Solicitors and collection agencies both recover B2B debt, but they bill differently, escalate differently, and suit different stages of a claim.
A solicitor litigates: they draft claims, appear in court, and bill by the hour or a fixed litigation fee regardless of outcome. A collection agency chases: phone calls, demand letters, negotiated settlements, usually paid only on recovery.
Hourly legal fees accrue whether or not you collect a penny, which is why solicitors make sense once a case is contested or already headed to a hearing. Contingency-based agency fees only cost money when money actually comes back.
The efficient order is agency first, solicitor second: let a collector exhaust the negotiated route within 60-90 days, then instruct a solicitor only on the balance that resists demand letters and needs a judgment.
Everything covered in this video, in full written form, in the complete article.
Read the full guideA working guide to business debt recovery solicitors versus commercial collection agencies. When to instruct each, what each costs, and how to sequence them.