Debt Collection Services, Flensburg; Ina Reese, Solicitor

Out-of-court debt recovery

The first step is often the most effec­ti­ve: a for­mal demand for pay­ment from a soli­ci­tor, set­ting a clear dead­line, is often more effec­ti­ve than sen­ding ano­ther remin­der on your own initia­ti­ve. We include default inte­rest and legal cos­ts in our cla­im and assess whe­ther a sett­le­ment can be rea­ched out of court, par­ti­cu­lar­ly if you wish to con­ti­nue the busi­ness relationship.

Judicial debt collection proceedings

If a demand for pay­ment pro­ves unsuc­cessful, we will app­ly for a court order for pay­ment on your behalf. In the case of undis­pu­ted claims, this rou­te is usual­ly quicker and more cost-effec­ti­ve than taking legal action. If the other par­ty lodges an objec­tion, we will dis­cuss the next steps with you; if they do not, we will app­ly for an enforce­ment order, which forms the basis for enforce­ment proceedings.

Enforcement

If the deb­tor fails to pay vol­un­t­a­ri­ly despi­te a final and bin­ding jud­ge­ment, we will initia­te enforce­ment pro­cee­dings. Depen­ding on the cir­cum­s­tances, this may invol­ve the attach­ment of bank accounts and wages, the sei­zu­re of pro­per­ty by the bai­liff, or the obtai­ning of a state­ment of assets. We sel­ect the method of enforce­ment that offers the best chan­ce of suc­cess in the spe­ci­fic case and over­see the pro­cess until its conclusion.

Ongoing receivables management for businesses

Bad debts can often be mini­mi­sed at an ear­ly stage. We review and draft your pay­ment terms and gene­ral terms and con­di­ti­ons, advi­se on set­ting up a struc­tu­red dun­ning pro­cess, and act as your dedi­ca­ted point of cont­act for your day-to-day accounts receiva­ble manage­ment, ensu­ring that out­stan­ding items are iden­ti­fied at an ear­ly stage rather than piling up unnoticed.

Defence against unjustified claims

Not every cla­im made against you is valid. We exami­ne the basis of the cla­im, any limi­ta­ti­on peri­ods and for­mal errors in the dun­ning or legal pro­cee­dings, and repre­sent you in dealings with cre­di­tors, debt coll­ec­tion agen­ci­es and in court. Par­ti­cu­lar­ly in the case of exces­si­ve or unfoun­ded claims, it is worth having a soli­ci­tor review the mat­ter befo­re you pay.

Tax implications of bad debts

As a soli­ci­tor and spe­cia­list in tax law, we always con­sider bad debts from a tax per­spec­ti­ve as well. Uncoll­ec­ti­ble debts affect VAT and can be clai­med for tax pur­po­ses as a par­ti­al wri­te-down or a full wri­te-off. We pro­vi­de a one-stop ser­vice to cla­ri­fy when a debt is dee­med uncoll­ec­ti­ble and how this affects your accounts, wit­hout the need to switch bet­ween a solicitor’s and an accoun­tancy firm.