Type of refusal
Non-payment with a counterparty in United Kingdom
The counterparty in a non-payment refusal is whoever signed the agreement or was named in the underlying judgment, not whoever actually received the funds. Before any procedure starts, what can be established is the counterparty's registered identity, its known assets, and which recognition route a foreign judgment would use to reach the UK. Which authority has jurisdiction here depends on the applicable procedural rule.
Who is actually on the other side
Most UK counterparties in these disputes are private limited companies, though individuals and unincorporated vehicles appear too. Companies House is the public register: it shows the registered address, current and former directors, filing history, and any strike-off, dissolution, or insolvency notice against the entity. None of that confirms who controls the money, only who is legally named.
A company in good standing can still hold no assets; a struck-off or dissolved one changes the calculation, since a judgment against an entity that no longer exists needs a separate claim against whoever operated it. Background on the jurisdiction is at the UK jurisdiction page. Other refusal types here are indexed at the non-payment refusal hub, with further reading at O1 insights.
What to secure before the counterparty reacts
Preserve documents showing the obligation and the refusal: the agreement, payment instructions, bank confirmations, and messages where payment was promised or refused. Store copies outside any account the counterparty could restrict.
- Identify known assets and their location: accounts, property, shareholdings, receivables.
- Record communications about the refusal without alerting the counterparty in advance.
- Treat promises to freeze funds or reverse a transfer with caution; interim measures depend on the facts of the case, not advance promises.
Related mechanics are covered in payment and redemption defaults, and recovering debt after payments stop is discussed in this insight.
Where a judgment would have to be enforced
Brexit ended the frameworks built on Brussels Ia and the Lugano Convention [N124]. The applicable route depends on where and when the judgment was obtained.
Hague 2019 covers proceedings started from 1 July 2025 between contracting states [N120]; its UK scope depends on declarations not yet disclosed. Hague 2005 remains available for exclusive choice-of-court judgments, unaffected by Hague 2019 [N121]. Otherwise, a fresh common-law claim on the debt applies [N123]. Legalisation follows the Apostille Convention, in force in the UK since 24 January 1965, with one reservation and thirteen territorial extensions [N403].
Which route fits is confirmed once the origin and decision type are known, not on this page. See enforcement from Cyprus to the UK and enforcing a judgment in the UK.
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