Cash flow is the lifeblood of every business but, in these difficult economic times, we are all faced with customers who can’t or won’t pay on time. Debt collection can be a difficult and complex area of business with legal options having to be balanced against commercial realities. Cavan solicitor Helena Brady has extensive experience in commercial and private debt recovery and can provide straightforward advice on dealing with overdue debts.
At all stages throughout a debt collection case, we give our clients a definite breakdown of costs involved and a clear picture of where we are headed.
The Debt Collection Process
Letters of Demand
Helena will advise you on drafting effective demand letters in advance of formal legal action. These can be enough to prompt the debtor into full or partial payment payment or entering a genuine negotiation process whereby costly proceeding can be avoided. We can also advise you on your rights to retain title over unpaid for goods and services where the debtor is in receivership, examination or continues to trade.
Initiating Legal Proceedings
Depending on the amount of debt involved, Brady Solicitors can issue proceedings in the District Court, Circuit Court or High Court. Once a formal summons has been served many debtors will opt to negotiate over the debt rather than face the cost and publicity of a court appearance. If the debtor decides to defend the proceedings we will guide you through presenting a case to prove the legitimacy of your invoices. If the court decides in your favour, or if the debtor refuses to respond to the proceedings, we can then make an application to the court for judgment against your debtor.
Enforcement of Proceedings
Once we have obtained judgment against the debtor, we look at all the available options to come up with the most effective way of enforcing the judgment. The options available will depend on the level and type of debt and can include, an Instalment Order, Attachment Order, Judgment Mortgage or sending the judgment to the Sheriff’s Office for enforcement.