Florida Debt Collection Law Blog

Collecting a debt from a client

On behalf of CreditorCollections, A Law Firm posted in commercial debt collection on Tuesday, February 12, 2019.

Your clients are the lifeblood of your Florida small business, but when one of these fails to pay its debts, that could cause your business financial troubles. We at CreditorCollections, A Law Firm, often counsel companies on collecting debts from their clients.

Documentation is key to the process of collecting a debt, according to Small Business Trends. This involves more than simply producing a contract, although that certainly is important. It is a good idea to create a trail of communication. Every time you contact the client, make copies of the letters and send them certified mail, and save every email. Not only that, you should document the time and date of every phone conversation and in-person visit, and take notes of what was said.

What is a fraudulent transfer?

On behalf of CreditorCollections, A Law Firm posted in fraud and asset recovery on Wednesday, January 30, 2019.

Your Florida business depends on people paying you what they owe. Some individuals do not respect the responsibility they have to pay their debts, and in some cases, they may take steps to defraud you of the money that should be yours.

According to the Florida Statutes, a person is transferring an asset if he or she parts with it by leasing or releasing it, creating an encumbrance or using it to pay someone. It could be a conditional action, where the person expects to get the asset back, or it could be permanent. Whether the person is getting rid of the asset to get out of paying you, or another creditor has seized the person's asset, it may be a fraudulent transfer.

The rights of creditors in the vehicle repossession process

On behalf of CreditorCollections, A Law Firm on Friday, January 18, 2019.

When a consumer signs a car loan, he or she must sign a contract that gives the creditor the right to take action in the event the signee falls behind on his or her payments. The fine print often spells out these rights, but consumers rarely take the time to read all the way through the contract. It is often shocking for people to learn that a creditor can repossess one's personal vehicle after even just one missed payment.

In the event a Florida creditor wants to move forward with the vehicle repossession process, it must follow a specific process. While creditors do have repossession rights, there are limits to what they can do. It may be helpful for you to review both consumer rights and creditor rights as you move forward with the most appropriate course of action on behalf of your company.

Garnishments and attachments may help creditors collect on debts

On behalf of CreditorCollections, A Law Firm posted in garnishment as prejudgment or post-judgment collection strategies on Monday, January 14, 2019.

When a debtor is not making the agreed-upon payments to a Florida creditor, the creditor has options for collecting what is owed.

These methods are wage garnishment and attachment at law.

Domesticating a foreign judgment in Florida

On behalf of CreditorCollections, A Law Firm posted in domestication of judgments in florida on Wednesday, January 2, 2019.

When a court outside of Florida issues a judgment in your favor, you expect the other party to pay you the amount that the judge has ordered. We at Creditor Collections, A Law Firm, understand that often, matters are not as straightforward as they should be. Our legal team provides assistance when individuals or businesses must domesticate a judgment issued in another state in order to collect the money owed by the debtor.

According to the Florida Statutes, the Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act does not just refer to foreign countries. It also refers to judgments, orders or decrees issued by a court in another state, in a federal court, or in a territory or commonwealth of the U.S.

Are creditors subject to the FDCPA?

On behalf of CreditorCollections, A Law Firm posted in creditors' rights on Thursday, December 20, 2018.

Having to collect from your company's debtors in West Palm Beach is no easy task. Doing so forces you to walk the delicate line between being assertive yet not completely destroying the potential for a continued business relationship. Yet ultimately, the need to collect what is owed to support your company's operations may require added effort on your part. When that is needed, debtors may be quick to claim your actions qualify as harassment, and thus are in violations of their rights under The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Is this true?

According to the Federal Trade Commission, the FDCPA bars debt collectors from using harassing or deceptive tactics when trying to collect debts. Those tactics are detailed in the Act itself, as is the type of entity that it covers, Specifically, the FDCPA applies to "debt collectors." The language of the act defines such entities as any person or organization "who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another." Notice the inclusion of the words "owed or due another" as these are important in the application of this Act.

How can you efficiently collect business debts?

On behalf of CreditorCollections, A Law Firm posted in commercial debt collection on Wednesday, November 28, 2018.

When you are in a position where you are waiting on several notable business accounts to pay their debts, it can be both disconcerting and frustrating. If you passively continue to wait for these accounts to take action on their own, you could compromise the financial stability of your enterprise in Florida. Fortunately, there are proactive steps that you can take to encourage business accounts to pay their debts promptly without coming across as abrasive or obnoxious.

From the creation of your organization, it is critical that you set boundaries for your payment requirements that are clear and concise. Having your expectations visible to the other companies with which you conduct your business can help you to protect yourself while informing purchasers of their responsibilities.

Wage garnishment: a useful tool for creditors

On behalf of CreditorCollections, A Law Firm on Wednesday, November 21, 2018.

When seeking to collect a debt, creditors have several options by which they can contact the debt holder and pursue payments. However, it is not always possible to get money owed, even after months of attempted contact through phone calls, letters and other means. In these situations, additional steps may be necessary to protect the interests of the creditor. Wage garnishment is an effective way to collect debts when other methods have failed.

Wage garnishment is a process that withholds a portion of a person's paycheck. The money withheld goes toward the payment of specific outstanding balances. There are limits to wage garnishment, and there are differences in how this process works either before a judgment or after one.

How can I avoid contract disputes?

On behalf of CreditorCollections, A Law Firm posted in commercial debt collection on Thursday, November 15, 2018.

Business owners in Florida know that contracts are an essential component of operations. In some instances, you may find yourself embroiled in a contract dispute, which can be costly and time-consuming. While you can't always prevent disputes from happening there are steps you can take to minimize risk, as explained by Inc.

Look to the future

Defending the rights of creditors

On behalf of CreditorCollections, A Law Firm posted in creditors' rights on Wednesday, October 31, 2018.

Often, people hear about debt from the perspective of someone who has borrowed more than they can ever afford to pay back. Write-ups and opinion pieces often focus on the challenges that debtors face, but it is important to draw attention to this issue from the perspective of creditors as well. Regrettably, delinquent borrowers have cost many creditors a staggering amount of money and the consequences of these debts can be overwhelming. In West Palm Beach and all over the state of Florida, creditors should go over their options and do what they can to recover debts.

There are many reasons why borrowers fail to pay back what they owe. In some instances, a borrower may be going through financial hardships because they lost their job or suffered an unforeseen health crisis. In many other cases, however, borrowers are careless or even hostile and refuse to pay back what they owe. Our law office knows that these situations can create a great deal of anxiety for creditors and some may face permanent problems as a result of borrower delinquency. For example, a company may be prompted to shut down because they were not paid back at a time when they were counting on it.