Debt Recovery

When you are owed money, you need experts to recover it.

By the time you have visited this website, it is likely that you will have one or more people or businesses who oew you money. You will likely have tried already to keep the lines of communication open and send them a gentle reminder for payment, which has not yielded the result you seek.

How we recover money for our clients?

We take a no-nonsense approach.

We begin by sending a debtor a formal Letter of Demand that clearly sets out the details of the money owing, and gives them a deadline by which to pay. If that deadline passes and they still have not paid (or responded to your letter to your satisfaction), you will need to consider commencing legal action to recover the money.

In all of your dealings with someone who owes you money, we strongly recommend keeping records of all your interactions with them. It’s a good idea to note your conversations with them in a diary, and keep copies of all relevant documents – including any written agreements, or emails, letter or text messages about the matter. Those documents could be important evidence to back up your claim if the matter goes before a court.

If the party that owes you money (debtor) is an individual, you will need to sue them and get judgment in a court first. There are various options post-judgment, including seeking a further court order which will result in compulsory deductions from that person’s salary by their employer or bankruptcy.

If the debtor is a company, you have even more options:

• commence proceedings in a court of law (which court will depend upon the amount);

or

• commence the wind-up process which starts with a creditor’s statutory demand (in case where the amount of the debt cannot be disputed).

All the above are powerful mechanisms when considered carefully and implemented correctly.

Talking to an experienced solicitor about your case at the beginning, can help you get a better result in the end.

At PCL Lawyers we can help you in one or more of the following ways:

• providing advice on the debt collection process, so that you can better understand all the steps that need to be taken;
• ascertaining the correct legal identity of the debtor – it is sometimes easy to name the wrong defendant, particularly when dealing with a business or trading name, but a Court or Tribunal order won’t be enforceable if it is made against the wrong person or company;
• reviewing and providing advice on your claim, so that you can recover everything that’s owing to you;
• writing formal letters of demand to the debtor (sometimes a letter from a solicitor shows the other party that you’re serious about taking the matter further, and can mean you get paid sooner);
• negotiating a payment plan or settlement with the debtor;
• preparing court documents on your behalf – it is imperative that the claim that you file with the court or tribunal clearly sets out the details of the debt and why it is owing to you; we can draft your claim documents for you so that your case has a strong foundation;
• once you have obtained judgment against the debtor, advising you on your options for enforcing the judgment; and
• defending you in any of the above matters.

We understand that when you’re owed money, you want to be paid as quickly as possible At PCL Lawyers, our experienced solicitors can help you through all or part of the debt recovery process, and give you practical and cost-sensitive advice, so you get paid sooner.