Our panel is growing: more choice for smaller business debts and debtors abroad

A new agency has joined the Collect Compare panel, and it adds choice in the two places where creditors have had the fewest options: smaller commercial debts and business debtors abroad. It takes business-to-business debts below the minimum most of our panel sets, so a smaller unpaid invoice owed by a company can now be put in front of an agency. It also handles international recovery, which gives you more to compare when the business that owes you is abroad. Like every agency here, it was checked before it went live, and its name stays hidden until you choose it. Here is what that changes for you, and what it does not.

Smaller commercial debts can now reach an agency

Most debt collection agencies set a minimum debt value, because opening a file, tracing the debtor, writing and calling cost much the same whatever the sum. On our panel most of those minimums sit at £1,000 or more, so until now an unpaid invoice under £1,000 had nowhere to go.

The new member takes business-to-business debts from £500. If a company owes you a smaller sum and has stopped answering, the comparison can now put an agency in front of you, not only the routes you would run yourself.

That does not overturn the advice in our guide to whether an agency is worth it for a small debt. Under about £1,000, a properly quantified letter often does the job on its own. On a business-to-business debt you can add statutory interest at 8% plus the Bank of England base rate and £40 fixed compensation per invoice under £1,000. The free late payment calculator works out both and writes the letter before action for you.

What has changed is the next step if that letter is ignored. An agency is now a realistic option at this size, alongside the small claim you could bring yourself. Before you instruct, get the fee in pounds on your exact sum and ask whether there is a minimum commission, because a minimum fee can swallow a small recovery.

One tip when you compare: if the same customer owes you several invoices, enter the total. They count as one debt, and the total is what decides which minimums you clear.

A low minimum is a floor, not a ceiling: a larger unpaid invoice reaches the new member too, alongside every other agency whose minimum it clears, so enter the real amount, whatever it is.

More choice for business debtors abroad

The new member also takes debts owed by businesses abroad, and tells us international recovery is a large part of its work. That matters because cross-border recovery is a specialism. Agencies that do it have their own people or local partners in the debtor’s country, and not every agency offers it.

To compare for a customer abroad, choose “Outside the UK” as the debtor’s location. You then see only agencies that list international recovery, so every option in front of you has told us it does cross-border work. For a debt owed by a business abroad, that now gives you more to weigh on fees and terms.

The rest of the job has not changed, and our guide to recovering money from an overseas customer walks through it: the governing law and jurisdiction in your terms, a demand the debtor will actually read, and when suing makes sense. When you compare, ask each agency which countries it covers directly and which through partners, and get the fee in pounds for your debt and that country, because overseas work usually costs more than domestic collection.

What it does not change

The new member takes commercial debts only, meaning money owed by a business, though not rent arrears, and it works at the collection stage only. It adds nothing for a small debt owed by an individual, for rent arrears, or for court action or High Court enforcement: the choice for those is exactly what it was.

If nobody on the panel takes your case at its size, the comparison tells you before it asks for your contact details, and points you to the steps that usually work for a debt that size, starting with a letter before action.

Nor does it change how the comparison works: you answer a few questions about the debt, see the agencies that take cases like yours side by side, and choose. How the comparison works sets out what you see and what to judge on.

How it joined, and why we have not named it

Every agency goes through the same checks before it can appear: credentials, regulatory standing, track record and complaint history. We only list firms we would be comfortable using ourselves, and why vetting matters explains what those checks guard against. Once live, an agency only appears for cases that fit what it says it takes: where the debtor is, the type of debt, who owes it and the minimum.

We have not named it here for the same reason the comparison does not. You see each agency by what it offers, its fee model, minimum debt, coverage and ratings, and the name, logo and full profile appear the moment you choose. That keeps the decision about substance rather than brand. And no agency, new or established, can buy a higher position.

The short version

A new agency on our panel takes business-to-business debts below the usual minimums and handles international recovery. If a company owes you a smaller sum, quantify it and send a letter first; if that is ignored, an agency is now a realistic next step. If the business that owes you is abroad, you have more to compare. The choice for small debts owed by individuals, rent arrears, court action and High Court enforcement is unchanged.

If a business owes you money, at home or abroad, you can compare vetted UK debt recovery agencies on Collect Compare: enter the amount and we check it against the panel before asking for your details, with names hidden until you choose. Or let us match you to the best fit. It is free for creditors: the agency you choose pays for the introduction, and no agency can pay to rank.

This is general information, not legal advice. Minimums, coverage and fees vary between agencies and change over time, so get the terms for your specific debt in writing before you instruct.