World's first AI law firm recovers £7k debt in record time for price of a pint: "It's a genuine game changer"

AI and financial experts have described the world's first AI law firm that has recovered £7,000 debt for a small business in record time as a “genuine game changer”.

After only a few months since it was authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), Garfield AI is already reshaping debt recovery for UK businesses.

Early users range from sole traders to blue-chips, and professional services firms including law firms, accountancy and medical firms. 

With small businesses forced to write off billions of pounds in unpaid invoices every year, the platform slashes the time and cost of debt recovery - turning what traditionally takes hours and hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds into a process that costs only minutes and pocket change. 

AI and financial experts say the result will be a step-change in productivity across the small claims system.

Mitali Deypurkaystha, Founder/CEO at Newcastle upon Tyne-based Impact Icon AI, said: "For small business owners, chasing debts isn’t just admin. It’s exhausting and demoralising. Garfield AI lifts that mental weight. I also commend the creators for keeping Garfield AI affordable, even for solopreneurs. 

"But the current UK £30bn cashflow logjam persists because FTSE350 giants behave like schoolground bullies, imposing 90–120 day terms that crush smaller suppliers. That’s not late payment, that’s unethical payment. I fear some firms use these terms knowing a percentage of small suppliers will fold, effectively pocketing free goods and services. 

"Garfield AI demonstrates the ingeniousness of AI done right while simultaneously highlighting AI limitations. It can't recover debt before it's due because a small business owner has been browbeaten into ridiculously long payment terms. That's why these large companies need to be pressured into signing the Fair Payment Code, which stipulates payment in 30 days or less. AI can ease symptoms, but only people can fix the cause."

Omer Mehmet, Managing Director at Welling-based Trinity Finance, said it could be a gamechanger for small businesses.

He continued: "Late payments strangle small businesses, and most owners simply don’t have the time or money to chase every overdue invoice. 

"An AI tool that can send a compliant legal letter for less than the cost of a pint is a genuine gamechanger. If it works as promised, it could unlock thousands for SMEs who currently write off debts as ‘too small to fight’. Anything that gives entrepreneurs back their cashflow and headspace is a win."

Kate Underwood, Managing Director / HR Director at Southampton-based Kate Underwood HR and Training, did urge caution.

She added: "As both a small business owner and a bit of a tech geek, I love the idea of AI debt recovery — anything that makes chasing late payments quicker, cheaper and less stressful has to be a win. 

"I’ve had to write off debts in the past because the bigger companies know we don’t have the time or money to drag them through court, and they bank on us giving up. 

“But the side of me that actually enjoys reading the small print has concerns. Debt recovery isn’t just admin you can automate, it’s law — and law is messy. Shiny new tech won’t mean a thing if the process doesn’t stand up in court. If that happens, it’s not progress, it’s just another false hope for small businesses."

One of the first businesses in the world to use legal AI to recover a problematic debt was transport consultancy Mayer Brown Limited. 

From sign-up to sending a legally compliant Letter Before Action took the firm less than five minutes at a cost of just £7.50 (+VAT), less than the price of a pint of beer in a London pub.

David Bone, finance director at independent consultancy Mayer Brown Limited, said: “Using Garfield allowed us to successfully recover around £7,000 in outstanding invoices with only a few minutes of work. It is an incredibly effective and efficient tool that has really helped with debt recovery.”

In the past month alone, numerous Garfield users have seen debts paid in full after either LBAs or Claim Forms at Court were issued using the unique AI-powered legal engine.

Starting at just £2 (+VAT) for a polite legal chaser letter and moving up to £7.50 (+VAT) for a formal Letter Before Action, around 80% of cases settle at these early stages. 

If they don’t, users can escalate to issuing court claims electronically through the platform at a fraction of the price of hiring a traditional law firm, with many costs recoverable on success.

Philip Young, Co-Founder of Garfield AI, said: “Invoices should mean money in your bank, not a line gathering dust on an aged debtors’ report. With Garfield AI, businesses can recover debts of thousands of pounds with just a fraction of the time and cost traditionally involved.

“For the first time, SMEs no longer have to shelve plans of chasing outstanding debt just because they are afraid of the upheaval and cost. Too often the time to recover debt can disincentivise SME owners from doing it, but AI collapses the time from hours or even days into minutes.

“Unlocking the £11bn trapped in late payments will be a game-changer for UK business. With a faster, fairer way to recover money owed, entrepreneurs can focus less on chasing debts and more on growing their companies, creating jobs and driving innovation.”