We pursue a policy of selective outsourcing; in other words whilst we welcome receiving your problem or disputed accounts we will not undertake the day-to-day running of your entire ledger, produce invoices for you, or write letters on your letterhead. When we contact your defaulting customer we do so as a mediating third party acting on your behalf.
What We Can Do To Help - Out of Court Collection
Our aim is to produce early settlement of your invoices or the early resolution of any dispute. We therefore approach each account individually and on its own merits, using techniques we know to be effective.
We do not write 'form' letters, or rely on computerised collection systems; it was always bad credit management practice and is now more of a waste of time and money than ever.
We do not write letters to anonymous entities like 'The Accounts Department', because such letters tend to go astray within the customer company and may never reach the person best able to deal with them. Rather, we make the effort to identify and contact key personnel and work with them directly.
Where necessary, we investigate and negotiate the settlement of any dispute - however long it takes. Our personnel are skilled at being pleasant, reasonable, and efficient whilst remaining firm.
Where immediate settlement proves to be impossible, we negotiate (subject to your approval) the most advantageous proposal, and monitor its progress until final settlement or customer default.
Whenever possible, we collect interest under your Terms & Conditions. However, in order for us to do that, your company must be able to prove that its defaulting customer was aware of its Terms and had agreed to abide by them when the contract was made. Click here and scroll down to "Using Documentation Correctly" for details of what your company needs to do in order to furnish such proof.
If we are not able to collect interest under your own Terms, we ask for statutory interest in accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 as amended by the Late Payment of Commercial Debt Regulations, which came into force in 2002. The Regulations enable UK businesses to claim statutory interest in respect of all contracts for the supply of goods or services (including Hire Contracts, but NOT including Consumer Credit Agreements, Mortgages, or pledges and charges where some other form of security is usually supplied) entered into on or after 7th August 2002 where both parties to the contract were acting in the course of a business. The rate of statutory interest under the Regulations is fixed by the Government twice in every year on the 1st of January and the 1st of June. It is usually much lower than the interest required by professionally prepared Terms & Conditions.
In either case we also apply for the Statutory Collection Charge, in accordance with the 1998 Act.
All moneys recovered are forwarded directly to you by your customer by whatever method you prefer. We do not receive or hold money due to you from your customers.
Our fees for out of Court collections are not rendered on a time cost basis. Clients are billed for successful recoveries on a reasonable percentage basis. Where collection proves impossible, we apply a minimal handling charge. All charges are agreed in writing in advance.
What We Can Do To Help - 'Going Legal'
If Court action becomes necessary, and you and your defaulting debtor are based in the UK, we can usually issue proceedings for you.
If you and your defaulting debtor are based in the European Union or elsewhere in the world, we can arrange for have proceedings issued on your behalf by our associated legal professionals to ensure that your brush with the law is as smooth and trouble-free as possible. All our professional contacts are well-established firms of Solicitors or Attorneys with an excellent reputation for collecting commercial debts efficiently.
In either case all remedies open to you are discussed and explained in detail so that you may make an informed decision as to the best course of action, and all fees and disbursements are set out and agreed in advance. There are no hidden charges, no unexpected calls on your funds, no unpleasant surprises.
In the event you decide to proceed, we process or forward all relevant documentation on your behalf immediately upon receipt of your instructions, and thereafter keep you regularly apprised of events as they take place.
Where moneys are recovered, these will be forwarded to you, inclusive of interest, either by us or the firm of Solicitors or attorneys acting for you. No fees are deducted. You will be billed as agreed for services by us at the end of the action.
What We Would Need From You
FULL instructions, together with copies of all relevant documentation - orders, delivery notes, invoices, credit notes, letters, e-mails, notes of telephone conversations and internal memos - and a copy of your company's Terms & Conditions.
