In the modern world, it is easier than ever for businesses and individuals to provide services to those in other countries.

For some, international business may be the main source of income for that particular company.

One of the most popular continents that deal in international business is North America.

America itself has the largest economy in the world, generating around 21 trillion dollars a year.

This means that the occurrence of business between North America and other countries is extremely high.

When financial dealings are conducted with someone abroad, there is always going to be a risk that payments go unpaid.

This is a risk that needs to be contemplated, no matter how much they trust the North American client.

In some circumstances, even debtors with good credit reports can end up leaving payments due.

If you have provided services in North America and are unpaid, you may need to look at debt recovery options.

Having money owed is a stressful situation at the best of times, so this can be made even worse when this is based overseas.

This can be a tricky subject to combat, as many perceive international debts as unable to be collected.

The perception of this can be damaging to one’s finances, as they may end up abandoning the debt.

This is due to fear that the debt cannot be collected because of the distance of the debtor in question.

In this article, our team of experts have put together some advice on how to correctly collect debts from North America.

Debt Collection From North America – What You Should Know

In North America, there are over 20 different states and there are around 328 million people that live there.

In each of these different states, there are different laws and regulations that relate to the recovery of debts.

For example, if legal actions needed to be taken against a debtor, this would change throughout the different states.

As well as this, Statute Barred laws will also change between the many different states.

Statute Barred debts are those that are past the point of being able to be collected.

For context, in the UK the amount of time this can be collected is 6 years from the last acknowledgement of the debt.

The various changes in international law can feel overwhelming for someone trying to recover a debt themselves.

The process of debt collection is commonly passed over to a third party, such as a Solicitor or Debt Collectors because of this.

Solicitors can be an impactful way of carrying out debt collection from North America, but this does have its costs.

They are notorious for charging lots of money for their services and can charge even more in international cases.

This is one of the many reasons why a debt collection agency is one of the best choices to recovering money owed in North America.

The Best Agencies for Debt Collection From North America

No matter how much money you are owed, you deserve to have this returned to you quickly and efficiently.

At International Debt Collectors, we have a list of trusted partners that are experts in the case of overseas debts.

Our Recommendations For Debt Collection From North America

For international debts owed by commercial clients, we recommend using Federal Management.

If you have a personal debt owed by a customer, friend or family member, use Frontline Collections.

Both of the partners we have recommended above have expert training and knowledge to deal with even the most difficult overseas debts.

They are well versed in combatting the various barriers that come with international debt collection.

Some of these include time differences, language barriers, country-specific laws and communication differences.

You can be sure that the wealth of experience that our partners have will result in a successful recovery of your monies owed.

Debts in North America can be a real hassle for those that do not know how to recover international debts, and this is where we can help.

If you are a business in the UK, you are likely to experience someone leaving invoices unpaid.

This is a common scenario for most Accounts teams, but when this occurs more often than not you have to take action.

Self-employed workers and private individuals can experience this also.

Debts like these can arise in any situation and anywhere in the world.

There are many reasons why an international customer may not have paid for goods.

Some of the most common excuses we have heard are:

• There are issues with the invoice (wrong date/names etc).
• The company is experiencing financial difficulties which means they cannot pay.
• The person paying the invoice has forgotten to pay.

These popular excuses mask the fact they had no intentions of paying from the start.

Some things can be done before any provided services to negate this happening.

For example, having your client sign a contract that states the payment date is a beneficial task.

This means that if your international debtor has not paid on time, you have a signed agreement.

You can use this against them if the situation turns sour.

For international business dealings, this is correct, as debtors can avoid paying you due to the distance.

This can make you feel stressed and upset, with no real view of how to collect the money.

It is common to feel this way, as many believe international debts are harder to collect.

This is due to the various hindrances that come with collecting money overseas.

If you have international goods or services not paid for, there are many options you can take to getting money back.

In this article, our experts have put together advice on how you can still get your money back no matter the location.

International Goods or Services Not Paid For – The Hindrances

It is worth noting the barriers that may appear when dealing with international debt.

Unlike with UK debt, many things may slow down an overseas debt recovery.

Although this may seem negative, we recommend staying calm during the collection.

The hindrances in question are:

• Language barriers.
• Time differences.
• Lack of communication.
• Country-specific laws and regulations.

These may play a part in how long the international debt recovery process will take.

This should give you peace of mind to know that if your debt takes longer to collect that this is normal.

International Goods or Services Not Paid For – What Are The Options?

The next course of action is to look into the various ways you can collect the money that is owed to you.

These options are very like the ones you will find in the UK debt recovery sector…

…but they may take longer due to the further steps that need to be carried out.

If you have international goods or services not paid for, you may want to abandon or recover it yourself.

You should never abandon a debt that is owed to you – why would you let someone get away with money that is yours?

Recovering International Goods or Services Not Paid For By Yourself

Attempting to recover any debt by yourself is the option with the most disadvantages.

The main disadvantage is you will spend a lot of time and resources trying to track down your debtor.

You will also need knowledge on how to collect an international debt which will take even more time.

This should be used to carry out tasks that benefit you such as growing your business.

It is easy for someone overseas to ignore your communications as you are not in the same country.

This makes the whole process of collecting a debt yourself even more difficult.

You will also want to think about the effects this may have on your relationship with your client.

If you do not know how to collect a debt, this may break the foundations of your business dealings.

Debt Collection Solicitors for International Recovering Goods or Services Not Paid For

Solicitors are a viable option for when you have someone owing money from overseas.

This method of debt collection has been used for hundreds of years, which is why they are so popular.

Considering they have a long history of collecting overseas debts, this poses the issue of them now being outdated.

Not only this, but Solicitors are notorious for charging a lot of money for their services.

This is due to their devious hidden fees that are charged in smaller portions over a period of time.

Not only this, but they lack communications with their clients.

This is disappointing due to the severity of the situation…

…and even more so considering the distance of the debt.

If you are already feeling stressed that someone owes you money, not being kept in the loop can make things worse.

Choosing a Solicitor to collect your money presents more negatives than positives.

The best way of carrying out a successful debt recovery is by using a debt collection agency.

International Goods or Services Not Paid For – Professional Debt Collection Agency

Choosing a debt collection agency is one of the most important parts of the recovery process.

Making a good decision can be the difference between getting your money back or nothing at all.

At International Debt Collectors, we have a list of agencies that are the best in the industry.

No matter where you in the world, our members can recover your overseas debts.

For all Commercial Overseas Debt Collection, we recommend using Federal Management.

For Private and International Debt Collection needs, look no further than Frontline Collections.

Both of these agencies are some of the best in the world and have all the skills required to recover.

As a result of this, they operate some of the highest recovery rates across the globe of up to 90%.

If you have international goods or services not paid for, speak to one of the experts.