Collection of Bad Trade Receivables

Our firm has been successfully handling cases related to the law of enforcement procedures, specifically focusing on the collection of unpaid and unsecured receivables among companies/businesses. The multitude of information and knowledge required by the legal consultant in this specific field of practice, has made our specialization in the subject necessary. The aim of our firm’s associates is the complete, qualified and practically sound protection of the interests of our clients in the intricate and formalistic field of enforcement procedures.

A specialized department of our firm undertakes the complete processing of the receivables collection process through enforcement procedures. Indicatively, we mention the following enforcement measures through which the claims of our lender-principals are satisfied:

• Seizure and liquidation of real estate and movable properties of the debtor company (vehicles, electronic equipment, etc.),
• Seizure of shares in SAs and corporate shares of Limited Liability Companies,
• Seizure of claims in the hands of third parties (overdue and future),
• Seizure of funds in bank accounts and, in general, banking/investment products, etc. (seizure of debtor’s claims in the hands of credit institutions).

The enforcement procedure constitutes a challenging branch of civil procedural law. Often, the lender obtains the enforceable title, i.e., the amount requested by the lawsuit is judicially awarded to him, or he issues a payment order, but is unable to collect his claim due to the debtor’s evasiveness. In such cases, he must proceed undertaking enforcement measures against the debtor’s assets to satisfy his claim. Each enforcement measure has its own peculiarities, prerequisites, and legal consequences. It is essential for the attorney undertaking the enforcement to have the necessary theoretical background, knowledge of recent and past case law in our courts, and an understanding of the practice of recent years. Without the former, defects may arise in the enforcement process that could nullify the entire effort; without the latter, the desired result becomes less likely.

We strongly believe that the collection of unsecured commercial claims is successful when the case is handled by an attorney who is well-versed in the judicial debt collection process and is also a skilled negotiator. This is particularly important considering that the efforts of the internal management department of the lending company to manage overdue debts have not been fruitful, and therefore, more aggressive measures need to be taken. Moreover, it is now commonplace that:

• Delay in debt collection adversely affects the probability of its collection,
• Continuous and repeated telephone harassment has no effect on the debtor-company who intends not to pay,
• Telephone agents-employees of “collection companies” or internal departments of lending companies cannot have the same persuasion as a professional lawyer who understands the significance of each word used and fully comprehends the rights of the lender,
• In the business environment, parties involved are much more familiar with legal disputes and legal maneuvers with the aim of non-payment. Besides, our company has a tradition of lifting legal obstacles that fundamentally only conceal the solvent entity.

For all the reasons stated above, the only way forward is ultimately the use of aggressive and direct measures. Additionally, an advantage in the entire process of assigning the collection of a commercial claim to a specialized law firm is that its fee is usually linked proportionally to the success of the collection.

Our many years of experience in the field of collecting unpaid unsecured business receivables have shown that so-called “collection companies (Law 3758/2009) may indeed produce results in the field of banking and consumer debts in general but cannot act decisively in the field of commercial claims. In that domain, direct, decisive, and responsibly aggressive actions are required by lawyers who have been dealing with the relevant subject for years and make use of all the weapons given to them by the recently amended Civil Procedural Law.