Lots of collection litigation is rolling into the firm again. The talk of the R word, the increase in interest rates are all coming together to have people take a hard look at their receivables. Of course, the fact we’re just into the last quarter of 2022 impacts that as well.
So, how do we help you get paid?
Step one (usually) is to send out a letter to the party who owes you money giving them a set timeline to pay or we’ll sue.
Over the past 29 years I’d say about 60% of the demand letters result in payment. Something about getting a lawyers letter, instead of a collection agency that can’t do anything but refer to a lawyer, that brings out the cheque book (or 2022 equivalent).
If the letter doesn’t work, we sue. Plain and simple. Let’s issue the claim, serve the claim and wait to see if the debtor defends. We don’t delay this step because the longer time passes, the harder it is to collect the judgment – we want to get you paid while there are still assets around.
We move for judgment as quickly as we can, knowing which Courts are able to process defaults quickly is a benefit to our clients.
We also understand that garnishment is more than bank accounts and wages – we’re creative in finding money for our clients.
While I’ve just written about what we do, let me pause to tell you what we don’t do: we don’t do collections on contingency. In Canada the winning party to a law suit gets their legal fees in their judgment, so you will get made whole or close to it, provided the debtor has assets.
If that doesn’t seem fair to you, well that’s o.k. We can help you with credit applications so that you are better able to assess your risk in the future and don’t need to litigate to get paid.
So, you ready to get paid?
Inga B. Andriessen J.D.