featured-image-posts-800w
No Comments

DEBT COLLECTOR OR DEBT COLLECTION LAWYER? WHICH IS BEST FOR DEBT COLLECTION?

Debt collection is difficult at the best of times. To make debt collection easier, it is natural to turn to debt collectors or debt collection lawyers to assist. But who is best placed to deal with your specific situation? To answer this, it is worth thinking about the nature of the relationship you have with the debtor.

The debt collection relationship between debtor and creditor:

Debt collection can arise in all manner of situations. It can happen when a trusted and valuable commercial associate falls on hard times, when an opportunistic borrower thinks they can get away with not paying their bills, or for countless other reasons. The nature of the debtor/creditor relationship can be integral to the approach. [...]  READ MORE →

featured-image-posts-800w
No Comments

How can property, of a bankrupt, not be “property of the bankrupt”?

By Jacob Reardon, a solicitor of Matthews Folbigg, in our Insolvency, Restructuring and Debt Recovery Group

One of the most entrenched distinctions between the personal and corporate insolvency regimes in Australia is the manner in which the property of the insolvent individual is treated. In a liquidation, for example, the title to the company’s property remains with the company upon the appointment of a liquidator, who is only an agent for the company. However, the position is fundamentally different under the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth) (“the Act”). [...]  READ MORE →

featured-image-posts-800w
No Comments

Creditors Statutory Demands

Creditors Statutory Demands – Short Cut to Cash or Catastrophe?

Creditors Statutory Demands are a relatively cheap but powerful tool which can produce significant results quickly and efficiently, saving months on a long drawn out debt recovery process. However, with great power comes significant risk, and creditors need to understand when and how best to make use of this short cut, without getting lost in a labyrinth of litigation.

What is a Statutory Demand?

A statutory demand is a formal prescribed notice issued to a debtor company by a creditor pursuant to section 459E of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (“the Act”). The demand is for the debtor to pay the outstanding debts within the statutory period of 21 days, or be presumed to be insolvent and face the risk of a winding up application being filed against the debtor company. Issuing a statutory demand however is subject to certain criteria stipulated in the Act. Section 459E states that a statutory demand can be issued to a person in respect of one or more debts, totalling the statutory minimum of $2,000 and must: [...]  READ MORE →

featured-image-posts-800w
No Comments

Collecting Money: which court should I pick?

By Ewurama Appiah a Law Clerk at Matthews Folbigg in the Insolvency, Restructuring and Debt Recovery Group

Do you have a debt to collect and are you unsure in which court to file your claim? Read on to find out more information on the steps you should take to ensure you maximise your ability to recover that debt!

Debt recovery through the courts is largely regulated by state and territory law and the procedural rules of the courts. Recovery of debts may include the repossession of assets or other legal enforcement of security interests. [...]  READ MORE →

slider-4-people-sitting-1200x801
No Comments

Why do It Alone? Engage a Debt Collection Lawyer

By Keely Wunsch, Law Clerk at Matthews Folbigg in the Insolvency, Restructuring and Debt Recovery Group

You’re not alone if you have performed a service, provided a product/good, loaned money or entered an agreement and have not been paid what you are owed. Debt collection is a pervasive issue affecting individuals, businesses, and organisations. Handling debt collection alone can be arduous, time consuming and tricky. Instead, creditors would be well advised to consider engaging a specialist debt collection lawyer. This can ensure a streamlined process, technical expertise and commercial know-how, allowing creditors to avoid the stress and uncertainty associated with going it alone. [...]  READ MORE →

featured-image-posts-800w
No Comments

Effective options to recover debts in NSW

Effective options to recover debts in NSW – What can I do to maximise success

By Ewurama Appiah a Law Clerk at Matthews Folbigg in the Insolvency, Restructuring and Debt Recovery Group

With changing economic landscapes in New South Wales, the need to recover debts can often pose challenges for creditors. However, there are a range of actions that you can take to maximise your process to recover debts. Here are some steps that you can take to ensure your debt recovery process has the best chance of success: [...]  READ MORE →

featured-image-posts-800w
No Comments

Debt Recovery for Small to Medium Businesses

Debt recovery – All small/medium business owners have been here before – you have taken the time and care to provide your quality goods or services to a customer, and when it comes time for them to pay, you get radio silence or a refusal to pay. Your phone calls, texts and emails with payment reminders and attempts to follow up have been unsuccessful, and now, weeks or months later, you are exhausted and still have a large unpaid invoice, plus all the time and money you have spent on debt collection services. [...]  READ MORE →

featured-image-posts-800w
No Comments

Security for Costs Order

Security for Costs: How to not get dragged down by the impecunious Plaintiff

A successful defendant can often be left with a significant legal bill despite a court ordering the plaintiff to pay their costs of the proceeding – winning the battle but losing the war.

Imagine you find yourself as a defendant in proceedings that you never saw coming and  which should ultimately never have happened. The plaintiff’s claims may lack merit and have very low prospects of success, but they commenced proceedings against you anyway in a desperate attempt to recover money that they lost as a consequence of their own actions. After all of the hours of stress, sleepless nights, phone calls, meetings, and thousands of dollars of legal fees, you and your legal team emerge from litigation victorious, with the plaintiff to pay your costs of the proceeding – only to find out, the plaintiff has no money, no assets and is unable to pay your legal fees. [...]  READ MORE →

Law and Justice , Legality concept, Judge Gavel, Law book and Scales of Justice on a black wooden background, law library concept.
No Comments

Dotting the I’s, and crossing the T’s – the perils of creditors statutory demands

By Jeffrey Brown a Solicitor of Matthews Folbigg, in our Insolvency, Restructuring and Debt Recovery Group.

The slightest slip of the pen can lead to disastrous consequences when you are dealing with creditors statutory demands, as a recent Supreme Court case demonstrates.

VO Group Australia Pty Limited (“VO”) was making an application to set aside a statutory demand that had been issued on it by Watpac Construction Pty Limited (“Watpac”).  Watpac in turn alleged that the application was made outside the 21 day time limit for making such an application and was invalid. [...]  READ MORE →

9
No Comments

Challenging Demands

By Jacob Reardon a Solicitor of Matthews Folbigg, in our Insolvency, Restructuring and Debt Recovery Group.

Section 459G(1) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (“the Act”) allows a debtor company served with a statutory demand to apply to the Court to have it set aside. Under s 459G(2) any such application must be filed within the 21 day statutory limitation period. This is a strict 21 days and generally cannot be extended.

The operation of s 459G and the strict 21 days limit has led to some controversy in situations where a debtor company has been served with a statutory demand, but does not become aware of the service until after the expiry of the 21 day period. How could it file an application to set aside a demand it did not know about? [...]  READ MORE →

slider-4-people-sitting-1200x801
No Comments

WHY JUST DO DEBT COLLECTION WHEN YOU CAN HAVE A DEBT COLLECTION LAWYER!

By Anica Cunanan, Solicitor at Matthews Folbigg in the Insolvency, Restructuring and Debt Recovery Group

With the current economic crisis and the increase in the cost of living, debt collection is also on the rise. We have found that creditors are pursuing debt collection, no matter the quantum of that debt. Creditors are becoming less patient and less lenient with informal debt collection and want to see more formal, efficient and effective debt collection methods, sooner.

Debt collection by commencing proceedings tends to be the last resort in the debt collection process. However, in current times plenty of creditors have decided to skip the first few steps, and jump straight to formal debt collection. There are numerous creditors who are simply taking a much “harder” approach with debt collection and commencing proceedings from the “get go.” This can be an efficient and effective approach to debt collection, but it would be sensible not to apply a “one size fits all” approach to debt collection. Many of a creditor’s debt collection decisions should be made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the debt collection sum, debt collection fees already incurred, and any known factors regarding the debt or the debtor which will make a particular debt collection method most effective. [...]  READ MORE →

8
No Comments

WINDING UP DEBT COLLECTION!

By Anica Cunanan, Solicitor at Matthews Folbigg in the Insolvency, Restructuring and Debt Recovery Group

Debt collection is winding up as interest rates increase and margins are squeezed.  Generally, creditors want a debt collection process which will recover the maximum amount of any debt for the least amount of work and cost.

Well, what debt collection short cuts are there? When reviewing your debt collection process, what other options exist besides litigation?

Debt collection should not be a “one size, fits all.” When formulating or reviewing your debt collection processes, make sure you understand the advantages and disadvantages of each debt collection avenue and tailor this to particular debt collection situation. A good debt collection system will factor in multiple issues such as the nature and amount of the debt, as well as the circumstances attitude and likely response of the debtor company. A good debt collection system will help you determine which debt collection avenue is appropriate. [...]  READ MORE →