The client (creditor): A manufacturer in China that exports outdoor marketing products to Australia
Debt Amount: Approximately AUD $20,000 equivalent
Background: The partnership between the creditor and debtor can be traced back to more than 10 years ago. During the period, the debtor ordered via its internal order system, and the creditor would login to this system and accept orders. There have been debt disputes since late 2016 due to an international bank transaction issue, and the parties continued their business while disputing the payments. Until 2021, the debtor completely stopped new orders and payments to the creditor due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Collections: Xservice Debt Collection was engaged on 22 August 2022, we started investigations on the same day. Our professional debt collectors got in touch with the debtor, explained the matter and the demand from our client. The debtor admitted partial debts and disputed the other part. We allowed each party sufficient time to find evidence to support their claims. After a long period of investigation and obtaining evidence from both parties, we negotiated with the debtor for a settlement sum based on fairness and equity, and helped both parties agree on a payment plan that allows the debtor to repay this settlement sum in instalments because the debtor’s business has not fully recovered to its pre-pandemic level.
Results: Although there were delays for the instalment payments, all instalments were fully received by 27 October 2022. This case was settled approximately 2 months after the debt recovery appointment.
Conclusion: The creditor had to give up a proportion of the demand due to the age of the debt. While some evidence can be found for the 2016 dispute, many of which could not be recalled, and the parties had to spend significant time finding such evidence that adds potential costs to the debt recovery process. Xservice Debt Collection recommends that creditors start taking action around 50 to 60 days overdue, at which time businesses should have tried their best internally, if no payment is received, outsourcing to professional debt collection as soon as possible could ensure a higher success rate, reduce or avoid discounting or compromising on the debts.
Xservice Debt Collection provides professional debt collection services in Australia for manufacturers. We currently serve four states: Victoria (VIC), New South Wales (NSW), Queensland (QLD), and Western Australia (WA). If your debtors are located in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Perth, do not hesitate to schedule a free consultation with our specialists. We specialise in commercial debt recovery, with the capacity to chase consumer or mixed debts. No debt is too small or too large to be assigned to Xservice Debt Collection, no matter if you are a small business or a medium to large company, we CAN help.