How to draw up an instalment plan that can be enforced
The difference between an agreement that is a promise and an agreement you can take to the bailiff's court is a single clause.
You are left with an agreement that can be taken straight to the bailiff's court if it is breached — without having to obtain a judgment first.
Step by step
- 01
Establish whether the debtor can pay — not whether they want to
An instalment plan is only worth something if it can be kept. Set the instalment to match ability to pay, not what you would like to receive. A plan that breaks down after two months has cost you two months.
- 02
Write the entire outstanding balance into the agreement
Principal, interest, fees and costs — stated as at a specific date. An agreement about "the balance" with no figures is an agreement about nothing on the day you need to rely on it.
- 03
State that the whole balance falls due on default
Without that clause you can claim only the single missed instalment, not the rest. With it, you can go after the whole amount the first time an instalment is not paid.
This is where it goes wrongSet out what counts as default — and how many days late an instalment has to be.
- 04
Add the enforcement clause
It is the one sentence that decides everything: that the agreement may serve as a basis for enforcement. Without it, you must obtain a judgment before the bailiff's court will touch the case. With it, you can go straight to the bailiff's court.
- 05
Get it signed — and keep it
An agreement no one has signed is a note of a conversation. The signature is what turns the paper into a foundation.
This is where it most often goes wrong
Not because anyone is careless, but because the mistakes are easy to make and only surface once it is too late.
You agree the plan verbally over the phone
It is not invalid, but it is impossible to use. The day the debtor stops paying, your own memory is your documentation.
You forget the interest
If the agreement says nothing about interest, you typically cannot claim it afterwards. An instalment plan running over two years without interest is free credit.
You do not follow up when an instalment is missed
A plan nobody watches is not a plan. React to the first missed instalment — that is where the acceleration clause earns its keep.