Debt Recovery Enquiry Form

The main advantage of using a law firm to collect an outstanding debt is that a law firm will act in a highly regulated and professional manner and provide a genuine level of credibility and professionalism to the process of pursuing the outstanding amount. Of particular importance a law firm will generally charge on time and attendance basis (often at a significantly reduced rate based on the volume of work involved) as opposed to a traditional debt recovery firm which will normally charge a very large percentage of the debt for their services. (Debt recovery firms' charges often exceed 20% of the amount recovered!)

It is a common myth that law firms should only be consulted when a very large debt is involved. It can often be worthwhile instructing a law firm to pursue debts for even modest amounts (often no more than $1,000). Of particular relevance is the fact that the court-sanctioned recoverable amount as well as all the disbursement incurred will be added to the debt in the course of the legal action provided by the law firm and therefore, if successful, the debtor will end up paying most or all of the costs incurred in pursing the claim.

A specialised debt recovery unit allows a client to benefit from the significant experience of the lawyers and legal professionals working in that area of practice. In addition, significantly reduced cost structures can lead to real cost savings by clients. Specialisation in this type of work allows us to provide comprehensive reporting keeping clients update (in real time) on all aspects of a file and provide useful return on investment analysis.

The enforcement options most normally exercised are the registration of a charging order (where the judgment debtor owns real estate) bankruptcy and attachment requiring the debtors employer or benefit payer to pay a certain portion of their wages or benefit to the judgment creditor on a weekly or regular in order to satisfy the debt.

Yes, it is quite feasible to pursue judgment debtors who have moved away from New Zealand. Our relationship with law firms in other jurisdictions (including Australia, the United States, Europe and Asia) mean that we can readily assist clients seeking to enforce judgments outside New Zealand.

Debt recovery usually involves breaches of contractual arrangements by a customer or client or debtor who has failed to make payment for goods or services supplied by a client who is the creditor. A very common example is failure by a bank customer to pay their bank loan or credit card debts. Other examples include trade customers failing to pay suppliers or customers of professional service suppliers who have reneged on their commitment to pay for the services they have received.