Good debt recovery agent?

Reply to the comment left by "Robert Mellors" at "03/07/2014 - 12:32":

On many occasions that landlord would have already offered this information. Cars may also be parked on driveways, right outside or in a numbered bay. Most HCEOs also have access to the DVLA to assist.

I think you under estimate our ability to gain entry also. When speaking to the debtor and explained in the right way many of them will allow access. This is largely due because they know they owe the rent, want to get rid of the judgment and understand it will not go away. Yes the goods inside are often of little value but many will want to resolve the issue by way of a payment arrangement. On some occasions a family member or friend will make payment.

I think you're wrong in your view of HCEOs success rates in such circumstances and as stated already I would always advise that the likely success is based on a case by case basis.

Whatever the case, the use of an HCEO is more likely to get you paid rather than the use of a telephone debt collector without the power of entry and seizure.

This information is brilliant! I had a recent scenario when a tenant moved in - I paid a visit and all seemed good the garden flat looked great all kitted out in new Ikea furniture! Previous tenant had been there for 5 years! a few weeks later a neighbour called me to say the tenant had moved out and left no forwarding address. I found out where the ex tenant was and he began pursuing me for the deposit! This was in November - and the total empty property period was 4 months - so a loss of £4k, plus empty property council tax. I contacted solicitors however the advice was for this amount of money it could cost more to pursue the claim. This does come back to the quality of the tenant it is usually a rare event and you do need to budget for it! Subject to the property sometimes its worth doing some upgrading - tenants tend to stay in well maintained properties longer. I always aim to meet up with prospective tenants - and use one agent to find them. It's all about reducing the risk - but you can get caught out occasionally as I did. These agencies are good but do your homework first and cost it out on a worse case scenario.

it costs money to chase money and for most cases takes up a large amount of time - if you have low margins then do comprehensive DD & get all the security possible upfront, otherwise its going to take a very long time just to get back to break even that's even if you can, note comments on ex-tenants with little / no assets. If you're making good money from your portfolio i'd strongly consider writing it off from tax bill and reviewing your DD policy to avoid it happening again.

Does anyone know of any debt collection companies that will work on a commission basis (no upfront fees), AND are willing to chase debtors (former tenants) who are on benefits? (when there is no county court judgement for the debt).

Traceadebt.com has a lot of free information available on how to recover debt available here http://www.traceadebt.com/the-debt-collection-process/4584241861

Reply to the comment left by "James Gordon-Johnson" at "21/07/2014 - 09:31":

Good information, but they appear to purchase the services from another company, and there is no mention of collection from debtors on benefits. Is this a service they offer?

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "12/12/2013 - 11:20":

Returning to this a year or more later, they failed to collect anything - I'm now going to try their preferred solicitors, Shakespeares at Stratford on Avon with a view to then enforcing the Judgment with The Sheriff's Office.

We trace people internally and recover debt internally, i.e. we do not outsource these services. Traceadebt.com is a trading name of our company Village investigations Ltd. We can attempt debt collection on any individual in the UK providing the debt is evidenced such as a tenancy agreement copy etc.

Reply to the comment left by "Jerry Jones" at "10/03/2015 - 14:23":

Dear Jerry,

If there anything I can assist with prior to instruction please let me know. We also have an in-house trace team if required.

Regards, David

Reply to the comment left by "James Gordon-Johnson" at "10/03/2015 - 14:27":

Thank you for the offer, James, but FCC Paragon have already tried that approach. Time to go legal, I think, although first impressions at Shakespeares are not encouraging.