Further to our recent article – Am I a Debt Collector? -  we now take a look at: What is debt collection? How should I go about debt collection? Illegal debt collection behaviour Unconscionable conduct What is debt collection? Debt collection takes place when creditors and collectors seek to secure payment from consumers or businesses who are legally bound to pay or to repay money they owe. It is important that any organisation (and its credit and accounts receivable engaged staff) involved in recovering debt is aware of its legal obligations. How should I go about debt collection? Principles of debt collection fairness You should

The ability for an owners corporation to be able to initiate debt recovery action against defaulting lot owners is statutory. In NSW it is enshrined in the provisions of the Strata Schemes Management Act NSW 2015 (the “Act’).   Recovery of legal costs   A strata manager that was recently looking to engage our services to recover overdue levies from lot owners asked us:   “Are all legal costs recoverable if we engage your services to recover overdue levies?”   The reason for their question was that they had endured a negative experience on a case whereby a court had ruled that recovery of costs was unreasonable,

From today (21 July 2021), owners corporations and community land associations will again be able to validly meet and vote electronically without having previously adopted a resolution in this regard. The existing regulations on executing documents without the common seal and serving notice of meetings by email will remain. See Strata Schemes Management Amendment (COVID-19) Regulation (No 2) 2021 and Community Land Management Amendment (COVID-19) Regulation (No 2) 2021 for more information. These regulations will be in force until January 2022. REF: The Law Society NSW https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/pdf/asmade/sl-2021-402 https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/pdf/asmade/sl-2021-400

  It is always fantastic to receive a phone call from a prospective new client that wants to throw plenty of work your way. But this does not happen every day. In fact, you may go weeks or months between these types of phone calls and easy win client acquisitions.   There are any number of tried (or should that be tired) and tested sales methods to get yourself in front of prospective new clients to showcase your business and your service offering. Before I became a solicitor, I held a number of roles in the legal industry which involved sales and marketing

INSOLVENCY LAW - HOSPITALITY HURTING The hospitality sector is an integral part of the Australian economy and includes a diverse range of businesses including hotels, pubs, licensed bars, restaurants, cafes, leisure clubs and venues employing over 900,000 workers across the country. The forced closure and restrictions placed on restaurants, cafes and other hospitality venues during 2020 has had wide and damaging effects on the sector from which some businesses will not recover. With over 130,00 businesses in the sector, the market is already highly competitive with technology driving change across the industry and establishments working harder to differentiate their offering from that of

The temporary insolvency protections relating to statutory demands, which apply to all companies, ended on 31 December 2020. In the normal course, under section 459E of the Corporations Act, a creditor can issue a statutory demand against a company demanding payment of a debt of at least $2,000 (the Statutory Minimum) that is currently due and payable. The company then has 21 days after being served with the statutory demand to pay the demanded amount, reach an agreement with the creditor about the debt to the creditor's satisfaction, or to apply to a relevant court to have the statutory demand set

Credit reporting agencies are often utilised by lenders as part of a loan approval process. If you default on the loan the lender will issue notices, which if ignored may then result in the lender registering a default on your credit rating. Equifax is the largest credit reporting agency and holds about 85% of the consumer credit reporting market but there are smaller players in the market. A Court can also record a default on a person’s credit rating when legal proceedings have been issued to recover a debt and a judgment has been issued against the defendant. A judgment that is unpaid

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The Federal Government has announced proposed further changes to Australia’s insolvency laws. These changes will add to the multitude of legislation changes introduced over the previous year which have been discussed in our earlier articles.   https://nswcreditlaw.com.au/2021/01/25/bankruptcy-law-temporary-debt-relief-measures-ended-on-1-january-2021/ https://nswcreditlaw.com.au/2021/01/25/insolvency-law-changes-to-statutory-demands-from-1-january-2021/ A significant change for creditors chasing debts from corporate entities is a permanent increase in the threshold at which creditors can issue a statutory demand. The threshold will increase from $2,000 to $4,000. Confirmation of the date from which this increase will apply is still to be announced.     With a view to “further simplifying and streamlining insolvency law”, the Federal Government will also: • consult on the treatment

3 May 2021 Joint media release with The Hon Michael Sukkar MP Assistant Treasurer Minister for Housing Minister for Homelessness, Social and Community Housing As part of our economic recovery plan, the Morrison Government is pursuing further measures to improve Australia’s insolvency framework for both small and large businesses. In the 2020–21 Budget, the Government announced the most significant reform to Australia’s insolvency framework in 30 years. These reforms, which came into effect on 1 January 2021, created a new simplified restructuring and liquidation process for small companies and have given directors the control and flexibility they need to either restructure or wind down operations. As a result