International debt collection: how does it work?

Increasing numbers of Belgian companies, extending their activities to the international arena, are finding themselves confronted with foreign debtors. The management of unpaid invoices is thus affected and it will prove necessary to be ready to deal with these bad-payer clients beyond national frontiers. International debt collection may be complex because, besides the language barrier, there are of course also certain particularities and subtleties proper to each country. Find out more in this article about the process of recovery of international debts.

Some precautions

As you know, international debt collection is not an easy discipline. In order to best prepare yourself for the potential risks of unpaid invoices in foreign countries, there are some good practices that you can adopt upstream.

Collect as much information as you can about your client or your debtor, if for no other reason than to assure yourself that he is in fact solvent.

Also bear in mind that the absence of a document proving the debt will make the recovery of your claims more difficult. That’s why it’s important to keep all documentation concerning the debt such as, for instance, the order forms and delivery notes or the exchanges of letters and e-mails that you have maintained with your debtor.

Do not hesitate to draw up a solid contract setting out clear, well-defined general conditions. Finally this latter measure may appear tame, but we advise you to send your invoices as quickly as possible.

Amicable international debt collection

If, unfortunately, the payment date is missed and your debtor still has not paid the invoice that you sent him, you can at this point try to contact him yourself. First of all, start by calling your client. If you don’t receive an answer or if this telephone call has no useful effect, then wait no more and send him a written reminder for prompt settlement.

If your debtor does not respond to your telephone calls and your payment reminder letters, it is now time to enlist the aid of a debt collection company to accelerate the debt collection process. In fact, by way of example, here at TCM we work with local partners all over the world who can make direct local contact with your debtor. A local agent will also know better than most how to negotiate the cultural and administrative obstacles that you don’t usually encounter in Belgium. All measures towards amicable debt collection will be attempted to recover your debts without having to consider court proceedings.

Legal international debt collection

Unfortunately, it does sometimes happen that, despite all efforts made for an amicable solution, your debtor does not settle the sum he owes you. You then have the choice of instituting a court case for legal international debt collection. The interest in engaging the services of a debt collection company and those of its local partner or partners is then manifestly clear. The local laws and customs around debt collection differ considerably from one country to the next, and our local partner will be able to point you towards the best legal steps to take in order to institute legal proceedings as quickly and as effectively as possible.

Conclusion

At a time when the development of foreign activities is becoming increasingly common for many Belgian companies, it is crucial to anticipate as much as possible (is that the correct expression?) the risks of unpaid receivables at international level. If you wish to book interesting results in other countries you must be well organized and prepare yourself. You may for instance take various preventive measures, but you can also work together with international debt collection professionals should the debtor fail to display honest intent.

If you wish to find out more about our international debt collection services visit our dedicated page or you can always contact us by e-mail at sales@tcm.be or by telephone on +32 16 74 52 04

International debt collection: how does it work?

Increasing numbers of Belgian companies, extending their activities to the international arena, are finding themselves confronted with foreign debtors. The management of unpaid invoices is thus affected and it will prove necessary to be ready to deal with these bad-payer clients beyond national frontiers. International debt collection may be complex because, besides the language barrier, there are of course also certain particularities and subtleties proper to each country. Find out more in this article about the process of recovery of international debts.

Some precautions

As you know, international debt collection is not an easy discipline. In order to best prepare yourself for the potential risks of unpaid invoices in foreign countries, there are some good practices that you can adopt upstream.

Collect as much information as you can about your client or your debtor, if for no other reason than to assure yourself that he is in fact solvent.

Also bear in mind that the absence of a document proving the debt will make the recovery of your claims more difficult. That’s why it’s important to keep all documentation concerning the debt such as, for instance, the order forms and delivery notes or the exchanges of letters and e-mails that you have maintained with your debtor.

Do not hesitate to draw up a solid contract setting out clear, well-defined general conditions. Finally this latter measure may appear tame, but we advise you to send your invoices as quickly as possible.

Amicable international debt collection

If, unfortunately, the payment date is missed and your debtor still has not paid the invoice that you sent him, you can at this point try to contact him yourself. First of all, start by calling your client. If you don’t receive an answer or if this telephone call has no useful effect, then wait no more and send him a written reminder for prompt settlement.

If your debtor does not respond to your telephone calls and your payment reminder letters, it is now time to enlist the aid of a debt collection company to accelerate the debt collection process. In fact, by way of example, here at TCM we work with local partners all over the world who can make direct local contact with your debtor. A local agent will also know better than most how to negotiate the cultural and administrative obstacles that you don’t usually encounter in Belgium. All measures towards amicable debt collection will be attempted to recover your debts without having to consider court proceedings.

Legal international debt collection

Unfortunately, it does sometimes happen that, despite all efforts made for an amicable solution, your debtor does not settle the sum he owes you. You then have the choice of instituting a court case for legal international debt collection. The interest in engaging the services of a debt collection company and those of its local partner or partners is then manifestly clear. The local laws and customs around debt collection differ considerably from one country to the next, and our local partner will be able to point you towards the best legal steps to take in order to institute legal proceedings as quickly and as effectively as possible.

Conclusion

At a time when the development of foreign activities is becoming increasingly common for many Belgian companies, it is crucial to anticipate as much as possible (is that the correct expression?) the risks of unpaid receivables at international level. If you wish to book interesting results in other countries you must be well organized and prepare yourself. You may for instance take various preventive measures, but you can also work together with international debt collection professionals should the debtor fail to display honest intent.

If you wish to find out more about our international debt collection services visit our dedicated page or you can always contact us by e-mail at sales@tcm.be or by telephone on +32 16 74 52 04