Contact

Whether you are owed money or being pursued for it.

Dublin

The Ormond Building
31–36 Ormond Quay Upper
Dublin 7, D07 EE37
01 5827148
richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com

Kilkenny

2 Rose Inn Street
Kilkenny, R95 W58D
Monday to Friday, 9:00–5:30
Same-week appointments
All enquiries: 01 5827148

If You Are Owed Money

1. The amount, and what it is for.
2. The date it fell due — when payment became due and payable, because that is where the limitation clock starts.
3. Any written acknowledgment or part payment, and when. This can restart the clock and is the fact most often overlooked.
4. The debtor’s correct legal name and whether they are an individual, a company or a partnership.
5. The documents — contract, invoices, statements, terms, correspondence.
6. Anything you know about their means — property, trading, employment, guarantors. The question most creditors have not asked, and the one that most affects whether proceedings are worth issuing.

If You Are Being Pursued

Do not ignore proceedings. Judgment in default is the most avoidable bad outcome in this area, and deadlines run from the date of service. Bring the letter or the proceedings and the date you received them, what you believe you actually owe and why the figure may be wrong, whether you have ever disputed it in writing, and whether you have made any payment or acknowledgment.

Before engaging anyone: free, confidential and independent money advice is available from MABS (the Money Advice and Budgeting Service) and, in mortgage arrears, through the Abhaile scheme. You do not have to instruct a solicitor to get help, and taking advice early generally improves the options available.

Two Free Tools First, If You Prefer

The Debt Limitation Checker walks the time-limit questions — when the debt fell due, whether anything restarted the clock, and whether the six or twelve year period applies. The Recovery Route Mapper shows the likely court, procedure and enforcement options for your situation, and flags where the honest answer is not to issue at all. Both run entirely on your own device: nothing you enter is stored, sent or seen by anyone. The conflicts check runs before any substantive discussion, so name every party in your first email.

Getting Started - FAQs

Six things, and none of them takes long. The amount, and what it is for. The date the debt fell due - not the date of the invoice necessarily, but when payment became due and payable, because that is where the limitation clock starts. Whether the debtor has ever acknowledged the debt in writing or made any part payment, and when, because that can restart the clock. Whether the debtor is an individual, a company or a partnership, and their correct legal name. What documents exist: contract, invoices, statements, correspondence, terms and conditions. And anything you know about the debtor’s means - property, trading status, employment, guarantors. That last one is the question most creditors have not considered and the one that most affects whether proceedings are worth issuing.

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.