Credit Control Form

 

As of today, your debtor has failed to settle this account. They have chosen not to respond to/satisfy our numerous requests and communications outlining the consequences of not immediately settling this account in full.

Unpaid accounts of this nature generally occur due to several factors. This includes the age of the outstanding account, the attitude of your debtor at time of sale, the quality of information obtained at time of sale and the capacity and willingness of the debtor to pay.

Whilst we are not happy that payment of this account has not yet materialised in this instance, we have initiated the following action against your debtor:

1. Your debtor has been default listed with the relevant credit reporting agency (if no formal dispute exists and we have sighted the
necessary documentation - contract/credit application/terms of trade);
2. The default listing will be recorded against their credit file which will adversely affect their ability to obtain credit from banks, credit card,
hire purchase and other financial institutions/utilities;
3. The default listing will remain in place for five years from the date listed;
4. Default listing is a very important part of the collection process and acts as a passive collection tool that may result in future payment of
this outstanding account;
5. Your debtors details will remain on our database and may be revisited in future if new information arises or a further debt is loaded against
your debtor.

Because of the size of the debt, we have referred the file to our Litigation Team to follow up further with your debtor. A recommendation for legal action may result following their action. A member from our Litigation Team may be in touch with you to discuss this soon, and if subsequently instructed they will assist you in proceeding with legal action.

Once Judgment has been obtained against your debtor, the judgment will be recorded against their credit file which will adversely affect their ability to borrow money from banks, credit card, hire purchase or other financial institutions/utilities. The judgement record will remain in place for five years from the date of the judgement. You will also have legal enforcement options in respect of the judgement obtained should its terms not be satisfied.

Alternatively,your local Area Manager would be happy to discuss with you helpful hints on how to prevent this situation from recurring.

Please note that the terms of our signed contract still apply and any future direct payments received must be advised to this office immediately.

For a summary of the legal process and the approximate costs involved in pursuing this debt through the courts please see the ATTACHED information sheet.

Once we have received your written confirmation that you wish to proceed with legal action the claim will be prepared and JHK Legal will file this at the courts. At this time payment will be required for the legal fees and court filing fee. During the claim process there will be additional charges for searches, service fees on defendant/s and any further fees (external solicitor fees), these will be invoiced as they incur.

The process following our Solicitors at JHK Legal filing the claim is as set out below:
- It may take 4-8 weeks before the issued claim is returned to JHK Legal.
- The Debtor then has 21 days to file a defence.
- If the matter is defended JHK Legal will contact you to discuss the process going forward.
- If the matter is not defended JHK Legal will contact you to get instructions to enter default Judgment and proceed with the enforcement process.

Bankruptcy - for amounts over $5000.00 only you can proceed with an Attachment of Earnings, Seizure of Personal Property, Warrant to seize Real Property or Instalment Order.

We cannot guarantee 100% that the defendant will pay.

If you have not already done so please provide a copy of your ‘Terms of Trade’ that was provided to your client prior to invoicing, together with any supporting documents i.e. signed credit application, invoices, contract default fee invoice, quotes and purchase orders. These documents may assist in being able to lodge a claim for further costs than just those allowed for in the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules.

DISPUTED MATTERS:
Any Disputed matters we recommend that you lodge at VCAT. If the matter is already disputed by the debtor there is a high risk of this matter being defended and the debtor seeking to transfer to VCAT. We recommend that you lodge the application with the VCAT. For further information regarding lodging an application on their website - www.vcat.vic.gov.au
 
If proceedings are commenced in the Magistrates Court and the matter is disputed, there is a risk that the Court may order that the proceedings be transferred to the VCAT. Generally the Court would only make such an order upon application of the Defendant. If the Court makes such an order, it is likely that you will be ordered to pay the costs of the Defendant’s application to transfer the proceedings.

We further advise that the proceedings in the VCAT are conducted informally and you will need to present your case before the VCAT at hearing of the matter.

Please let us know if you wish to take this further by return email so we can advise JHK Legal.

A Warrant to seize property is an Order which enables the Sheriff to attend the address named on the Warrant and make a demand for payment from the Judgment Debtor. If payment is not made, the Sheriff can seize assets for sale to recover the money.

Professional Fee: $250.00 plus GST
Filing Fee: $16.70
Sheriffs Fee: $191.10
TOTAL: $482.80 (including GST)

This is a method of ascertaining whether the Judgment Debtor has any assets and to determine his financial circumstances. This option is most appropriate when we want to know whether the debtor has any assets or is earning income. The Judgment Debtor would be summonsed to attend Court to be orally examined in respect of his financial circumstances. He must also take with him any documents named on the summons, for example, bank books, bills and pay slips.  If he fails to appear in Court, a warrant may be issued for his arrest to compel him to appear before another hearing. A summons for oral examination is a good option to get information about the Judgment Debtor’s income, expenses, assets and debts. This information can help you decide what you can do to recover the debt. We note however, a summons for oral examination is merely a “fishing exercise” where the debtor is examined by the Court to get information about the debtor’s financial situation. You will then need to select another enforcement option to actually recover the debt.

Professional Fee: $250.00 plus GST
Filing Fee: $97.60
Personal Service Fee: $200 plus GST (approximately)
Conduct Money: $10.00
TOTAL: $615.17 approx. (including GST)

If the debtor is employed, this is a method of receiving payment from the debtor’s employer directly. An attachment of earnings Order is a Court Order which is sent to the debtor’s employer to have money taken out of his wages each pay period. It is important to note that the deductions ordered will not be large, generally around 10% of earnings and that any change of employer by the Judgment Debtor will necessitate a fresh application. Another disadvantage is that if you do not know the name of the debtor’s employer, you will need to ascertain this through a Summons of Oral Examination.

Professional Fee for Attachment of Earnings application: $397.00 plus GST
Professional Fee for Attachment of Earnings Order: $83.00 plus GST
Attendance at Court (per attendance):   $216.00 plus GST
Filing fee for Attachment of Earnings application: $139.40
Filing fee for Attachment of Earnings Order (after hearing and Order obtained): $19.50
Personal Service: $200 plus GST (approximately)
TOTAL: $1,144.50 approx. (including GST)