Debt Collectors Sydney

Generally a business or an individual will seek the assistance of a Debt Recovery Lawyer after its own attempts to recover the debt have been unsuccessful, either through a lack of response from the debtor, repeated broken promises to pay or the debtor refusing to make payment. A debt collection lawyer can also be engaged where a debtor raises a dispute with the debt, as a debt recovery lawyer can provide valuable advice on the strength and validity of your debt.

Through our Debt Appraisal service,  one of our experienced lawyers can assist in assessing your debts.

In most states in Australia, a debt can be recovered for up to six years after the debt first arose. If you have concerns over whether your debt may be too old or is about to expire, you should seek urgent Debt Appraisal advice to determine whether your debt can still be pursued. There is no minimum length of time for pursuing a debt, provided the debt has fallen due.

There are a number of reasons for choosing to engage a debt recover lawyer instead of a debt collection agency, including the following:

1. A Letter of Demand from a law firm lets your debtors know that you are serious about recovery your money;
2. A good debt recovery lawyer should be able to handle the whole debt recovery process in house from start to finish, without having to refer to matter to a third party, which can delay the recovery of your debt and create additional costs for you;
3. In the event that a debtor raises a dispute, a qualified debt recovery lawyer can give you legal advice on the strength and validity of your debt before you start incurring costs to recover the same;
4. Lawyers have strict rules in terms of disclosure of their costs and what they can charge, meaning you will have full transparency of costs and less chance of hidden fees. Lawyers also do not generally charge commissions on the amounts recovered, meaning there is more recovery for you;

Debt recovery lawyers will handle your matter professionally, meaning you don’t need to worry about you or your business getting a bad reputation due to third party’s ways of collecting money for you.

Whilst a good Letter of Demand on a lawyer’s letterhead can often result in prompt payment of the debt without further action, in the event that the debt is not paid or the debtor disputes the debt, the next step will generally be to commence court proceedings against the debtor with a view to obtaining a court judgment that the money is payable, which you can enforce using various court methods.

In the event that you commence court proceedings against your debtor you will generally be able to recover a portion of your legal costs in addition to the debt. The amount of recoverable costs is set by the Court and depends on the amount of the debt.

A Letter of Demand is a letter formally demanding payment of your debt within a specified period of time (generally 7 days). A Letter of Demand serves as a final warning to the debtor that payment must be made and if ignored, legal action may be pursued.

A Statement of Claim is a formal, legal document, which is used to commence legal proceedings to recover the debt. The Statement of Claim must set out the factual matters which give rise to the debt and the details of your claim. Once the Statement of Claim is filed it must be served on the debtor so they are aware of the commencement of proceedings. The debtor will then have 28 days to either pay the debt or file a defense, failing which you can enter judgment against the debtor for the debt, plus costs and interest.

Unlike many debt collection agencies, who can charge up to 20% or 30% commission on the amount recovered, Woods and Day Solicitors do not charge any commission on amounts recovered. Instead we charge a fixed fee for each step taken in the debt recovery process for undefended matters. In most cases, a proportion of these fees are recoverable from the debtor in addition to the debt.

Whilst we are always happy to arrange a face to face meeting to discuss your matter, there is no requirement to come in our office to see a lawyer prior to issuing a Letter of Demand or commencing legal proceedings. In most cases we are able to obtain the relevant information to issue the Letter of Demand through email or telephone. For straightforward debts, you can even submit your instructions for a Letter of Demand through our website by clicking on this link and following the prompts.

Woods & Day Solicitors can assist with both individual and business debt collection.

Your debt may still be recoverable even if the debtor has moved overseas. If you have a debtor who no longer resides in Australia please contact our office to discuss your options for collection.