What to do if You Are Owed Money from Overseas.

In the UK, many businesses and private individuals find themselves of being in the position of being owed money from overseas.

There is a wide array of reasons for this, and no two cases are alike.

For instance, in the case of a business, a client or customer in another country might not have paid for good or services provided.

For private individuals, they may have purchased something which they have later not received.

Instead, they might have invested in a project in another country and have not had a return when they should have.

Regardless of the reason, and for both private individuals and businesses, the best course of action is to recover the debt.

There are a few different options if you are owed money from overseas.

In this article, our in-house team of international debt collection experts outline each method of recovering money from overseas.

Options Available When You Are Owed Money from Overseas

For many, the prospect of recovering a debt owed from someone in another country can appear to be very difficult.

Many factors indeed come into play that would not be present for more local collections.

For instance, every country has their own set of debt collection laws and regulations.

Knowledge of these laws is vital to recovering a debt.

As well as this, simple matters such as language barriers or even being able to call at the right time of day come into play.

If your base is in the UK, it will be easy to call a debtor in Europe.

Calls to countries that are farther away, such as Australia, will need communication to take place outside of normal UK working hours.

Whilst this might not be an issue for private international debts, for businesses this may indeed present a challenge.

It could also incur a cost, as you might have to pay staff overtime for working outside of their regular hours.

The time required to learn the laws for other countries also takes a long time, increasing the cost of collection.

Becoming an expert on international debt collection can take a long time.

Instead, you should spend this time looking for a professional solution that already has the expertise for recovering overseas debt.

For an individual, it can be a challenge to recover the debt alone.

For a professional and specialist agency, the collection will be a simple, routine task.

With this in mind, there are two main options for when you are owed money from overseas.

Debt Collection Solicitors

There are many specialist debt collection solicitors in the UK.

Their primary method of recovering a debt is through court action.

Whilst this is a viable path to collecting a debt, it often takes a very long time to reach any kind of conclusion.

Anyone who has had experience with hiring a solicitor knows that it can become very expensive.

Solicitors usually charge for their services by the hour, with some charging as much as £200 per hour for the time they work on your case.

As well as this, court action can take months or years to work through, not counting the preparation stages which surround this.

Over this time, the cost of the debt recovery will only increase.

In some cases, the cost can be greater than that of the debt itself.

Whilst a debt collection solicitor is a viable option, there is a faster and more effective solution that comes at a lower cost.

Professional International Debt Collection Agency

The best option to recover an overseas debt is to instruct a professional international debt collection agency.

A specialist agency such as this possesses the knowledge and expertise necessary to help when you are owed money from overseas.

The vast majority of agencies such as this provide an effective and low-cost solution.

For instance, our partner agency, Frontline Collections, has a global network of trusted international collections agents.

This allows them to collect debt from anywhere in the world.

Most agencies provide a solution that is faster than that of other options, meaning that you will be able to minimise costs whilst recovering as much as possible.

For businesses, existing relationships between them and the debtor must not be jeopardised in any way.

A professional international debt collection agency such as Federal Management or Frontline Collections will take every step necessary to do this.

This will mean that future business opportunities will remain viable, helping that organisation grow.

Finding the Right Agency to Help When You Are Owed Money from Overseas

If you are owed money from overseas, then it is important to recover it as soon as possible.

If you have opted to use a debt collection agency to do this, it is helpful to know the qualities you should look for in one.

There are four key qualities to look for in a professional international debt collection agency.

Reputation

You should read and research as many client reviews as possible from all sources to learn how good an agency is.

Frontline Collections, for example, has at the time of writing this article, over 600 positive reviews across many platforms.

This means that their clients have had nothing but a good experience using them.

Disreputable agencies are not a good choice when you are owed money from overseas (or under any circumstances).

Accreditations

Like reputation, an agency’s accreditations are very important.

Overseas debt collectors who are regulated and accredited will provide a more professional and effective service than those who are not.

This means that your money will be able to be recovered more professionally, and all matters will be resolved amicably.

Federal Management, for example, is the only UK overseas debt collection agency to be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Credit Services Association (CSA) and the UK Debt Collection Bureau.

Results

Results are a key factor in the decision-making process when finding someone to help when you are owed money from overseas.

High debt collection rates are important to look out for, as this will help you to understand how effective the agency you are looking at is.

Federal Management has an average recovery rate of 90% on all undisputed debts – this is one of the leading rates in the UK.

Cost

Lastly, the cost is an important quality to research when choosing a debt collection agency.

Low-cost is not always the best solution, as some disreputable agencies will undercut the competition to lock clients into lifetime contracts.

Avoid promises of ‘no win, no fee’ agencies, as more often than not this is a sales tactic.

The best agencies to choose are those that are transparent with their pricing structures.

Federal Management and Frontline Collections, for instance, offer a free pre-action debt appraisal.

This assesses the viability of an overseas debt and provides a cost based on its unique circumstances.

It is important to remember that no two cases are the same and as such a collection agency cannot give a standard charge.