Terms of engagement.
The terms on which Rafferty & Maze Ltd provides commercial debt recovery services in the United Kingdom. These terms are engaged upon written instruction of a matter.
Last updated: 24 April 2026
1. Definitions
We, us, our: Rafferty & Maze Ltd, a company incorporated in England and Wales (company no. 15000000).
You, the creditor: the party instructing us to recover a commercial debt.
The debtor: the party from whom the debt is to be recovered.
The Act: the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, as amended, together with the Regulations made under it.
2. Our services
We act on your written instructions to recover an undisputed commercial debt owed to you by a limited company, LLP, or other incorporated entity. Our services comprise assessment of the matter, issue of a structured sequence of formal demands on our letterhead, management of correspondence with the debtor, collection of funds into a designated client account, and remittance of the principal to you. Where a matter proceeds to litigation, we refer it to panel counsel on your written authority.
3. Your obligations
You confirm on each instruction that the debt is a business‑to‑business debt, that it is undisputed at the time of instruction, and that you are authorised to instruct us. You will provide accurate and complete information about the debt and supporting documentation on request, and will inform us promptly of any material development, including any communication from the debtor that goes to the merits of the debt.
4. Recovery costs and remittance
The debtor is liable under the Act for statutory compensation, statutory interest, and the creditor's reasonable costs of recovery. Our fee constitutes reasonable costs of recovery within the meaning of Regulation 5A of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2002 and is recoverable from the debtor. Where the debtor pays in full, we remit the principal of the invoice to you, typically within ten working days of cleared funds, and retain the statutory compensation, statutory interest, and recovery costs as our fee.
Where the debtor pays part, we will consult you before allocating funds. In the absence of specific instructions, partial payments are applied first to the principal.
5. Client money
All debtor payments are received into a designated client account segregated from our operating funds and held on trust pending remittance to you.
6. Assessment and declinature
Assessment of an instruction is without charge. We reserve the right to decline a matter, at our discretion, where the debt is disputed, where the debtor is a sole trader or individual, where the debt is outside our terms of practice, or where acceptance would be inconsistent with our professional or regulatory obligations.
7. Disputes arising during the matter
If the debtor raises a substantive dispute after instruction, the sequence is paused. We will consult you within two working days on the next step, which may include closure of the matter for resolution by other means. No recovery costs are charged to you where the matter is closed at this stage.
8. Limitation of liability
Our aggregate liability to you in contract, tort, or otherwise, arising out of or in connection with the services, is limited to the greater of the sum recovered on the matter and one thousand pounds. Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for any liability that cannot be limited by law.
9. Termination
Either party may terminate an instruction at any time by written notice. Where you terminate an instruction after Letter I has been issued, you are liable for our recovery costs on any payment received by the debtor within ninety days of termination as a result of that letter.
10. Confidentiality
Each party will keep the other party's confidential information confidential. We will process personal data in accordance with our Privacy Notice.
11. Complaints
If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our service, please write to complaints@raffertymaze.com. We will acknowledge within two working days and respond substantively within fifteen working days.
12. Governing law and jurisdiction
These terms, and any non‑contractual obligations arising out of them, are governed by the law of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.