I own a furniture business in Galway and I am experiencing difficulty in obtaining payment for a suite of furniture which I sold to a couple at a cost of € 5,000 over six months ago. I took a deposit of €1,500 at that time and the suite was then delivered to them. I have contacted the customers by telephone on at least three occasions looking for payment and at all times they have promised that they will pay at the end of the month. The last time I spoke to them was a month ago and I have heard nothing since. What can I do to make them pay?

The first thing to do is to send the customers a letter requesting the payment of the money, specifying a date by which it must be paid. Make it clear to them that if it is not paid by this date, you will hand the matter over to your solicitor. If the customer fails to pay, you can then ask your solicitor to issue a Civil Summons in the District Court. In this summons you will be referred to as the Plaintiff and the customers will be referred to as the Defendants.

The Civil Summons sets out your claim for the money that is due and will notify the Defendants of the return date in Court. It is important to note that the return date is not the date when the case will be heard; it is the date when the Court decides to set a future date for the hearing of your case.

If the Defendants ignore the Civil Summons, your solicitor can apply to the District Court Office to obtain a Decree, which is an order of the Court that states that you are entitled to recover from the Defendants the amount that you claimed in the Civil Summons.

However, if the Defendants dispute your claim, they will have to file a notice either with your solicitor or the District Court Clerk stating that they wish to defend the claim. In these circumstances, your solicitor will have to go to Court on the return date and obtain a hearing date. On the hearing date a judge will decide the case and, if you are the successful party, the judge will grant a Decree in your favour.

Once the Decree has been obtained, it can be served on the Defendants. If they fail to pay the amount due, your solicitor can then apply to Court for an Examination Order. This allows your solicitor to examine the Defendant's income and to ask the Court to make an Instalment Order for a certain amount of money to be paid to you each week until the amount due has been paid. If the Defendants do not comply with this Order, the Court has the power to imprison the person for a period of three months.

The cost of the legal proceedings against the Defendants will be awarded by the Court where you are successful or where the Defendants ignore the summons. You will also be entitled to interest on the amount due at eight per cent from the date of the Decree until the amount due has been paid.

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