My invoice is unpaid: which step comes next? Four questions, from reminder to court

An invoice has not been paid and you are not sure what to do next: another reminder, a formal letter, a court claim, or something else. The answer depends on who owes you, what you have already sent and whether the customer has complained about the work. This questionnaire asks four questions and gives the one step that comes next, with the rule, the waiting time and the fee behind it. It covers England and Wales and follows the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, GOV.UK's pages on late payment and court claims and the court fees leaflet, all read on 2 October 2026. Nothing you choose leaves the page.

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Unpaid invoice: the next step for this customer

Answer each question. Some questions appear only when an earlier answer makes them relevant. Nothing you choose leaves this page.

1. Who owes you the money?ChooseA householderA sole trader, such as a one-person builder or landlordA limited company, partnership or other business
2. How far have you got with this invoice?ChooseIt is overdue and I have sent nothing yetI have sent reminders and still not been paidI have sent a letter before actionI have started a court claimI have a court judgment and still no payment
3. Has the customer said that anything is wrong with the work or the invoice?ChooseYes, they have complained or queried itNo, they have just not paid
4. Has the reply time passed with no answer: 30 days for an individual, 14 days for a company?ChooseYes, the time has passed and they have not repliedNo, or they have replied and we are still talking

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The outcome is the rule as our guides and the sources named set it out, applied to the answers you gave. It is not advice on your own case.

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The questions, and why each is asked

1. Who owes you the money? The Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims covers a debt owed by an individual, including a sole trader. Statutory interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 can be claimed from business customers only.

2. How far have you got with this invoice? Each stage has its own rule: a chasing schedule, a letter with a set waiting time, a court fee set by the amount, then a judgment that the court enforces only if you ask.

3. Has the customer said that anything is wrong with the work or the invoice? The debt protocol does not apply where the debt is covered by another protocol, such as Construction and Engineering. A complaint about the work has to be dealt with before the debt route is used. This question appears only when an earlier answer makes it relevant.

4. Has the reply time passed with no answer: 30 days for an individual, 14 days for a company? The protocol lets you start a claim if an individual has not replied within 30 days of the date at the top of the letter. For a company, the Practice Direction treats 14 days as reasonable in a straightforward case. This question appears only when an earlier answer makes it relevant.

Every outcome, and the rule behind it

Settle the complaint before you chase the debt

Reached when: "Has the customer said that anything is wrong with the work or the invoice?" answered "Yes, they have complained or queried it".

Paragraph 1.4 of the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims says it does not apply where the debt is covered by another protocol, such as Construction and Engineering. Once the customer says the work is wrong, you have a dispute about the job as well as an unpaid invoice, and the letter of claim with its 30-day wait is the wrong tool. Find out exactly what the complaint is, look at it, and either put it right or agree a reduction in writing. Then invoice the agreed amount.

• Ask the customer in writing to list what they say is wrong, and visit to look at it.
• Put it right, or agree a reduced figure in a text or email, and invoice that amount.
• For a large sum or a complaint you do not accept, speak to a solicitor or your trade body's helpline.

Source: Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, paragraph 1.4, read on justice.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in Customer won't pay for work done? What a UK tradesperson can do, step by step.

Send the first reminder today, with the invoice attached

Reached when: "How far have you got with this invoice?" answered "It is overdue and I have sent nothing yet".

Start with a short reminder and the invoice attached, then a firmer note 7 days later and a final letter at 14 days. For a business customer with no agreed payment date, GOV.UK says payment is late 30 days after the customer gets the invoice, or after you finish the work if that is later. From then a business owes statutory interest at 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, which was 3.75% on 2 October 2026. A householder owes no statutory interest.

• Send the reminder by the channel the customer reads, and attach the invoice again.
• Check the invoice shows a due date; if it does not, state the date in the reminder.
• Diarise the second reminder for 7 days from today and the final letter for 14 days.

Source: GOV.UK, Late commercial payments: charging interest and debt recovery; Bank of England, Bank Rate; read 2 October 2026. The working is in How to chase an unpaid invoice as a builder.

Send a letter of claim by post, with the protocol's forms

Reached when: "How far have you got with this invoice?" answered "I have sent reminders and still not been paid"; "Who owes you the money?" answered "A householder" or "A sole trader, such as a one-person builder or landlord".

The Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies when a business claims a debt from an individual, including a sole trader. Your letter of claim must be dated near the top, sent by post, and come with the protocol's Information Sheet, Reply Form and Financial Statement form. Paragraph 3.4 lets you start a court claim if there is no reply within 30 days of the date on the letter. A sole trader customer can be charged statutory interest; a householder cannot.

• Use the letter in the linked guide and enclose a statement of account and the three forms.
• Post it on the day it is dated, or the day after, and keep proof of posting.
• Put the date 30 days after the letter's date in the diary, plus a few days for a late reply.

Source: Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, paragraphs 1.1 and 3.1 to 3.4, read on justice.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in Letter before action template for an unpaid trade invoice, and the 30-day wait that follows.

Send a final letter giving 14 days, with interest and the fixed sum

Reached when: "How far have you got with this invoice?" answered "I have sent reminders and still not been paid".

The debt protocol does not cover a company, so the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct applies: a letter with concise details of the claim and how the amount is worked out, and 14 days to respond in a straightforward case. Add statutory interest at 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, 11.75% a year with Bank Rate at 3.75% on 2 October 2026, and one fixed sum: £40 on a debt up to £999.99, £70 up to £9,999.99, £100 from £10,000. On £2,400 the interest is 77p a day.

• State the invoice, the date it fell due, the interest to date, the daily rate and the fixed sum.
• Give a date 14 days ahead and say you will start a court claim after it.
• Check your contract sets no interest rate of its own, which would replace the statutory one.

Source: Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct, paragraph 6; GOV.UK, Late commercial payments; Bank of England, Bank Rate; read 2 October 2026. The working is in What late payment interest can a builder actually claim? Worked sums.

Wait: the time to reply has not run out

Reached when: "Has the reply time passed with no answer: 30 days for an individual, 14 days for a company?" answered "No, or they have replied and we are still talking".

Under the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims you may not start a claim against an individual until 30 days after the date at the top of the letter of claim, allowing for a reply posted near the end. If the Reply Form comes back, paragraph 4.2 says no claim for at least 30 days from the day you receive it, or from the day you send any documents asked for. If you have talked and not agreed, give at least 14 days' notice before you claim.

• Answer any request for documents within 30 days, or explain why you cannot provide them.
• If they offer instalments, reply in writing; if you refuse, say why.
• If you could not agree, write giving at least 14 days' notice that you will start a claim.

Source: Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, paragraphs 3.4, 4.2, 4.4, 5.2 and 8.2, read on justice.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in Letter before action template for an unpaid trade invoice, and the 30-day wait that follows.

Start the court claim: the fee depends on the amount

Reached when: "How far have you got with this invoice?" answered "I have sent a letter before action".

The reply time has passed, so you can make a court claim for money online or on paper form N1. GOV.UK sets the fee by the amount claimed plus interest: £35 up to £300, £50 up to £500, £70 up to £1,000, £80 up to £1,500, £115 up to £3,000, £205 up to £5,000 and £455 up to £10,000, read on 2 October 2026. GOV.UK says you may be able to claim the fee back if you win, and that mediation may be offered or required after you claim.

• Add up the invoice and the interest to date, and find the fee band for that total.
• Make the claim online and keep the claim number.
• Have the quote, the acceptance, the invoice and your letters ready in date order.

Source: GOV.UK, Make a court claim for money: court fees, read 2 October 2026. The working is in Customer won't pay for work done? What a UK tradesperson can do, step by step.

Ask the court for judgment once the reply date has passed

Reached when: "How far have you got with this invoice?" answered "I have started a court claim".

After you claim, GOV.UK says the claim is sent to the defendant and you are sent a letter or email with the date they must respond by. If there is no response, or they refuse to pay what they owe, you can ask the court to order them to pay: request a judgment online if you claimed online, or use form N225 if you claimed a fixed amount on a paper form. If they dispute the claim, the court may send a questionnaire with a further fee.

• Note the reply date the court gives you and check the claim on that day.
• If they have not responded, request judgment online or on form N225.
• If you are paid in the meantime, tell the defendant and update the claim.

Source: GOV.UK, Make a court claim for money: after you make your claim, read 2 October 2026. The working is in What happens if a customer ignores a county court judgment? What a trades firm can do next, with the fees.

Ask the court to enforce the judgment: it will not do so unasked

Reached when: any other set of answers.

The court service's guide says the court will not enforce a judgment unless you ask it to. In the fees leaflet updated on 13 July 2026 a county court warrant of control costs £96 and is for debts of £5,000 or less, and an attachment of earnings order, a third-party debt order or a charging order costs £139. An attachment of earnings order works only against someone who is employed. An order to obtain information, at £69, makes the debtor give evidence of their means first.

• Tell the customer that paying in full within one month takes the judgment off the register.
• Pick the method by what they have: wages, a bank account, goods or property.
• If you do not know what they have, apply for an order to obtain information for £69 first.

Source: HM Courts and Tribunals Service, leaflets EX321 and EX50 (updated 13 July 2026); GOV.UK, County court judgments for debt; read 2 October 2026. The working is in What happens if a customer ignores a county court judgment? What a trades firm can do next, with the fees.

How to use the result

Do the step it gives you today and put the next date in the diary: 7 days after a reminder, 30 days after a letter of claim, the reply date the court sends you. Run it again when that date arrives, because the answer changes with each stage. Keep a copy of everything you send, with the date. If the customer says the work is wrong at any point, go back to the start: the route for a disputed job is different from the route for a plain debt.

The outcome applies the rule to the answers given; it cannot see the facts behind them. Where an answer is a judgement, or the facts are unusual, the outcome may not fit. This page is general information, not legal advice.

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