The Process of Recovery of Bad Debt
To protect your cash flow you need to ensure that your business can collect bad debt. This is a common area of business activity and there is a well established legal process for debt collection for businesses.
- A letter of demand is sent to the debtor. This debt collection letter needs to be legally admissible and so must include; specific details of the debt, a request that payment is made by a certain date; and a warning that debt recovery options will be pursued if payment is not received by this date.
- Suing for debt. Court proceedings commence with the filing of a Statement of Claim. The Court handling the matter depends on the amount of the debt and the forms required vary so it’s important to seek legal advice at this stage.
- The way that the debtor responds to the Statement of Claim determines the next steps. They may agree to an installment order, they may not respond at all in which case a Court Judgment will be obtained or they may file a Defence.
Court Judgments
The Court has a range of options available to proceed with the collection of your money including making orders under the Civil Judgment Enforcement Act 2004 (WA). These include:
- Seizing property, where the debtors’ goods are seized and sold at auction
- Selling Real Estate
- Summons, where the debtor has to attend a public Court examination to explain their assets and liabilities
- Garnishee Order, where a percentage of their wages are given to you
- Bankruptcy/winding-up proceedings
How We Can Help
We have experienced business lawyers who are completely at home with the legal processes involved in Western Australian debt recovery services. We can help you at any stage of this process of recovering a business debt, whether it is helping you write an effective and legally sound letter of demand, or pursuing the matter through the Court system. Our debt lawyers are familiar with the process of obtaining and enforcing a Judgement and can manage the process right through to bankruptcy or company winding-up proceedings if need be.
We are also well aware of the costs of debt litigation and can advise you on whether it is commercially viable to proceed to Court.
Never Letting it Happen Again
One way to protect against bad debt is to review your contracts, trade agreements, and terms of trade. We can help you make sure that your terms are clear and your processes solid so you can avoid lengthy and costly litigation proceedings in the future.
Contact us to discuss the specific details of your business debt with an experienced debt recovery lawyer in Perth.
Ready for a consultation? Reach us at the number below. Avail our services via an appointment with a booking fee of $250 for an hour of consultation. No obligation after the initial consultation
Online Enquiry
Kean Legal Barristers & Solicitors adalah kantor hukum yang praktek di bidang keluarga dan kriminal. Kantor kita berlokasi di lantai 4, 16 Irwin Chambers, Perth. Jika anda perlu berbicara dengan pengacara yang bisa berbicara Bahasa Indonesia, silahkan telepon kantor kami dan minta bicara dengan bapak Joshua Muljohardjo.
Di bidang keluarga, kita bisa membantu dengan masalah perkawinaan, gugatan perceraian dan pembagian harta perkawinan, pengasuhan / perwalian anak, perlindungan, hukum benda, perikatan dan waris.
Di bidang kriminal kita bisa membantu anda dengan kasus lalu lintas, narkoba dan kekerasan.