A lawyer's letter is not a court judgment, but it is the start of a process that gets recorded. The one certain mistake is to ignore it. The second is to answer it while angry.
A letter of demand is the formal statement of a position: what the other side claims, what they require, and within what time. It is not a claim, it is not a judgment, and it proves nothing by itself. It is, however, almost always the last step before the courts, and the way you handle it is recorded.
Two things to keep from the first moment: the date you received it and how it was delivered. Both can matter later.
The first twenty four hours: what not to do
Do not telephone the other side or their lawyer angry. Do not reply in writing the same hour. Do not admit, do not promise payments, do not explain your side in messages.
Anything you say or write in the heat of it can be read out later in court, without the tone and without the context. The letter was written calmly, by a professional, with a purpose. The reply deserves the same.
Build the file
Before any reply, gather everything that touches the matter: the contract if there is one, invoices and receipts, the correspondence and messages in their order, and the names of anyone who was involved. Do not delete anything, including what looks unhelpful. A file that is complete is worth more than a file that is flattering.
Then assess, honestly
Two questions belong in this assessment before any of the others. The first is whether the claim is still in time: contract claims run for six years under section 7(1) of the Limitation of Actions Law, 66(I)/2012, and negligence for three under section 6(2), and time is counted from 1 January 2016 for rights that accrued before that date. The second is whether the letter is a pre-action step the rules expect. Under the Civil Procedure Rules 2023 pre-action contact is not optional in certain categories of case, and a failure to engage with it is taken into account on costs, which is a reason to answer rather than to wait.
There are three possible answers, and only one of them is a fight. The claim may be right, in which case the question is terms rather than liability, and early terms are better terms. It may be partly right, which is the commonest, and the value lies in separating the part that is from the part that is not. Or it may be wrong, in which case the reply that says so with the documents attached usually ends it.
The reply itself
A good reply is short, dated, and states a position rather than an argument. It does not concede what has not been checked, it does not insult, and it does not promise a date that will be missed. Where more time is genuinely needed to answer properly, the reply says so and gives a date, which is itself a position.
What ignoring it costs
Silence does not make a claim go away. It removes the cheapest opportunity to settle it, and under the pre-action protocols the conduct of the parties before proceedings can be taken into account by the court when it awards costs.
Making an enquiry
Briefly describe your matter and mention any deadline. You do not need to gather documents before getting in touch.
Information we may need later
Once we confirm we can act, we will explain what to provide. The following information is for the subsequent review, not your first message.
The letter itself with its envelope or the message it arrived in, the date you received it, and the file you have gathered. If the deadline in the letter is short, send it before the file is complete rather than after the deadline has passed.
The one line in a reply that can cost you years
Before you write anything, read section 17 of the Limitation of Actionable Rights Law, Law 66(I)/2012. Limitation is interrupted and treated as beginning to run afresh from the start where the person liable acknowledges the right of action against them in writing, and, in the case of a money debt, where they complete payment of part of it exceeding 50 per cent of the total, including any interest payable.
Two practical consequences follow. A well-meant reply along the lines of "I accept I owe it, but I cannot pay right now" can hand the sender six fresh years on a claim that may already have been out of time. And a good-faith part payment of more than half does the same without a word being written.
In the other direction, section 20 provides that the court does not take limitation into account of its own motion, and section 21 that it is raised by pleading, by any party with a legitimate interest. Limitation does not save you by itself; it has to be pleaded. Section 22 then allows the court to extend the limitation period by up to two years where it considers that just and reasonable in the circumstances, so expiry is not always the end of the matter either.
And section 19: payments made by a debtor in ignorance that the limitation period had expired are not recoverable. What you paid without knowing you no longer owed it does not come back.
How old the claim against you can be
Section 7(1) of the same Law gives six years for an action relating to a contract, from the day the cause of action was complete. Section 7(2) cuts that to three years for the agreed or reasonable fee of an advocate, doctor, dentist, architect, civil engineer, contractor or other independent professional. Section 8 gives six years where nothing else provides otherwise, and section 3 fixes the start: when the cause of action is complete.
The date that matters, then, is not the date on the letter. It is the date the claim arose, and it is the first thing we look at when you send it to us.
Questions we are asked
Can replying make my position worse?
It can, if the reply acknowledges the debt. Section 17(a) of Law 66(I)/2012 interrupts limitation and starts it running afresh from the start where the person liable acknowledges the right of action against them in writing. A reply saying "I owe it but cannot pay now" is exactly that. A reply that asks for particulars, puts the sender to proof and reserves your position fully is not.
Does a small payment to show good faith do any harm?
It depends on the size. Section 17(b) interrupts limitation on a money debt where the debtor completes payment of part of it exceeding 50 per cent of the total, including any interest payable. Below that threshold the payment alone does not restart the clock, but the message sent with it can amount to a written acknowledgement under paragraph (a), so the wording matters as much as the amount.
How old can the claim against me be?
Section 7(1) gives six years for an action relating to a contract, from the day the cause of action was complete. Section 7(2) gives only three years for the agreed or reasonable fee of an advocate, doctor, dentist, architect, civil engineer, contractor or other independent professional. Section 8 gives six years where nothing else provides otherwise, and section 3 fixes the start at completion of the cause of action rather than at the date of the letter.
If the claim is out of time, is it over?
Not automatically. Section 20 provides that the court does not take limitation into account of its own motion, and section 21 that it must be raised by pleading by a party with a legitimate interest. Unraised, it is not considered. Section 22 also allows the court to extend the limitation period by up to two years where it considers that just and reasonable in the circumstances.
I paid something that turned out to be time-barred. Can I recover it?
No. Section 19 provides in terms that payments made by the debtor in ignorance that the limitation period had expired are not recoverable. That is why the date is checked before the payment rather than after it.
Is a lawyer's letter legally binding?
No. It is the formal statement of a position: what is claimed, what is required and by when. It is not a claim, not a judgment, and proves nothing by itself. It is usually the last step before proceedings.
Can I just ignore it?
Silence does not make the claim go away. It removes the cheapest opportunity to settle, and under the pre-action protocols the conduct of the parties before proceedings can be taken into account when the court awards costs.
Should I reply straight away?
Not the same hour, and not while angry. Anything said in the heat of it can be read out later without the tone and without the context. Record the date of receipt and how it was delivered, gather the file, and then reply with a position rather than an argument.
What if part of the claim is right?
That is the commonest situation, and the value lies in separating the part that is right from the part that is not. Where the claim is right, the question is terms rather than liability, and early terms are usually better terms.
Related reading
If the letter is about money owed, the route ahead is in recovering a debt step by step. What proceedings cost is in what a court case costs. The firm's work on the creditor side is described in debt recovery.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws and their application can change, and individual circumstances differ. For advice on your own matter, contact Klitos Platis at klitos@kleanthousplatis.com or telephone +357 22 680 330.
Klitos Platis
Advocate, Partner
Kleanthous & Platis LLC, Nicosia · Published 22 July 2026
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