Every creditor facing a pushback believes it is a stalling tactic. Some of them are right. The ones who are wrong discover it at the point their summary claim is remitted to plenary hearing — at which stage it has stopped being debt recovery and become commercial litigation.
Two Markers: Specificity and Timing
Usually not a real defence: general dissatisfaction with the goods or service, unsupported by anything specific and never mentioned when the work was done. Complaints about the wider commercial relationship that never actually answer whether this sum is owed. An assertion that the invoice is wrong without saying how it is wrong. Repeated requests for documentation already supplied. A promise that payment is coming, repeated. Usually genuine: a specific, evidenced quality or performance complaint, particularly one raised at or near the time. A set-off or counterclaim arising from the same or a closely connected transaction. Payment already made, or credit due and not applied. Limitation. The wrong party sued. A real dispute about what the terms actually were. The difference between the two lists is almost always specificity and timing: what exactly is alleged, and when did they first say it?
Apply the Court's Test, Early
The useful discipline is to ask the question a court will effectively ask on a summary judgment application: has the defendant raised a genuine issue that ought to go to trial? The bar for a defendant is not high in absolute terms, but it is real — bare denials and unsupported assertions generally will not clear it, while a properly grounded factual dispute generally will. Do that assessment before issuing, honestly, including on the material that does not suit you. Two reasons. First, a creditor who has decided in advance what they will do if the claim is defended makes a far better decision at that moment than one discovering the position under pressure eight months in. Second, and more sharply: serving a statutory demand on a company over a genuinely disputed debt is capable of being treated as an abuse of process, with the petition restrained or dismissed, costs following, and potential exposure where the company suffers damage. Timing of the dispute is relevant but not conclusive — people do sometimes only articulate a complaint when finally pressed, and a late-raised dispute can still be entirely genuine. Assess the substance rather than dismissing it for arriving late.
If the dispute is genuine, the question changes. It stops being “how do we recover this” and becomes “what is the commercially sensible outcome” — which may be a negotiated discount, or mediation where the trading relationship still has value, or litigation priced deliberately as litigation.
Not sure which you are looking at? 01 5827148.
Richard O’Shea — Solicitor
Solicitor at Mary Molloy Solicitors, established 1981, with offices at The Ormond Building on Ormond Quay — a short walk from the Four Courts. The firm advises creditors on recovery and enforcement, and, in separate matters, advises debtors who have received demands or proceedings. It is a law firm and not a debt collection agency: fees are agreed in writing at the outset and are never calculated as a percentage or proportion of what is recovered. 01 5827148 · richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com · LinkedIn
General information, not legal advice. This website contains general information about Irish law on debt recovery and enforcement. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor—client relationship. Every debt turns on its own facts — the documents, the dates, the parties and the debtor’s circumstances — and advice on yours requires a consultation. Statutory thresholds and figures referred to on this site are subject to change and should be confirmed before any step is taken.
A law firm, not a debt collection agency. Mary Molloy Solicitors provides legal advice and representation. It does not operate as a debt collection agency and does not conduct collection campaigns. Fees are agreed in writing with the client at the outset and are never calculated as a percentage or proportion of any sum recovered. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.
No outcome is promised. Nothing on this site states or implies that any debt will be recovered, that any asset will be found, that any enforcement step will succeed, or that any claim will succeed. Recovery depends substantially on the debtor’s means, which are frequently unknown at the outset.
How payment may be demanded is regulated. Section 11 of the Consumer Credit Act 1995 makes it an offence to make a demand for payment by means calculated to cause alarm, distress or humiliation, or falsely to represent that legal proceedings have been or will be issued. Nothing on this site should be read as encouraging any such conduct. Mortgage arrears on a principal private residence are dealt with under a separate regulatory framework and are outside the scope of this site.
If you are the person being pursued. Free, confidential and independent money advice is available in Ireland from MABS, the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, and through the Abhaile scheme for people in mortgage arrears. You do not have to engage a solicitor to get help, and taking advice early generally improves the options available. This firm advises debtors in matters separate from those in which it acts for a creditor, and never both sides of the same debt — conflicts are checked before any substantive discussion.
Tax. Nothing on this website is tax advice. Questions about VAT on recovered sums, bad debt relief or the treatment of write-offs belong with your accountant or tax adviser and with Revenue’s own guidance.