legalonline.com.au

From the Office of Fair Trading:

Consumers faced with debt collectors should not put up with ’strong-arm’ tactics, says [Queensland] Fair Trading Minister Margaret Keech.

“Most people when they think of debt collectors think of shady characters and pushy practices,” Mrs Keech said.

“Consumers chased up for debts may be concerned at the prospect of what could happen if they don’t pay up and aren’t always aware of their rights.

“What most consumers don’t know is that debt collectors must be licensed by the Office of Fair Trading.

“Debt collectors using ’shaming’ techniques, physical force, undue harassment or coercion are breaking the law - if you experience this type of treatment, let the Office of Fair Trading know.

“Any agent breaching the Fair Trading Act 1989 faces prosecution and fines of up to $40,000 for an individual and $202,000 for a corporation.”

Mrs Keech also warns consumers of bogus debt collectors.

“There are reports in the US of consumers being chased up for debts they don’t owe,” Mrs Keech said.

“If you receive a notice for a debt you’re unsure of, dispute it. Ask for account information proving the debt.

“In cases of mistaken identity, contact the financier to whom the debt is owed to try to resolve the situation.

“Get legal advice before paying money towards an old debt or one which you do not believe you owe.”

For advice, or to lodge a complaint about a pushy debt collector, call the Office of Fair Trading on 13 13 04 or visit www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au.

Dunn & Bradstreet: reports this in its latest Corporate Health Watch Report.

This adds extra weight to doing some checking about a company’s history of legal actions before:

• Entering a major transaction with the company
• Making an investment decision in that company
• Extending Credit to a company

Here are some tools to help you:

1.    A Dunn & Bradstreet Commercial Bureau Report (for less than $30.00) can be ordered online from www.onlinelegal.com.au giving details of court actions, summons and judgements made over the last 5 years (with some limitations on NSW information)

2.    This report should be bundled with a Current Company Extract of ASIC data (for less than $40.00) for details of whether the Company is subject to external insolvent administration and more. A Company Search can again be ordered online from www.onlinelegal.com.au.

Results of searches from www.onlinelegal.com.au are usually available within 1-2 working hours.

3.    When (not if) you find yourselves in dispute, work hard early to reach an agreed settlement and then document that agreement in a binding manner with a Settling Your Debt Dispute LawPack.

How do I know what lawyer to appoint, whether they know what they are talking about and whether they are reasonable with their costs?

The single best way is to ask friends and family and find out what lawyers they have used and what the experience has been like.

Here’s my top five questions, for the lawyer who will be managing your file:

5.       How much of this kind of legal work have you done in the last year?

4.       Can you do this legal work for a fixed fee?

3.       If you can’t provide the legal advice for a fixed fee, can we set a cost budget and you let me know before that budget is exceeded? (If yes, how do you manage that internally? How often is your time entered in your time recording system? Can you email me a cost update report on request?)

2.       What outlays will I be charged for and how will I be charged?

And my number one question for the lawyer you intend to hire:

1.       Will I be able to get you on the phone for extra questions? (Of course the answer will almost certainly be “yes”. Test them a couple of days later by trying to get them on the phone and see how they go.)

More resources:

www.onlinelegal.com.au

Ken Stevens, a champion clay pigeon shooter and owner and operator of a small business selling firearms, used LawPacks to recover a small debt and swears by them. We catch up with him to ask about his problems with debt recovery, and how he used Debt Recovery LawPacks to get back the money he was owed! 

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Our NSW Debt Claim LawPack was the first LawPack we wrote.

Debt Recovery is an area where many small and medium sized business clients are denied justice. Clients owed a debt of a few thousand dollars would consult us, and we would have to give them the bad news that the legal costs were about as much as the debt, for us to chase the debt.

Debt recovery agents were often not that interested in proactively and positively seeking recovery for our clients of such relatively small debts.

There had to be a way of equipping our clients with some tools to DIY the claim.

Enter LawPacks

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