Sunshine Coast Debt Recovery Solicitors

Sunshine Coast debt recovery lawyers offer a variety of individual solutions to suit your situation when recovering outstanding debts.

Whatever the issue, bad debtors, outstanding invoices or clients who refuse to pay, Sunshine Coast debt recovery lawyers can help from start to finish!

The first step in the process is sending a lawyers letter of demand – a popular document for debt recovery.

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Sunshine Coast Debt Recovery Lawyers Letter of Demand

A letter of demand is the most cost-effective and convenient option for most clients.

Solicitors can personalise the letter of demand to meet your specific requirements and needs.

A letter of demand is an economical first step in the debt recovery process and shows the debtor that you are serious about collecting that debt.

The Importance of a Letter of Demand

Issuing a letter of demand from a reputable Sunshine Coast law firm shows to your debtor you have intent, and are serious about recovering the monies owed to you.

In the first instance serving a letter of demand is a singularly effective service for a resolution.

Upon receipt of the letter of demand debtors, apprehensive of legal action, will either settle the outstanding debt or negotiate for an agreed outcome within the required 7-day period.

A professionally drafted letter of demand is decidedly the number one way to recovering your money and avoiding resorting to legal action.

When a Letter of Demand is Ignored or the Debtor Resists Paying

While the letter of demand in most cases can offer a quick resolution there are times when the debtor will either ignore or even refuse to pay the demanded monies.

If there is no payment forthcoming it is at this point, good Sunshine Coast debt recovery lawyers will advise you of your options and seek instructions on progressing to legal action in the form of a statement of claim, which is filed in the local court for judgement.

Sunshine Coast Debt Recovery Lawyers – Statement of Claim

Commencing legal proceedings to recover the debt is done with lodging in the Magistrates, District, or Supreme courts, a formal document of demand, the claim and statement of claim.

These are formal court documents and can be found here:

Drafting the Statement of Claim for Filing

Sunshine Coast debt recovery lawyers will ask you for further information, it is at this time we want to establish a comprehensive statement of the circumstances attached to the debt in order for the solicitor to draft an expert statement of claim.

The debtor once they have received a copy of the statement of claim has a 28-day deadline to either file a defence or pay the debt.

Is it worth the cost of filing a Statement of Claim?

Absolutely! It is worth filing a statement of claim.

Depending on the total amount of the debt the scale legal costs vary, as an example, if you are trying to recover a debt of $8,000 your legal fees to draft, settle, file, and serve the statement of claim may be $1,500 (some of which you may be able to recover).

However in the statement of claim you are not only claiming for the amount of the outstanding debt but any legal costs incurred in order to file the Statement of Claim.

Approximately 65% to 85% of all out-of-pocket legal costs are recoverable (if you are successful) essentially giving you, not only the debt amount owed to you but a large chunk of your legal costs.

Failure to pay the debt after the 28-day deadline by the debtor then it is likely that your Sunshine Coast debt recovery lawyers once again seeking instructions to enter a default judgment.

Obtaining a Default Judgment

In essence a default judgment includes the claim, the costs 65% to 85% of which are recoverable, and interest on the claimed amount. It is a court order affirming the debt claimed in the statement of claim is due and payable.

While a default judgment may not get you your money automatically, a debtor having a default judgment against him/her has adverse credit consequences, this alone maybe enough to provoke the debtor into paying.

Unfavourable credit, the default judgment will make it hard to the debtor to obtain personal or business finance in the future.

A debtors Failed to pay what’s next?

Having bad credit was not enough encouragement for the debtor to pay, and you want a immediate recovery of your money, this means seeking instructions to enforce payment through one of the many options available.

A judgment creditor has options in the state courts or with insolvency.

Enforcement Warrants

One such option to enforce the payment is by way of a warrant for redirection of earnings, costs incurred using this method are not recoverable, the court will issue a order to have the debt amount taken directly from the debtors wages or bank account.

Using a bailiff to forcibly seize property of value owned by the debtor to sell and satisfy the debt is done by obtaining a warrant for seizure and sale of property, this method means you are able to recover some legal costs.

Statutory Demand & Winding Up

For larger debts against companies of $4,000.00 and more, a creditor’s statutory demand can be served, this will allow the debtor 21-days to either pay or apply to the court to have the demand set aside.

The legal costs of a creditor’s statutory demand and the winding up proceedings are once again partially recoverable. Seeking instructions for winding up proceedings, would be the next step should the debtor not pay or fail to respond.

Sunshine Coast Debt Recovery Lawyers & Bankruptcy

If the judgment debtor is a person (not a company) and the judgment debt is over $10,000.00 then the creditor can ask the AFSA to issue a bankruptcy notice.

Once served, the judgment debtor has 21 days to pay, enter into some arrangement to pay, or set the bankruptcy notice aside.

If the judgment debtor does not do anything, then non-compliance with the bankruptcy notice means that the judgment debtor has committed an act of bankruptcy.

This act of bankruptcy allows the creditor to file a creditor’s petition in the Federal Circuit Court and make the debtor bankrupt.

Sunshine Coast Debt Recovery Lawyers can Help

There is a lot of law to consider from the start of this process to the end of this process.

It is vital that you engage suitably qualified and skilled Sunshine Coast debt recovery lawyers to recover your debt and enforce the money orders.