DEBT
RECOVERY
Getting money owed to you can sometimes get complicated depending on a number of factors. A lot of times, creditor(s)—the person(s) who is to have money—are put in difficult, and quite often helpless, positions when a debtor simply is refusing to cooperate. The complexities, costs and processes often lead to a general hesitance of many creditors to consider initiating legal proceedings.
However, even in the absence of a formally drawn up contract as proof of debt, a creditor can still get favorable outcomes through court if he/she can establish that a debt is owed to him/her by a debtor.
How we help clients
At Atoll Chambers, we offer our clients cost-effective solutions to recover unpaid debts from debtors—both through the legal proceedings or by negotiating settlements. Alternatively, our lawyers can assist you in claims of debt recovery which you are facing by advising and representing you.
With our experience in successfully having both claimed for—and defended—clients in debt claims and proceedings, our lawyers are more than capable to help you in ensuring your interests are protected in a claim involving debt recovery.
Frequently Asked Questions
The question of whether to pursue an action to recover debts owed to oneself is always a difficult question for a number of reasons—is it worth it? Would it cost me more than what I will recover? Would it impact future business relationships?
A decision to initiate action for recovery of debt is suggested to be taken after careful consideration of the following factors:
- Whether the amount owed is significant;
- Quality of documents or evidence available to establish the existence of such debt;
- Financial position of the debtor and his/her willingness to pay;
- Knowledge of whereabouts of debtor’s current place of residence and contact details;
- Time elapsed or duration since the debt have incurred;
The recovery process of a debt depends on a number of factors which, almost always, reflect to the debtor’s willingness to cooperate, the debtor’s financial position and quality of documents or evidence available.
Generally, we commence the recovery by sending a formal demand notice to the debtor on your behalf demanding settlement of the debt. Generally, cooperative debtors often leads to out-of-court settlements through settlement agreements while with debtors who dispute to the existence of the debt or some other material facts, will take longer in courts to settle.
The evidentiary requirement depends on how the debt was taken. For instance, the ideal scenario would be the debt taken following execution of a well written contract between the creditor and the debtor that covers situations of default or non-payment.
However, this may not always be the case. In the absence of a written contract, you may have other documentary evidence which may be helpful such as bank statements, invoices, purchase orders, bank transfer/deposit slips, emails, text and instant messages exchanges or witnesses to verbal contract.
It is important to note that even without direct evidence, it may be possible to infer the agreement from other evidence, and therefore it is always important to retain all documents involving money transfers and debt at all times.
- Financial position of the debtor;
- Debtor’s willingness to pay or settle;
- Complexity of the dispute involved;
- Quality of documentation and evidence available;
- Whereabouts of debtor such as current place of residence and contact details;
- Time elapsed or duration since the debt have incurred;
Depending on the amount due to be recovered and likelihood of success in recovery, we offer clients—on a case by case bases and, at our sole discretion—to take up recovery on contingency or success basis. Which basically means, you will not be making any payments to us upfront and instead, we will be deducting a percentage or a portion of the total amount recovered. All other instances, our standard billing methods shall apply.