Lawyer for debt collection Munich • Reminder

THINK OF YOURSELF IN DIFFICULT TIMES

Collection & reminder compact

CRISIS AND POOR PAYMENT BEHAVIOUR

A lack of payment behaviour can quickly cause problems for any entrepreneur or self-employed person. Even though Germans are still known as the people of savers, the financial reserves readily available to most Germans today are rather small. Their own turnover is often already immediately budgeted for again and a lack of this expected income can even quickly threaten their own entrepreneurial existence if they themselves have creditors to serve. Of course, it is not necessarily intentional if a debtor does not service their debts, but there are usually tangible reasons for this. However, the methods used by the debtor are almost always the same. Deadlines are maximised or ignored completely, there is no response or only a delayed response to reminders and dunning letters, attempts are generally made to play for time and the creditor's legal inexperience is often mercilessly exploited.

The structure and form of reminders are subject to specifications and these are often difficult for the creditor to understand. Psychology also usually works in the debtor's favour. Playing for time initially has no disadvantages for the debtor, but for the creditor it means stress and additional work - and in the case of self-employed individuals, even unpaid extra work. Larger companies can assign their own employees to receivables management, but of course the majority of small businesses cannot do this. Here, reminders and receivables have to be handled by the company itself or by its own accounting department.

In practice, the same thing can be seen time and again: the more reminders you send a debtor, the less they are impressed by them. This is because concrete claims usually require concrete threats of consequences.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF A LAWYER FOR REMINDERS / RECEIVABLES MANAGEMENT / DEBT COLLECTION / DEBT RECOVERY?

It is even very incomprehensible why many entrepreneurs only instruct a lawyer to send reminders and collect debts at a very late stage, as legal fees can be passed on directly to the debtor in the case of justified claims. If invoices are formally correct and include specific payment terms, there is no need for a great deal of personal effort to collect the debt.

A lawyer's reminder automatically makes a greater impression than personal reminders, as the debtor must expect concrete consequences if the deadline is missed and, of course, ever-increasing additional costs. The lawyer's job here is to find an out-of-court solution for the creditor as quickly as possible. He can also weigh up the interests involved - e.g. complete default of payment versus agreement on payment by instalments. Should the matter ultimately go to court, you will already have a legal advisor who is fully familiar with the specific case at your side.

A lawyer for debt collection, reminders and receivables management also has a whole range of other positive ‘side effects’. On the basis of specific disputes, he can also specifically identify weaknesses and errors in your own invoice management and rectify them. Many disputes regarding outstanding receivables can often be avoided by improving invoices or general terms and conditions.

However, it can be problematic if the creditor first calls in a debt collection agency and then a lawyer if they are unsuccessful. In this case, the debt collection agency's costs cannot be charged to the debtor. So it's better to go to a lawyer first!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON THE SUBJECT OF DEBT COLLECTION / REMINDERS / RECEIVABLES MANAGEMENT