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OPPOSING PREFERENCE PAYMENT CLAIMS AFTER COLLECTING MONEY

Claims by a liquidator for monies to be repaid to a company now in liquidation are unfortunately for most businesses a common event.  The good deeds done in collecting money can come undone and hurt your bottom line.

As a successful credit management team, you will have recovered monies that may have been received shortly before the debtor company was placed into liquidation, or the individual declared bankrupt.  This can then bring a new raft of issues should the liquidator or trustee be savvy enough to want the money back. [...]  READ MORE →

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SHOULD I INSTRUCT A LAWYER FOR DEBT COLLECTION?

At Matthews Folbigg Lawyers, we have a team of lawyers and clerks ready, wiling and able to cater for your debt collection requirements.  Aside from being lawyers, members of our team have been involved in debt recovery for over 30 years, helping companies and individuals recover monies due and owing to them working with finance companies and mercantile agents seeing first hand the nuts and bolts of dealing with debtors.

This experience has given us a boost in assisting our clients to recover monies in-house up to the management of a full blown hearing where the debtor defends everything from non-supply of goods to alleging that the goods supplied were defective.  It also allows us to give you advice on the implications of debt collection, so you can make practical, commercial decisions. [...]  READ MORE →

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DEBT RECOVERY – HOW FAR CAN YOU GO?

Any customer or client that owes you money outside of normal trading terms is an understandable source of frustration. That frustration is compounded when the individual company involved is clearly more than capable of paying, has not raised any issues with the quality of the products or services you have supplied, and is behaving as though non-payment of debts is a normal and acceptable part of doing business.

Even though the temptation is to adopt a non-compromising, even aggressive method of debt recovery in these cases, it is wise to stop and consider the restrictions imposed on debt recovery in NSW. If you fail to do so you may unwittingly breach legislation designed to protect debtors, and get yourself in more trouble than when you started – which I am sure will only make you even more frustrated! [...]  READ MORE →

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When is it too late to collect a debt?

By Ellen Ferris, a Solicitor in Matthews Folbigg’s Insolvency, Restructuring and Debt Recovery Group.

When life gets busy, sometimes we put off important jobs to deal with more pressing matters. But when it comes to debt collection, this can only be put off for so long before debts become ‘statute barred‘. At this point the debts the subject of debt collection are no longer capable of being collected.

Most States and all Territories have time limits within which debt collection must be completed. In New South Wales, if too much time passes and the limitation period expires, section 63 of the Limitation Act 1969 (NSW) extinguishes the debt, meaning recovery of the debt is no longer possible.. [...]  READ MORE →

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Debt Collection – What we are hearing from our clients

Debt Collection – What we are hearing from our clients

Regardless of which industry they operate in, clients are expressing to us a sense of dislocation from their usual business networks. Social isolation has meant that feedback from customers, practical guidance from industry associations and even gossip from colleagues has been harder to come by. Under these pressures it is easy to feel as though your business challenges are unique to you.

If COVID-19 has led you to put debt collection down your business priority list you are not alone. Most of the business owners we have spoken to are: [...]  READ MORE →

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Money for Nothing? Or, Something Instead of Nothing.

By Ellen Ferris, a Solicitor in Matthews Folbigg’s Insolvency, Restructuring and Debt Recovery Group.

Before commencing potentially costly court proceedings, there are a number of debt recovery options which should be canvassed by a wise creditor. One such option is that of a payment plan, or payment arrangement.

The benefits of a payment plan include;

  1. Regular payments from the debtor assisting with cashflow;
  2. Debtors are more likely to be able to repay a debt when it is broken down into smaller repayments;
  3. Potentially keeping relationships with valued customers;
  4. Opens up a channel of communication with the debtor;
  5. Avoiding disputes over the amounts owing.

A payment plan can take the form of an informal arrangement, or even just simply letting the debtor pay the debt off in smaller amounts without objecting or suing for the balance. On the other hand the terms may be set out in a formal deed.  There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches, and much will depend upon which of the benefits set out above are most attractive to the creditor. [...]  READ MORE →

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Winter is Coming – COVID-19 Changes Insolvency Law

By Anica Cunanan, Law Clerk at Matthews Folbigg in the Insolvency, Restructuring and Debt Recovery Group

The unprecedented financial impact of COVID-19 has forced the laws surrounding insolvencies to change – well at least temporarily.  Analogous to the process of containing the virus, the Government is currently deciding on temporary changes to also flatten the curve of the inevitable insolvencies following this pandemic.

The Treasurer has been given a temporary instrument-making power in the Corporations Act 2001, for a period of six months, in order to provide temporary relief to distressed businesses. This was announced by the Government on 12 March 2020. [...]  READ MORE →

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Debt Recovery – Why should I use a Lawyer?

By Darrin Mitchell, a Senior Associate in Matthews Folbigg’s Insolvency, Restructuring and Debt Recovery Group.

Meet Darrin

Aside from being a lawyer, Darrin has been involved in debt recovery for 30 years, helping companies and individuals recover monies due and owing to them.

Before Darrin was admitted as a lawyer, he worked for a finance company and a mercantile agent so he saw first hand the nuts and bolts of dealing with debtors.

This experience has given Darrin a boost in assisting clients to recover monies in-house up to the management of a full blown hearing where the debtor defends everything from non-supply of goods to alleging that the goods supplied were defective.  It also allows Darrin to give advice on the implications of debt recovery, so clients can make practical, commercial decisions. [...]  READ MORE →

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Creditor’s Requests – When is it unreasonable?

By Bonnie McMahon, an Associate in Matthews Folbigg’s Insolvency, Restructuring and Debt Recovery Group.

Many external administrators and trustees will have been receiving requests from creditors under section 70-45 of the new insolvency practice schedules, which were first introduced into the Corporations Act and Bankruptcy Act in September 2017.

This new provision allows creditors to request information, reports or documents from an external administrator or trustee.

At this stage, there is not a lot of guidance as to when external administrators and trustees can refuse to comply with these requests, especially as the scope of section 70-45 has only been considered by the Court in one reported case to date. [...]  READ MORE →

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Creditor’s statutory demand issued pending negotiations is upheld

By Andrew Behman, an Associate of Matthews Folbigg, in our Insolvency, Restructuring and Debt Recovery Group

In a recent matter which we acted for the Defendant (In the matter of Precise Training Pty Ltd [2018] NSWSC 1383), we successfully defended an application to set aside a creditor’s statutory demand issued by the Chief Commissioner of State Revenue (“the Commissioner“) against Precise Training Pty Ltd, the Plaintiff.

Facts

The Commissioner issued a number of assessments for payroll tax to Precise Training in 2015 as a member of a larger tax group. Precise Training disputed the assessments and lodged an objection on 10 December 2015. The Commissioner disallowed the objection and proceeded to enter into negotiations for payment of the assessments. [...]  READ MORE →

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DEBTOR’S PETITION OVERHAUL – JANUARY 2020

By Darrin Mitchell, Senior Associate at Matthews Folbigg in the Insolvency, Restructuring and Debt Recovery Group

An individual overwhelmed by debt (“the Debtor”) may seek the protection of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth) (“the Act”) and file a Debtor’s Petition.

Section 55 of the Act provides that an individual may present to the Official Receiver a petition against himself/herself in the approved form and accompanied by a Statement of Affairs which provides details of the person and sets out the person’s financial affairs. [...]  READ MORE →

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Preventing a Service Fail – A Tale of Email v. Snail Mail?

In one of our recent matters, a client instructed us to bring winding up proceedings against four companies with the same sole director. The total debt across the four companies was over $300,000.00. Whilst there were four applications before the Court, one common issue was whether the companies had been properly served with the statutory demands relating to the debt owed.

On 11 April 2019, statutory demands were sent to all four companies, with the demands posted to the registered offices of the defendants according to the records of ASIC. Unbeknownst to the creditor, the director had vacated the registered premises of two of the companies over a year earlier, but had failed to update ASIC’s records in respect of this change, and had not put in place a mail-forwarding system. The demands addressed to the other two companies were sent to the office of the director’s solicitor. [...]  READ MORE →