If you operate a business-to-business company, sooner or later you're going to be put in the position of having to try to collect an unpaid debt from a business that's struggling and has decided, for whatever reason, to put you low on the list of their issues to worry about. Should you try to deal with the problem yourself, call in a debt collector, or hire a commercial litigation attorney to help you? Here are some things to consider.
1.) You probably don't have the time or experience to handle it on your own.
If you've already sent a third invoice and tried to follow up with a polite phone call or two, you already know you aren't get paid without a struggle. Unless you have significant amounts of time on your hands to invest in the collection process, including brushing up on exactly what you can and cannot do under the laws of your state, your time is probably better invested in running your business. Hiring an expert isn't a bad idea.
2.) A debt collector may or may not be able to help you.
Nobody likes to deal with debt collectors, but if the other business is struggling, the odds are good that any one debt collector is going to be just another voice on the other end of the phone—ultimately a nuisance but not a threat.
3.) A commercial litigation attorney may be able to get the other company's attention.
A business owner who is struggling to pay debts may decide to test your resolve by trying to evade service of process, demanding validation of the debt, and using other tactics in the hopes of wearing you down and getting you to settle for far less than you're owed without going to court. A commercial attorney from a company like The Law Office of Vernon Nelson may be able to get the attention of the other business owner during the initial contact by making it clear that the debt is significant enough to take to court if necessary.
4.) An attorney may be able to help you enforce a judgment.
Getting a judgment may only be part of the battle—getting the business to pay the judgment can also be difficult. An attorney who handles business-to-business litigation may be able to help you obtain a writ of execution to actually seize assets or property owned by the business that can then be resold to pay the judgment. In some cases, you may even need the attorney's help tracking down those assets in the first place, if the owner has been concealing them. He or she can also help you file a lien against any property owned by the business—which could be important if the business later goes bankrupt. The lien would be considered a secured debt that would still have to be paid when the business property is sold.
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