£9K Debt Collection from a Construction Firm

Advocate has successfully recovered £9K up to 100 days overdue from a Nottinghamshire-based construction & renovation firm. As the main contractor, they undertake a range of private, commercial, and local government projects. Protection against intruders is a consideration on all construction projects by default. Our client is engaged as a subcontractor on specialist projects where exceptional levels of security and access control are required. This typically encompasses care units, safe havens and certain types of hospitals.

Founded on several decades of prior experience working for a much larger firm in the same industry, our client’s business was established five years ago. Their company initially thrived on efficiency through necessity, i.e., projects are completed quicker with fewer staff members owing to the high benchmark of expertise set when recruiting. As a result of Brexit, our client saw a high percentage of employees withdrawing from the UK, putting the company’s efficiency on a knife-edge. Our client is several months away from restoring its skills pool through recruitment and in-house training. We first worked with the client prior to the UK’s departure and have continued since then with a number of debt collections.

Time & Tide

Upon Advocate’s instruction, the debt was £15.7K, spanning 40 invoices. From our initial contact with the debtor, it became apparent that £6.7K, spanning three remittances, had not been identified prior to commencing. The principal balance and statutory charges were then revised and reissued. With copy invoices in hand, Advocate sought to resolve Purchase Order (PO) issues with the debtor. Notable delays in resolving some of the incorrect POs were due to our client spreading themselves too thin, at least in the short term. The first major breakthrough came with a £5.7K payment followed by a couple of much smaller remittances. Upon issue of the Final Demand, another small payment was received, reducing the balance to £3K plus statutory late payment charges. Additional conversations and enquiries were required to get the better of new allocation, reconciliation and PO barriers. Despite the advancement of modern technology, not all remote homesteads and hamlets are contactable. Ironically, one of the biggest delays in resolving disputes was now caused by the client attending an isolated location tasked with making it more contactable. Once overcome, payment of the remaining balance and charges were received before closing the file. The client reports more recent invoices are being paid with little to no chasing.

Making Experience Pay

This was the fourth time in three years we had received a debt collection instruction against this particular debtor. Previous cases have given Advocate the opportunity to build rapport with stakeholders and obtain contact details for several department heads. The primary goal of any case is to obtain payment for the client. At Advocate, we’re not here to burn your bridges. We’re also not here to tread lightly on the off chance of a more prestigious future encounter. The consistent ethos of firm-but-fair enabled Advocate to capitalise on the previous experience of this debtor to the benefit of the current client. It resulted in another successful commercial debt recovery by Advocate.

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