International Debt Recovery: Over £4,000 Collected From Chinese Debtor

Our client is a major company which deals in shares. They had a debt in China for just over £4,000 which they instructed Lovetts’ overseas prelegal department to recover on a no collection, no fee basis.

The Challenge

The debt was for services our client had provided in respect of dealing with shares and issuing share certificates for their client, a Chinese company. The debtor refused to engage with the client in relation to the unpaid invoices. The Courts of England and Wales had jurisdiction but even if Court proceedings were issued and a Judgment obtained China would not recognise it as an enforceable Judgment, because China only recognises foreign judgments under specific treaties with particular jurisdictions. China has not entered into such a treaty with the UK. 

The Solution

It was important to establish some engagement in relation to the debt. The key to any debt collection, whether in the UK or overseas, is to ensure you speak to the right person even if you have to escalate it as far up as the CEO. The debtor failed to engage with Lovetts and it was not possible to make contact with anyone with sufficient authority within the debtor Company. Through extensive research and investigation, Lovetts was able to find the details of the debtor’s third party accountants and subsequently made contact with them regarding the debt. 

The Benefit

The accountants would have been under a duty to refer our correspondence onto its client, our debtor. They would also at the same time be made aware of a potential liability that would have to be accounted for in any accounts drafted by them. The accounts did in fact refer to our correspondence and they also made a senior member of the debtor Company aware of the debt. Accordingly, the debtor settled the debt within two weeks of the debt being referred to Lovetts and all on a no collection no fee basis. International Debt Recovery: send us a message or call 01483 457500