DocMuse is a private, paid service run by The Muse Technology EOOD (Bulgaria). It is not a government website and is not connected with mygov.scot, the Scottish Government, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service or any other public body. It is not a law firm and is not regulated by the Law Society of Scotland or any other legal regulator, so the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission cannot consider complaints about it; its documents are not legal advice.
Letter before action for money a private person owes you (Scotland)
Scotland · in English · for creditors
€2.00Fill it in online free — pay only to download
11 questions · about 5 min
Made for use in Scotland
Fill in the form
Your answers stay on this device for 7 days, or until you clear them.
- Instant download after payment
- Backup link emailed to you
- No account needed
For a private individual in Scotland owed money by another individual — an unrepaid loan, a share of a bill, money paid for something never handed over. The letter sets out the debt, gives 14 days to pay or reply and invites a proposal to settle, and says you will otherwise raise a court action in the sheriff court; claims of £5,000 or less go to the simple procedure, which expects the parties to try to settle first. Send it by recorded delivery, and keep a copy for the claim form.
- Made for use in Scotland
- Last updated October 29, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Published byDocMuse
When to use this document
- You lent money to a friend in Scotland and they still have not paid it back.
- A former flatmate owes you their share of the bills and has stopped answering.
- You paid someone for an item they never handed over and want your money back.
- You want to warn the person in writing before making a simple procedure claim.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Sender
- Sender's address
- Town or city
- Sender's postcode
- Date
- Debtor
- Debtor's address
- What the debt is for (e.g. a loan made on …)
- Amount due
- Repayment date
- Bank account
Common questions
- Do I have to write before suing someone in Scotland for money they owe me?
- There is no pre-action protocol for this kind of claim in Scotland, but the simple procedure rules expect the parties to try to settle before coming to court, and the claim form asks what you have done to settle. A letter setting out the debt and giving a reasonable time to pay, such as 14 days, is that step, and your copy and the proof of delivery show the sheriff that you tried.
- How do I claim money in Scotland if the person ignores my letter?
- For £5,000 or less, make a simple procedure claim in the sheriff court, usually online through Civil Online on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service website; a court fee is payable. You are the claimant and the other person the respondent, who can dispute the claim, admit it or ask for time to pay. Above £5,000 the claim is an ordinary cause. A decree is enforced by sheriff officers after a charge for payment, and carries interest at 8% a year unless another rate applies.
- How long can I wait before it is too late to claim a private debt in Scotland?
- Most debts prescribe five years after they became due if in that time the debtor has made no payment, given no clear written acknowledgement and faced no court claim; the debt is then extinguished, not just unenforceable (Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, section 6). Write and claim well before then. A signed acknowledgement or a payment starts the five years again.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
Related documents
- Reply to a debt collector: prove the debt, or it has prescribed (Scotland)
For someone in Scotland chased by a debt collector or debt buyer for a debt they do not recognise, dispute or believe is more than five years old. National Debtline and StepChange publish free sample letters for a prescribed debt. This one acknowledges nothing: it asks for proof — the agreement, a statement of account, the default notice and the assignation — or states that the debt has prescribed under section 6 of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973, so that it no longer exists, and will not be paid. Send it by recorded delivery, and keep a copy.
- Letter before action to a company for an unpaid invoice (Scotland)
For a business in Scotland owed money by a company or LLP that has not paid an invoice. Scotland has no pre-action protocol for debts, but the simple procedure claim form asks what you did to settle: this letter sets out the debt, claims statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England reference rate and the fixed sum of £40, £70 or £100 under the Late Payment Act (or the interest your contract sets), gives 14 days to pay or dispute, and warns of an action in the sheriff court — simple procedure up to £5,000. Sent by recorded delivery.
- Letter before action to a business that will not refund or pay you (Scotland)
For a consumer in Scotland whose complaint to a trader has got nowhere — a refund refused, a deposit kept, money owed for faulty goods or poor work. Scotland has no pre-action protocol, but the simple procedure claim form asks what you have done to settle: this letter sets out the claim and the amount, lists your documents, gives 14 days to reply, and says you will otherwise raise simple procedure in the sheriff court for a claim of up to £5,000. Send it by email and by first class post with a free certificate of posting, and keep a copy.
- Complaint about an order that never arrived (Scotland)
For a consumer in Scotland whose order from an online or high-street trader has not arrived. Under section 28 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 the trader must deliver within the agreed time or, if none was agreed, within 30 days, and the goods stay at its risk until you have them (section 29), so a parcel lost in transit is its problem. The letter gives a final 14 days to deliver, after which the contract ends and a full refund is due; it is also a letter before action, with simple procedure in the sheriff court as the next step. Send it by email and by first class post.
- Complaint about poor work by a builder, garage or other trader (Scotland)
For a consumer in Scotland whose builder, decorator, garage, repairer or other service provider did the work badly or not as agreed. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which applies across the UK, a trader must perform a service with reasonable care and skill; the letter asks for the work to be put right at the trader's cost or, where that is not possible, for a price reduction (sections 49, 55 and 56), and is a letter before action with 14 days to reply, then a claim in the sheriff court (simple procedure up to £5,000). Send it by email and by first class post, with photos.
- Final right to reject or price reduction after a failed repair (Scotland)
For a consumer in Scotland whose faulty goods were repaired or replaced once and are still faulty, or whom the trader did not repair or replace within a reasonable time. The letter uses the final right to reject for a refund, or keeps the goods and asks for a price reduction (section 24 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015), and is a letter before action with 14 days to reply, then simple procedure in the sheriff court. Send it to the retailer by email and by first class post, with a copy of the earlier correspondence.