Posts Tagged ‘debt collection agency’

Problems With Late Payers? The Debt Collection Experts are on Your Doorstep!

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

Late invoice payment and outstanding debts are an issue that continues to cast a shadow over many part of the UK Business Community with some alarming figures being released relating to the number of companies that are being forced into liquidation and administration despite being owed considerable sums of money. Yet this need not be the case providing expedient and cost effective steps are taken to recover outstanding debts.

One company that has an excellent reputation for dealing with serious matters such as the collection of outstanding debts is Federal Management.

This Lancashire based business has their Head Office in Skelmersdale, as well as offices in London and Manchester, and operate their renowned debt collection services across the UK, EU and Internationally, recovering millions of pounds every year for their clients. They are only too aware of the problems facing UK businesses with regards to late payments and outstanding invoices etc as swell as the need to maintain existing business relationships where possible.

Federal Management began life in 2004 by initially delivering their debt collection services to predominantly small businesses up and down the UK but their growth quickly gathered momentum as word spread of heir low cost services. A development of existing services along with continued internal development has seen them emerge as the UK’s leading commercial debt collection agency.

One of the key elements to Federal Management’s success has been the high level of internal investment. Thousands of pounds have been spent on cutting edge technology that gives them the edge over their competitors as well as the ongoing training of existing personnel ensures that they deliver a service that is professional and quickly gets results. Attention to detail and highly diligent staff ensure the potential of recovering monies owing is at a much higher level than normal.

The professional management systems they employ saw them awarded the ISO9001 accreditation in January of 2010 and they boast a collections team that deal solely with the pursuit of outstanding debts and are relentless in their efforts. In addition the to the Collections Team, they also have an internal legal team to deal with disputed debts and have professional collection officers to visit debtors who ignore demands for payment.

Such has been the success of Federal Management, in early 2009 they were awarded a place on the High Growth Programme, a Government backed scheme led by the North West Development Agency to aid the growth and development of 2high growth” businesses. This will aid their expansion and growth as they continue to go from strength to strength.

Marc Curtis-Smith, Managing Director of the company says:

“At Federal Management, as members of the Credit Services Association, we pride ourselves on delivering a highly professional service to our clients and coupled with our high collection rates, has been the main reason for our success. We have literally thousands of clients that benefit from the services that we offer, from Large PLC’s to local small business.”

“Quite Simply the service that we offer is unrivalled as we provide a low fixed cost service that delivers results and is one of the reasons why we have been so successful. We even have a considerable number of law firms that use our services to recover their debts and this gives testament to our ability to deliver a highly professional service at a fraction of the time and cost one would normally associate with recovering bad debts.”

Concludes Marc:

“We are proud to say that the greatest form of advertisement for our services is ‘word of mouth’. Our services are designed to maximise the prospect of a successful collection of debts whilst minimising the cost to our clients. Anybody that is experiencing debtor late payment problems should contact us sooner rather than later.”

Fur further information on how Federal Management can help your business recover monies owed, please contact them on 0844 875 4022 or visit their website at http://www.federalmanagement.co.uk

Looking For a Debt Collection Agency? Let Us Help …

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

If you are looking for a debt collection agency then finding the right one can be quite a daunting task. In the UK alone there are hundreds to pick from ranging in size from small one man bands to large corporations with employees in the thousands.

The problem is, which one to choose? You know you need to choose one of them – you have a legitimate debt to be collected and you want to ensure that you find the debt collection agency that is best suited for the task.

Let us help. The following guidelines will help you to find the rightconsumer or commercial debt collection agency for you.

The debt collection agency that you choose should represent you, or your company, in a professional manner and provide a satisfactory rate of recovery while maintaining your public image or brand.  As with anything, you want to get as much back as possible for as little as possible up front but when it comes to a debt collection agency you really do get what you pay for. If you overlook this factor you can end up with a commercial or consumer debt collection agency that not only prejudices your chance of a successful recovery but can also damage your own reputation.

The debt collection agency you choose should be:

  1. Fully licensed members of the Credit Services Association (CSA)
  2. Experienced in the recovery of your specific type of debt or related industry.
  3. Experienced in the type or age of debt you are looking to have recovered. An invoice that is 30 days overdue is a completely different kettle of fish to one that is 2 years overdue.
  4. Is ISO accredited to ensure the level of service provided is optimal.
  5. Provides you with regular updates as to the progress of your account to keep you informed of what is happening.

If the company you choose can tick all of the boxes above then you are well on the way to finding a debt collection agency who is right for you.

IRA man and convicted garda set up debt collection agency

Monday, September 6th, 2010

A MEMBER of the IRA gang responsible for the death of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe has set up a debt collection agency with an ex-garda who was jailed for leaking intelligence to the IRA.

John Quinn, 43, who served six years in jail for conspiracy to commit the robbery in Adare, Co Limerick, is listed as a director of Global Debt Collection Agency, which was registered in May last year. His co-director is Denis Kelly, 47, who is a former garda.

Quinn was described as a “gopher” and “messenger boy” in the IRA’s 1996 post office robbery, in which Det Gda McCabe was gunned down and his colleague Ben O’Sullivan was seriously injured.

Kelly, meanwhile, was jailed for five years in 1992 after he was found guilty of tipping off the IRA about impending garda raids on arms dumps.

The ex-garda and the convicted IRA robber are registered on company documents, which give the address of the firm as Faha in Limerick.

Garda sources say they have received no complaints about the business. But the involvement of two convicts in recovering debts from cash-strapped businesses highlights the lack of regulation in the booming debt-collection sector.

Consumer and legal groups have repeatedly warned about the need to monitor the plethora of new debt recovery agencies that have mushroomed during the recession. The Law Reform Commission recommended the regulation of debt collection agencies earlier this year while the Free Legal Advice Centres have also called for urgent monitoring.

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern is understood to be examining ways of regulating the industry.

Kelly and Quinn are among a number of former prisoners to have joined the debt collection business. Martin Foley, a one-time henchman of Martin Cahill who has survived several assassination attempts, was one of the first in the business with Viper Debt Recovery and Repossession Services.

In a separate case, the garda’s organised crime unit is investigating the involvement of criminals in debt collecting in the Dublin area. Five men were arrested in Dublin last month for allegedly aggressive debt collection.

Quinn was described in court as the “messenger” or “gopher” for the IRA gang behind the botched robbery in 1996. Quinn was charged with the unlawful possession of ammunition and with conspiring to commit a robbery. He eventually pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge and was sentenced to six years in jail. During his sentencing hearing, the court heard that Quinn was a carpenter who worked for his father’s construction firm, and had no previous convictions. He claimed to “deeply regret” the killing of the detective.

During his trial, gardai said that Quinn repeatedly claimed he was a “dead man” and would be found in south Armagh with a bag over his head. He allegedly told gardai off the record: “I’m a dead man. I’m looking at 30 years, ye know that. What if this got sanctioned from above? Where do I stand? I know it got the nod from above. I was told I’d be found in south Armagh with a bag over my head.”

Four other IRA men, Pearse McAuley, Kevin Walsh, Michael O’Neill and Jeremiah Sheehy, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Det Gda McCabe.

Former garda Kelly, who is originally from Cullen, Mallow, in north Co Cork, was stationed in Henry Street garda station in Limerick city centre during the 1990s when he was caught passing information to the IRA. At the time, gardai suspected that the IRA was getting tip-offs about impending raids on arms dumps.

Kelly was caught taking notes from a confidential fax ordering a swoop on three IRA arms dumps. Detectives then followed him to a phone box where he telephoned his IRA contact to pass on the details. Kelly was later released after serving three years of a five-year sentence.

Commissioner criticises FSA debt collector over ‘hectoring’

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

The Complaints Commissioner has upheld an IFA firm’s complaint over the “hectoring” phone manner of a debt collection agency employed by the FSA.

At the end of July, Commissioner Sir Anthony Holland wrote to an unnamed IFA firm, which had penned a protest letter against not only the fines imposed for its failure to pay the balance of its fees, but also the way in which the money was chased up by the FSA’s debt collectors.

However, while the Commisioner replied that the FSA was within its rights to claim the full amount of fees from the firm, as laid out in the Fees Handbook (paragraph 4.2.9), he was concerned to hear that the firm received rough handling by the debt recovery agent.

During a phone conversation with ‘Ms A’ at the debt recovery agency, referred to as ‘Y’ in the Commissioner’s letter, the IFA firm was subjected to a “somewhat hectoring approach with continual interruptions, which I consider does not reflect well on the FSA”.

The Commissioner said: “The call lasted just more than 10 minutes and in my view, was badly handled by the company concerned who, in this case, represents the FSA. While it did not represent harassment it was certainly a conversation that the company should not have allowed to develop in the way it did.”

The IFA firm had said it was unhappy that it had been asked to pay the balance of its fees for the 2009/2010 accounting year as it had already informed the FSA that it had closed to new business on 19 August.

Its reason for closing to new business was that a provider had suddenly stopped its renewal commission payments.

The IFA firm claimed it should have been charged a pro-rata calculation, from 1 April to 18 August.

Following a consultation with the Commissioner, the FSA has agreed to allow the IFA to repay the balance of the fees in affordable instalments, based on the IFA’s proof of limited income.

The Early Bird Catches Their Commercial Rent

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

When dealing with the issue of outstanding Commercial Rent then Landlords should look to instruct a commercial debt collection agency at the earliest possible opportunity, according to the Operations Manager of Federal Management.

Russell Jameson has stated that although the rights a landlord has when it comes to recovering commercial rent arrears have been restricted, it is still the right of the landlord to instruct a debt recovery firm such as Federal Management in order to seize goods from the property to resolve the arrears.

Mr. Jameson confirmed that, at present, you only needs to have commercial rent in arrears of a single day in order to instruct a debt collection agency to recover the amount. However, with recent changes to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (TCE), Landlords will soon be forced to make clear their intentions and provide written notice of their plan to recover the debt.

Mr. Jameson said “Clearly, no business is able to operate without it’s premises but currently many commercial rent agreements are paid on a quarterly basis which means the commercial tenants are more likely to focus on daily, weekly and monthly outgoings first of all.”

“We find that most tenants in arrears find it quite simple to forget about their next quarterly rent payment but this dangerous action can lead to issues for all parties concerned.”

Mr. Jameson did emphasis, however, that although new legislation had removed distress, the rule that permits seizure of a property by landlords, it had not removed the landlord’s right to recover debt through the value of the defaulter’s property.

Continuing, he said, “All that has really changed is that the process now takes a little longer to complete and that the relevant certifications must be acquired in order to act which is even more of a reason to act as early as possible.”

“Clearly, Landlords should not be victimised and be the last to receive what is owed to them, they should be at the head of the queue and should not be made to feel guilty about collecting their outstanding rent.”

FSA debt collector “hectored” firm for unpaid fees

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

A debt collection agency hired by the FSA to collect unpaid fees has been criticised by the Complaints Commissioner for “hectoring” an advisory business.

The unnamed recovery firm’s actions did “not reflect well” on the regulator, Sir Anthony Holland concludes.

It followed a dispute over unpaid fees for the 2009/10 financial year. The advisory business claimed it should not be required to pay the full year’s fees because it ceased trading just six weeks into the period.

The matter was referred to the Office of the Complaints Commissioner, which concluded the FSA’s fee rules were fair.

Currently, the FSA says it will not refund periodic fees if a regulated firm ceases to trade within the relevant financial year.

As a result of the “limited income” of the principal of the closed business, the FSA agreed the outstanding balance could be paid in instalments, but the dispute took a fresh twist following a recorded telephone conversation between the principal and a debt recovery agent employed by the regulator.

The 10-minute call was “badly handled” by the debt collector, Holland concludes. He says, while it “did not represent harassment”, the company should not have allowed the conversation to develop in the way it did.

Although the advisory business later resolved to have the matter settled in court, Holland says the debt collector “seemed disinclined to accept” this. “The result was a somewhat hectoring approach with continual interruptions and which I consider does not reflect well on the FSA,” the Commissioner’s statement reads.

Last month, the Office of the Complaints Commissioner criticised the FSA over the way its staff carry out property searches.

It concluded there were gaps in the training of FSA enforcement staff involved in searching premises.

According to the Commissioner’s annual report, the regulator had been left open to complaints on human rights grounds because police officers were not always present while property was being searched.

FSA debt collector “hectored” firm for unpaid fees

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

A debt collection agency hired by the FSA to collect unpaid fees has been criticised by the Complaints Commissioner for “hectoring” an advisory business.

The unnamed recovery firm’s actions did “not reflect well” on the regulator, Sir Anthony Holland concludes.

It followed a dispute over unpaid fees for the 2009/10 financial year. The advisory business claimed it should not be required to pay the full year’s fees because it ceased trading just six weeks into the period.

The matter was referred to the Office of the Complaints Commissioner, which concluded the FSA’s fee rules were fair.

Currently, the FSA says it will not refund periodic fees if a regulated firm ceases to trade within the relevant financial year.

As a result of the “limited income” of the principal of the closed business, the FSA agreed the outstanding balance could be paid in instalments, but the dispute took a fresh twist following a recorded telephone conversation between the principal and a debt recovery agent employed by the regulator.

The 10-minute call was “badly handled” by the debt collector, Holland concludes. He says, while it “did not represent harassment”, the company should not have allowed the conversation to develop in the way it did.

Although the advisory business later resolved to have the matter settled in court, Holland says the debt collector “seemed disinclined to accept” this. “The result was a somewhat hectoring approach with continual interruptions and which I consider does not reflect well on the FSA,” the Commissioner’s statement reads.

Last month, the Office of the Complaints Commissioner criticised the FSA over the way its staff carry out property searches.

It concluded there were gaps in the training of FSA enforcement staff involved in searching premises.

According to the Commissioner’s annual report, the regulator had been left open to complaints on human rights grounds because police officers were not always present while property was being searched.

Services Offered by Debt Collection Agencies

Monday, August 16th, 2010

A debt collection agency is a company that deals with the recovery of outstanding debts on behalf of other firms or individuals. Companies can either occasionally use, or subscribe to the services of a collection agency. A collection agency may provide services for a fee, or buy the entire claim by assignment or through the establishment of a lien. For an assignment notice to the debtor is required.

The legal form of a debt collection contract is usually a management contract with a service character. Often collection agencies work together with private investigators and/or law firms.

In order to enforce open claims through enforcement actions with the help of the bailiff, the collection agencies may need an enforcement order. This can be achieved by action in court or the court order for payment. In a number of jurisdictions debt collection companies can without assistance of a lawyer carry out the court order for payment.

There are two types of debt collection businesses:

    – Creditors assign the debt collection agency to collect its receivables from the debtor on their behalf. The collection agency is then due to a power of attorney of the creditor.
    – The creditor sells its demand (usually with a huge discount) to the collection agency. The debt collection agency then acts on an assignment statement of the principal.

Typical operational methods of collection agencies involves the debtor being contacted by repeated postal, telephone or personal reminders for payment. With the help of the bailiff bring about a seizure, and in particular request a warrant to secure the release of the sworn statement. Informing the defendant about possible legal consequences of his default.

The collection agency can recommend to the court the attachment of debtor’s valuables, such as jewelry or bank funds concealed by debtor. The agencies can activities can involve recycling of loan collateral and the negotiation and unwinding of installments, deferred payment, settlement agreements and tracing the whereabouts of debtors.

Some collection agencies are divisions of law firms that specialize in the recovery of debts, and work as efficiently and cheaply as the large debt collection companies, or even better. This may be due mainly to the latent psychological ‘potential threat’ attorney letterhead, which can be more intimidating, thus compelling debtor to respond.

Debt collection agencies may provide credit profiles to clients. This is based on information that companies need in their credit management activities. And it can pertain to public information on bankruptcies, and (legal) debt restructuring. This provides the client with an idea of the company or individual’s credit worthiness.

A collection agency is often confused with the bailiff. A bailiff has more powers than a collection agency and its actions are protected by law, meaning that not everyone can simply operate a bailiff agency.

FTC pushes for reform of unclear debt collection laws

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

Many consumers across the country who have found themselves too deep in debt, whether it’s related to credit cards or otherwise, may discover that their balances were sold to a debt collection agency. Now the rules regulating their debt collectors could soon be changed.

According to a report in the New York Times, the Federal Trade Commission has asked for what it termed “significant reforms” to the laws that protect consumers from unfair practices by debt relief agencies.

The problem is that many of these current laws vary widely from state to state, with some statutes of limitations lasting just three years, while other states allow them to stretch on to 10 years, the report said. Similarly, some states allow collection companies to pursue debt that is outside these time periods, but they are prohibited from suing over the totals, or even threatening to do so.

Many consumer advocates say that these companies go too far in harassing consumers whose debts they have purchased from credit card lenders, though federal law prohibits such practices.

Highly Ethical and Results Driven Debt Collection Services

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Federal Management is a constantly evolving debt collection agency that will manage every element of your financial needs. While the debt collection industry tended to be traditional and set in it’s ways when it came to recovering owed monies, times have now changed and debt collection agencies have had to change with them. Federal Management is more than just your traditional debt collection agency.

The key to federal Management’s superb recovery levels and consistently excellent level of custoemr service is the people that mae up the company. Federal Management is made up of a wide range of industrial, commercial and business savvy people with a vast level of experience in a variety of fields. Obviously, when you are looking for a debt collection agency it is crucial that the one you choose is ahead of the game and is ensuring that your debt is being recovered in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

Federal Management is the solution to all of your collection needs, utilising the latest technologies combined with cutting-edge debt recovery methods. The in-house legal team works alongside tracing, bailiff and collection departments to ensure that at every stage of the recovery of your debt, Federal Management is providing you with the highest level of service.

Federal Management is regulated by the Credit Services Association (CSA) and this means that all the work Federal Management does is ethical, legal and professional, unlike some other, unscrupulous firms who will tarnish the reputation of a company by whatever means to try and collect a debt.

Federal Management takes the stress away from you, allowing you to free up your time and get on with growing your business, safe in the knowledge that your owed monies are being recovered by the experts.

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