How can I find someone who owes me money?

With any monetary transaction like a loan to a friend, invoice from a business, or a refund from a tradesperson, there will always be a chance that the other party will fail to pay you.

Just getting back what is owed to you can be difficult enough, but if you then also lose touch with the debtor, the complexity of your problems will increase significantly.

When a business owes you money it's generally a straightforward matter to track them down, as when a business is still trading their contact details can be found online or via their advertising. But for debts owed by a person it can be a much more difficult task to trace an individual.

Regardless of having the debtor's mobile number, email address and social media details, the most important information you will need when considering legal action is their address.​

Legal options for debt recovery.

The first stage in taking formal debt recovery legal action is sending a Letter of Claim (also known as a Letter Before Action) to the debtor.

The purpose of this letter is to outline the exact amount that is owed, the reason you believe the debt is due, provide a reasonable timeframe for payment to be made in full, and in the event payment is not received in this timeframe, warn that court proceedings may be started without further notice.

The Letter of Claim should be posted to the debtor at their current address. While a copy can also be sent via email it must be sent in the post and be clearly dated. Sending this letter is an important 'pre-action' step and is required to comply with the various pre-court action protocols.

Should the letter not result in payment the next stage is issuing court proceedings. Again, this will require the debtor's current address for the court to successfully serve the Claim Form and for you to start any subsequent enforcement action.

Therefore, finding the current address of the debtor is critical before considering legal proceedings.
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How to find a business that owes you money?

Businesses are generally easier to locate an address for, as most businesses want to be found by their potential customers. Their trading address will usually be on their website, used in their advertisements or documented in any agreements or terms and conditions you may have been given.

​Failing these checks, the next places to try to locate an address are on the various business listings that are available online:

• Companies House – All UK based Limited companies will be registered on the gov.uk Companies House website which will provide their registered and correspondence addresses.
• Online Directories – Local businesses may be featured on popular online directories such as Google Maps, Facebook or Yell.
• Trade Organisations – If the business advertises that they are a member of a trade association, then their details should be recorded on the relevant trade body website. For example, plumbers and heating engineers may be on the Gas Safe Register.
• Credit Checking – Many credit score companies that provide credit reports on businesses will also supply their current trading address. Obtaining a financial report will also be very helpful in confirming that the business has the assets available to pay your debt.

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How do I find a person who owes me money?

​Individuals can be much more difficult to locate an address for as there will be significantly less information about them online or in the public domain.

A first step is to ask any friends or business associates that you may have in common if they know the debtor's current address. Note that while you may know the workplace of the individual, legal correspondence for a debt owed by them personally must be sent to their residential address and not to their employer.

There are then some free and low cost directories available online which may help trace an individual such as the BT Phonebook and 192.com. However, the results provided by these directories may be limited and outdated so it is not recommended that these are solely relied on.

The most reliable method of tracing an individual's address is to instruct a professional tracing agent. These can be found online and will offer various tracing packages depending on the depth and timeframe required for the search. Also, many tracing agents offer a no trace no fee service which can be helpful in the event an individual cannot currently be located.
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What if you can't find an address for the debtor?

If you've tried all of the above and still can't locate a business or residential address, your options will now be limited.

However it is worth bearing in mind that you generally have six years to start court proceedings on an outstanding debt. So there is nothing stopping you repeating the above searches every few months to see if the debtor resurfaces.

Tracing someone who owes you money.

Being owed money but having no address for the debtor adds a further level of complication to taking legal action. However, with a little DIY investigation work and perhaps paying a small fee for some professional tracing assistance, most debtors can be found.

​Once you have located the debtor you then need to be confident that they have the assets or funds available to repay the debt. If you were struggling to locate a business because it has closed, or an individual has moved due to their previous home being repossessed, you will need to think carefully about your chances of recovering the debt before incurring the cost of pursuing them through the courts.
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