I’ve Been Served With a Statutory Demand, What Do I Do?

By serving you with a Statutory Demand someone is claiming that you owe them money, and they are putting you on formal notice that if you do not either: (a) pay that sum; (b) come to an arrangement with them to pay that sum; or (c) dispute that you owe the debt, then it is likely that the person that you owe money to will serve you with a bankruptcy petition.

You only have 18 days to apply to set the Statutory Demand aside if you dispute that you owe money to the person who has served you with a demand.

You only have 21 days to pay the sum demanded of you or to come to a time to pay arrangement with your creditor, if you admit that you owe the money that is being claimed against you.

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By serving you with a Statutory Demand someone is claiming that you owe them money, and they are putting you on formal notice that if you do not either: (a) pay that sum; (b) come to an arrangement with them to pay that sum; or (c) dispute that you owe the debt, then it is likely that the person that you owe money to will serve you with a bankruptcy petition.

You only have 18 days to apply to set the Statutory Demand aside if you dispute that you owe money to the person who has served you with a demand.

You only have 21 days to pay the sum demanded of you or to come to a time to pay arrangement with your creditor, if you admit that you owe the money that is being claimed against you.

Free expert advice in minutes. Fill out the form & we’ll call you back

Name
First Last
Phone
Email
Bankruptcy Status
Estimated Debt Amount
Consent*
I agree to the Privacy Policy.

If you receive a Statutory Demand you need to act quickly.

We frequently get asked what the situation is when a Statutory Demand is served and part of the sum included in the Statutory Demand is disputed, but a part of it is not. In that case, you first need to determine whether or not the amount of the debt that you do not dispute is over £5,000.00. If you do not dispute that you owe the person who has served you with the Statutory Demand more than £5,000.00 then it is unlikely that a court would set aside the Statutory Demand.

This is because the bankruptcy threshold in England and Wales is £5,000.00. That means that, in order to make you bankrupt, a person must prove that you owe them more than £5,000.00. If you owe less than this sum, the Court will not make a bankruptcy order against you. Since the service of a Statutory Demand is usually the first step in the bankruptcy process, the Court will not set aside the Statutory Demand if you admit – or your creditor can prove – that you owe them more than £5,000.00.

We frequently get asked what the situation is when a Statutory Demand is served and part of the sum included in the Statutory Demand is disputed, but a part of it is not. In that case, you first need to determine whether or not the amount of the debt that you do not dispute is over £5,000.00. If you do not dispute that you owe the person who has served you with the Statutory Demand more than £5,000.00 then it is unlikely that a court would set aside the Statutory Demand.

This is because the bankruptcy threshold in England and Wales is £5,000.00. That means that, in order to make you bankrupt, a person must prove that you owe them more than £5,000.00. If you owe less than this sum, the Court will not make a bankruptcy order against you. Since the service of a Statutory Demand is usually the first step in the bankruptcy process, the Court will not set aside the Statutory Demand if you admit – or your creditor can prove – that you owe them more than £5,000.00.