What is a pre-sue report?

Winning a judgment against someone with nothing is losing slowly. Court fees, solicitor costs and months of effort convert into a piece of paper the defendant cannot pay. The pre-sue report exists to prevent that outcome by testing recoverability before a penny is spent on proceedings.

What the report covers

A typical pre-sue investigation confirms the defendant's current residential address, which doubles as the address for service, then builds the financial picture: Land Registry searches across every address linked to the subject, with ownership and estimated equity on any property found; directorships and shareholdings through Companies House, including whether those companies are trading or hollow; adverse credit indicators, county court judgments and any insolvency history; employment status where establishable; and at higher levels, vehicles and other visible assets. Tremark's Level 2 Pre-Sue Asset Report, at £250 plus VAT, is designed around exactly this decision, with lighter and deeper levels either side of it from £150.

How the answer changes strategy

Three outcomes are common. The defendant has assets, most often property equity: proceed, and the report doubles as the roadmap for enforcement or a charging order after judgment. The defendant has judgments, insolvency markers and nothing chargeable: stop, or park the debt and monitor, saving the entire cost of futile litigation. Or the defendant looks empty but the report shows the poverty is administrative, assets sitting behind a company or second address, in which case proceedings can be targeted where recovery genuinely lies.

When to commission one

Any claim large enough that issuing it costs real money justifies the check; insolvency practitioners, credit managers and litigators use pre-sue reports as routine gatekeeping. The same investigation refreshed after judgment becomes an enforcement report, telling you which of the court's tools will actually bite.