Some sensitive situations require expertise beyond your own. Take debt collecting, for instance. If there is failure to pay on the debtor’s side, it is well within the right of the creditor to demand payment. But this is easier said than done. How does a creditor find peaceable means that guarantees payment?
If you find yourself in these circumstances, it’s more sensible to hand over the debt collecting to a bailiff office. Bailiffs understand the debt collection process and know their legal limits when asking for payment.
When you hire a bailiff, you have a higher chance of recouping the money owed to you. Hearing the word ‘bailiff’ alone compels debtors to settle the balance as soon as possible. Debt collection involving bailiffs tends to be more successful than debtors who try to collect their money on their own.
A bailiff also saves you precious time. Debt collection involves time-consuming work. By working with a bailiff office, you don’t have to worry about drafting, researching and following debt collection protocols.
Above all, you don’t damage the positive relationship you have with the debtor.
Getting Bailiffs Involved
If you need assistance recovering commercial rent, MS Webb will deliver quick and convenient services to protect your business interests.
The first step is to get in touch to answer all of your enquiries. Our representatives will walk you through the process, so you have a clear picture of what our bailiff will do. Then, download and fill out the Authority to Enforce form. The form includes all the important details regarding the situation, like the debtor’s name, contact details and the amount of rent owed, as well as the interest.
Once our office receives the Authority to Enforce form, we will serve a Notice of Enforcement to your tenant within 24 hours. This gives the tenant seven working days (including Saturday) to arrange payment. This is enough time to pay before the bailiff arrives.
You have several options in case the rent remains unpaid after seven days. All these courses of action are in the Authority to Enforce form. If you’re not sure about the steps to take, you can tick the option that says ‘Contact Landlord or Managing Agent for further instructions’.
Controlled Goods Agreements
If you allow our bailiff to enter the premises, MS Webb will handle ‘controlled goods agreements’ (we can explain this during our consultation). Our bailiff can enter the premises between 6AM and 9PM, when they ask for immediate payment or enforce the removal of goods.
If you allow it, the tenant can pay a certain amount of the rent owed in the meantime, then pay the balance according to your agreed timeline.
We will also perform a ‘Taking Control’ procedure, wherein we’ll take an inventory of the debtor’s goods. When you have ‘taken control’, you get first call on the items and no other bailiff from other collection agencies can remove the item from the premises.
Even if involving a bailiff into the rent recovery process sounds intimidating, it is anything but. It removes the burden off your shoulders and increases the success rate of recovering money owed to you.
MS Webb performs all these with minimum drama. Our bailiffs are experienced, trained and knowledgeable in handling different types of debtors.
When you need help with commercial rent collection, contact us today.