Good debt recovery agent?

Good debt recovery agent?

8:07 AM, 1st November 2013, About 11 years ago 39

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Debt-Recovery

Good debt recovery agent?

I have recently had an absconding tenant who owes me £5,000 in rent arrears.

I have used debt recovery agents previously for different tenants but with very limited success. One even tried to avoid passing on the debt they successfully collected, fortunately I caught them out and got my dues!

I’m not prepared to employ a substandard or disreputable agent in this case, especially given the amount of money owed and the degree to which I treated this particular tenant fairly.

Therefore please could anyone recommend a company who can carry out both tracing and debt recovery with whom they have had a positive experience?

Many thanks

Genghis Perriman

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Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

8:25 AM, 1st November 2013, About 11 years ago

Hi Ghengis

Please take a look at our legal section. There are three very reputable companies there.

Under the main navigation bar you will see a dropdown menu. The "People Tracing" article is written by a company called Trace A Debt. They are incredibly economical, no win no fee tracing agents. They will also upsell debt recovery services.

The "Debt Collection - No Win No Fee" tab is FCC Paragon. They also have a tracing service but it's double the price. Their no win no fee debt collection is excellent as a first step and will scare some people into paying up. It's also very cheap, only 15% of money collected + VAT, so well worth trying initially. If they can't collect the money after three weeks they will provide recommendations, e.g. using the Courts. They also gather intelligence on the debtor and share this with you free of charge if they don't get anywhere. This is useful because it can help you to make an informed decision on whether it's worth investing into further action or whether you might be throwing good money after bad. I use this company myself and they are great if the debt is fresh (90% recovery rates) and are particularly good if the tenant is still in the property or has only recently vacated. If there's a guarantor they will also follow that up.

If you need a heavy hitting but thoroughly professional firm, Law Society registered, then Landlord Action is unbeatable. Their founder, Paul Shamplina is a like a little Rottweiler and used to be a Baliff. This is a link to his member profile >>> http://www.property118.com/member/?id=190 His most prolific case was recovery of a debt of around £90,000 from a London Playboy who rented a flat for a mistress and didn't pay the rent. Shamplina tracked him down, clamped his Aston Martin and recovered every penny. It was well reported in the press at the time and you will certainly have seen Paul Shamplina on the TV as he's every editors first choice guest to talk about tenant evictions and debt collection. Needless to say, he's not cheap, but if anybody can get your money back it's Paul Shamplina. Interestingly, he and the owner of FCC Paragon are partners in an Eviction/Recovery business in Spain.

I think they are all the contacts you could possibly need. Please report back and let us know how you get on.

This advice is free, this forum and our work here is funded by donations and sponsorships. Please make a donation >>> http://www.property118.com/donations/43590/

Good luck and thanks in advance 🙂
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8:39 AM, 1st November 2013, About 11 years ago

Prevention is better than cure!

We are joint venture partners with FCC Paragon, we also highly rate the services of Paul Shamplina at Landlord Action.

We provide a GUARANTEED rent collection service to landlords who find and reference their tenants via our online letting agency. We charge 5% of rent for rent collection and rent is paid to the landlord on the due date whether the tenant pays or not. The service also includes costs of eviction if required and whilst eviction is in process the landlord still gets paid rent on the due date.

More details via the link below.
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Barbara Thorning

8:51 AM, 1st November 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "01/11/2013 - 08:25":

Once again, I am stunned at the level of information and resources available on here and so generously shared!

I don't know how landlords survive if they aren't following or involved with this site.

Nothing to do with the topic, but just felt like saying it!

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

8:54 AM, 1st November 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Tilly Mint" at "01/11/2013 - 08:51":

Thank you Tilly Mint, what a wonderful comment to get my day started 🙂
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Anon

9:48 AM, 1st November 2013, About 11 years ago

Also contact http://www.landlordreferencing.co.uk/

They keep a database of landlords contact detail and tenants names and NI numbers.

When one of their members searches their database and a tenant match comes up they put their members in touch with each other so they can have an off the record discussion about the tenants lifestyle habits etc.

Adding details of this absconder could help to save another landlord a small fortune.

What goes around comes around, the same service could help you to make informed decisions too.

James Gordon-Johnson

17:01 PM, 28th November 2013, About 11 years ago

As Mark says for people tracing & employment details provision for enforcement (or pre-litigation) of any CCJ through an attachment of earnings http://www.traceadebt.com can help on a no win no fee basis

Romain Garcin

17:59 PM, 28th November 2013, About 11 years ago

With a CCJ and an address, I hear that High Court Enforcement Officers are quite effective.

James Gordon-Johnson

9:52 AM, 29th November 2013, About 11 years ago

High court officers or HCEO´s are effective but you must be mindful of some points as follows…….

a. The CCJ must be for over £600 to use a HCEO
b. You must trace the address and confirm it just prior to instruction or you will be liable for abortive fee´s if the address is incorrect.http://www.traceadebt.com/address-tracing-uk/4575387441
c. It is only effective where the debtor has assets for the HCEO to levy on i.e. if the debtor was on benefits and had no assets such as a car then it will not be effective normally.
d. If you use an asset search you can identify if this will be an effective means of enforcement - http://www.traceadebt.com/asset-search/4575403371

For further information on the enforcement process and specifically High court enforcement please take a look at http://www.traceadebt.com/help/4575387436

Romain Garcin

20:25 PM, 29th November 2013, About 11 years ago

Well, considering that they can legally seize assets (as do bailiffs I believe) they are indeed usually quite "persuasive".

10:37 AM, 12th December 2013, About 10 years ago

About to give FCC Paragon a try on a non-responsive guarantor of a tenant who left with no notice leaving a filthy house with ruined carpets (dog pee!). I shall report progress as it happens.

Was told by a firm of solicitors recommended by the letting agents that for about 2 grand it wasn't really worth my while to use them, especially if the claim is defended!

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