How to choose a business debt collection attorney in metro Atlanta, Georgia.
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This video explains how important customer service is to Howe & Associates. Customer service is an important consideration before choosing a debt collection attorney.
They want to know what’s going on with their case at every step of the way. Every collection case that we handle, our clients want their money but just as importantly, they want to be informed. They want to be educated on the process; they want to understand what we’re doing every step of the way. Our process prides itself on educating and informing them of every possible solution in every single case.
A promissory note is an instrument that will allow for a payment or repayment of a debt. If a debt is owned it is important to get a well written promissory note. A well written note will help you in the collection process down the line, if needed.
It is one of the hardest things to defend against by a defendant.
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We recommend having the following terms within the note:
- Add all costs of collection
- Add an interest provision to include all past due interest.
- Venue & Jurisdiction provision, in the event the defendant is out of town.
Can A debtor Return Merchandise in Exchange for Payment in Georgia?
That’s an option. It depends on the value of the goods and it depends on whether or not she want the merchandise back. There are a lot of factors that go into that. There are two different ways to get your merchandise back, one is to voluntary relinquishing by the debtor to give those back and the second is the writ of possession also know as cyber 11 action in Georgia. If you have retained title to the goods through a security agreement, then you will have the right to go and levy on your merchandise through a writ of possession filing. We would follow writ of possession with the court were we obtain a special order from the court to go and levy on those goods, and under a writ of possession you don’t actually have to get share of service or personal service on the defendant, you can use what’s called Tack and Mail and in Georgia there are a lot of Tack and Mail any rep 11 case that will allow you to move quickly to go and obtain your goods or merchandise from the defendant through a writ of possession.
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That’s a quite common occurrence of bankruptcy is an option for debtors. It’s not great for creditors but it is something that you have to deal with and whether it’s a chapter 7, chapter 13 or chapter 11 or mutual c with businesses typically. Chapter 11 is another name for a reorganization, it’s where the debtor reorganizes. Basically stops the collection, the bankruptcy stay will skip creditors from being able to actively collect but there gonna reorganize and they are going to present a propose plan to the creditors under that bankruptcy shield if he will. Our office works with a lot of creditors. If you’ve been presented with a Chapter 11 filing we can work with you to determine the best way that you can maximize your recovery under that situation.
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Overcoming Bankruptcy Barriers in Collecting Business Debts in Georgia
Bankruptcy is an option for debtors. They can file bankruptcy and whenever that is filed, they receive what’s called as stay which means that all creditors must stay or stop all active collections until the debtor finalizes the bankruptcy or is it dismissed or discharge. There are ways to set aside the bankruptcy, if there is a fraud based claim, we can look to set aside the active bankruptcy and then proceed for the collection of your claim. We can help creditors in many many ways. Look at their bankruptcy case and decide how we can help them there.
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How Does Our Firm Handle Breach of Contract Cases in Georgia?
Our law firm having been in business since 1985 has handled thousands of breach of contract cases. The contracts can take on any form, there are written contracts and of those written contracts there can be contracts that are much better than others. There’s oral contracts which are just is enforceable , however there are harder to prove in court. When you’re looking at a breach of contract case you would like to have a better written contract however our office can deal with whatever work presented and handle the case accordingly. Typically, a contract is simply a meaning of the months if both parties agree to do something – payment for performance, then that is a bonding contract and that is what we’re going to use to pledge your case in court.
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Every debt case is different and it depends on what documents you have with the debtor. If there’s a signed contract or if you just have an oral contract or you just delivered goods, its gonna vary. So what you want to do is you would like to get something in writing. If the debtor offers a payment plan it would be advisable to perhaps get the debtor to sign a promissory note which will then condense the agreement to a writing that you would then be able to file suit on.
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As a debt collection attorney in Georgia, we are often asked what does your job encompass? A collection attorney does many things and more specifically, are heavy in civil litigation. When you’re talking about a debt collection case, you’re going to see a lot of civil litigation from beginning to the end.
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What is Handled by an Attorney in a Debt Collection Case:
- Identifying who the plaintiff and defendant are
- Serving the defendant with the summons of complaint
- Coordinating wit the sheriff’s office to perfect proper service in the case
- Following whether there is an answer or not.
- If there is not an answer we can proceed for a default judgement.
- If there is an answer filed and perhaps the debt is disputed then we can conduct discovery
These a are all components of what a debt collection attorney does.
What is the Goal of a Debt Collection Attorney in Georgia?
The goal is to collect the debt. The collection can occur often times early, or during the the litigation process or its done after the judgment. What an attorney is seeking is payment and we are using the litigation process to collect the debt. Some cases are faster than others. Once a judgment is obtained then we can use that to collect on the assets.
The job of a attorney is all encompassing, and far reaching. It covers all of these things and anything necessary in order to collect on the debt.
There’s help to landlords seeking collections on their past due or delinquent rent payments in Georgia. Reviewing some of the steps their debt collection firm takes to prepare and collect on bad debts, is the video topic in review today.
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We’ve been in business since 1985 and we’ve handled thousands of cases representing landlords seeking collections on their past due or delinquent rent payments. We are commonly working with them. There are a lot of things that go into the collection process for past due rent payments.
We want to obtain a copy of the lease documents. There are a lot of things in the lease that can help you and serve as a tool for collecting your debt. We’ll take a look at the lease and see what’s in there.
Georgia has provisions that will allow you to add cost of collection and attorney fees if you are required to use an attorney to collect the debt.
We also help new clients make improvements to their existing lease agreements from a debt collection standpoint. Many times you get your rental lease agreements written by an attorney however they might not be a debt collection attorney and not incorporate elements that make the debt collection processes much smoother, faster and reliable. We can add those things into the agreements that will help you collect your debts faster if the renter fails to pay their agreed upon fee.
Demand letters are the first step to collecting a bad business debt in the state of Georgia. Richard, a managing partner of Howe & Associates has a system that they have refined from over 30 years experience to collecting debts with demand letters.
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Whenever we get a new debt collection claim we always set up the claim in our system and conduct a thorough investigation. We will then send a series of demand letters.
We will always send an initial demand letter to the debtor to let them know that we’ve been retained by the client. We will also send an acknowledgment letter. In those investigations we will determine assets that we will be able to attach with our judgment.
The series of demand letters that we send really depends on each case. We make demand calls. We want to talk to the debtor and find out exactly what their intention is with regard to payment.
We will also send a series of demand letters which will help us determine a lot of things. This could include the debtors interest in wanting to amicably take care of the debt or help us determine they are going to avoid it and we should just go on ahead and file suit on it.
The demand letter process in the collection overall process is very important component in debt collection.