate aftermath of a bite or attack, the police often become involved to assess if your animal is dangerous or could be considered out of control. The outcome of this investigation could be a warning, community resolution order, fine, banning order or even prison sentence in the most serious of cases.

But regardless of any action the police may take in a criminal capacity, you may still be subjected to civil legal proceedings in the form of being sued via a compensation claim made by the injured party.

If this occurs then you'll need to be aware of the options available in defending a dog related personal injury claim, and that you cannot always be held legally responsible for injuries that have been caused by your pet.​
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Does home insurance cover dog bites?

There are various insurance policies which you may have in place that can cover you in the event that a personal injury claim is made against you as a dog owner. Whether you dog bit someone on your property or in a public place (street, park, woods etc.)

• Pet Insurance - Many pet insurance products that are designed to cover vet bills also have 'third party liability' cover which may cover incidents caused by your animal. However, on some products this liability cover is an optional extra.
• Home Insurance - While not as common, depending on your buildings and contents insurance you may be covered for injuries to the public that occur on your property. However, there may be homeowner policy exclusions relating to animals or dangerous dogs.
• Membership - Some animal organisations (for example the Dogs Trust Companion Club) include third party liability insurance if your dog causes damage or injury as part of their membership package.
• Public Liability Insurance - If the animal is used in connection with your business, such as being a dog handler, walker, canine security or a guard dog. Then your business public or employers' liability insurance may provide coverage.

Should you receive a claim, it's recommended to first check for any possible insurance policy, and if cover exists, report the claim to your insurer as soon as possible. They will then take over the handling of the claim and instruct a solicitor to act on your behalf.
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If no insurance cover exists, or your insurer refuses to indemnify you, then you need to seek advice from a personal injury defence lawyer on your uninsured dog bite claim.

The Letter of Claim ​you receive informing you of the claim will need to be acknowledged in a certain timeframe (usually 21 days) so gaining legal advice as soon as this letter is received is highly recommended.
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​For a claimant to be successful in their damages claim they must prove that the owner or keeper was responsible for the actions of the animal, and/or have been negligent in some way.
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A key piece of law that is often cited in animal attack cases is the Animals Act 1971. This legislation defines the conditions that a dog’s keeper can be responsible for the behaviour and damage caused by their dog.

The act provides three tests that must be met before the owner or person in possession of the animal can be held liable for any damage that has been caused. Basically, these tests are that:

a. The damage or injury was likely to be caused by the animal unless it was restrained, and
b. It was caused by a characteristic of the animal, and
c. The characteristic was known to the owner or keeper of the animal.

While any dog has the ability to bite, they will generally only ever do this in unusual circumstances which may not be able to be reasonably foreseen by the keeper.
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Another piece of legislation used in dog bite compensation claims is the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 if the claimant was a visitor to the defendant's property.

These laws basically place a responsibility on the occupier of a property to ensure that any visitors will be safe on the premises for the purpose of their visit.

An occupier could be classed as anyone that has a reasonable degree of control over the property where the incident occurred. So a claim may also be made against someone other than the official owner of the dog.
   

In some cases it may be your position that the incident simply did not occur or the claimant was not injured. Therefore the compensation claim is fraudulent, dishonest or at the very least exaggerated.
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In this scenario to defend the claim you will need to provide evidence to disprove the claimant's version of events and investigate whether the losses and injuries being claimed are genuine.
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Being the owner or handler of a dog, you owe the public and any visitors to your home a 'duty of care' to prevent the animal from injuring them. If a claimant can prove that an owner has breached this duty, and so has been negligent, then they may be entitled to compensation.

A person simply being bitten by a dog does not mean that the owner has been negligent. A claimant would need to show that they were aware that the dog attack could happen and failed to take adequate steps to prevent it.
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As you have probably gathered, defending a dog bite compensation claim is a complex task and you should obtain specialist legal advice when faced with a claim.

An experienced solicitor can investigate the circumstances of the incident, as well as the history of the animal, to present all mitigating factors on why you may not be liable for the injuries caused. For example, common dog bite law defences may include:
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• If the animal was provoked in anyway or the injury was due to the claimant's fault.
• If warnings were ignored by the claimant or they voluntarily accepted the risk.
• If the dog has never previously demonstrated aggressive behaviour and had no known dangerous characteristics.
• If animals were fighting and a person placed themselves in danger to separate.
• If the claimant was trespassing, and the dog was guarding the property from a  trespasser.

When it comes to the law, your beloved family pet is simply considered a piece of property that has inflicted damage on another person. So if you are placed in the position of defending a claim, ensure you seek the legal advice you need and your pet deserves.

Non or late paying customers are unfortunately a fact of life for most small to medium businesses. While at best delayed payments can be annoying, at worst they will have a measurable and detrimental impact on the smooth running of your business.

Recent figures via the Official Statutory Register of Judgments has given an insight into the potential scale of the problems around business debts and disputes that have been escalated to the courts.

The data shows that in the second quarter of 2025, there were over 45,000 County Court Judgments (CCJs) issued against businesses. Just over a quarter of the unsatisfied commercial judgments in England and Wales were for amounts greater than £3,000,

While there are fixed fee debt recovery services available to deal with most size B2B debts, needless to say it's more important than ever to make sure you have effective procedures in place for protecting cash flow in your business.

So, we wanted to share some tips for handling non-paying customers that we've provided to our clients after helping them recover business debts owed to them.​

Is sounds simple, but make sure you know who you are doing business with.

Try to find out the size of the organisation and whether they are a partnership, sole-trader, limited company or PLC. ​What is their full legal name and do they use any trading names? Conducting a quick Internet search for these names may reveal information you need to be aware of.
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Make use of public services such as Companies House to verify your private limited company customers.

When first considering doing business with them, verify their registered office, company number and trading status. You can use this information to find who owns the business and verify that the person instructing you has the authority to do so on behalf of them.

​Then throughout your relationship put a reminder in to recheck these details periodically. That way you can be alert to any warning signs such as overdue accounts, charges being registered against them or large drops in cash reserves which may indicate their business is struggling.
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Check if your business customer is part of the Government's Fair Payment Code (FPC) which encourages businesses across the UK to pay fairly and quickly, within 30 or 60 days. The current awardees can be found on the FPC website.
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Whenever possible try to request payment in advance. If this is not possible, attempt to secure partial payment (for materials etc.) or some kind of deposit.

With some larger business customers it can take a while for a new supplier to get onto their accounts systems. So starting this process as soon as possible can speed up future payments.

Invoice as soon as the order is completed, or on lengthy jobs gain agreement to do so at periodic intervals. Knowing there is a payment problem half way through a job is better than finding out at the end.
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Include standard payment terms within your T&Cs and on your invoices, ensuring they are clear and reasonable.

​Make customers aware of these terms before they order, when you provide a quote and when an invoice is at risk of becoming overdue. Your invoice should also include details on how to pay you, such as your bank account or online payment information.
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For large or regular transactions consider getting a specific contract drawn up and signed by both parties. At the very least ensure the main points of the order or transaction are in writing with evidence that it has been agreed by each party.

​If you ever end up having to consider legal action, good record keeping will pay dividends.

​Everything from the original order, proof of delivery and late payment chases should be kept. Your solicitor will want written evidence and a chronology of events to proceed with a claim, so keep copies of any emails and notes of any telephone calls.
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Implementing the above tips may help in reducing the chances and impact of late paying business customers. But even with the most vigilant owner, on-the-ball accounts team and strictest terms and conditions, you will still encounter customers that simply choose not to pay.

So your next step is to consider formal legal action to recover the amount owed, which usually starts with sending a Debt Recovery Letter Before Action.
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Having robust Terms & Conditions, a consistent approach to invoicing, and a clear paper trail will help you get what's owed to you that much quicker and assist your legal claim should you ever need to get a solicitor involved.