Late payments and unpaid invoices are a big problem for small businesses. Where a debtor has moved address and is no longer contactable, this doesn’t mean you have to write off the debt. There are quick and easy ways of tracing debtors, enabling you to collect the money that you’re owed.
At CEA Limited, we have a team of professional tracing agents who can swiftly find your debtors, providing complete address details. With our full service we can then go on to recover your debt and continue through the court and enforcement process if necessary. Rather than using separate agencies for your tracing and debt collection needs, bring it all under one company.
Obtain useful information
When you’re looking to trace an individual, it’s important to have the right information to hand. The more information that you can provide to the tracing company the quicker they will be able to locate the debtor.
The following information will be most useful:
– Full name of the debtor
– Debtor’s last known address
– Date of birth of the debtor
Any additional information that you can provide will be helpful in assisting the tracing company.
Use a professional company for tracing debtors
It can appear easy to successfully trace a debtor in the UK. However, without the correct systems and access to the appropriate databases, it’s not always as straightforward as it seems. At CEA Limited, our investigative team will quickly and effectively find your debtors across the UK and overseas using a range of different methods. We will then provide a professional and accurate report, containing all the contact details and information found.
With a specialist tracing company, you are using your time more efficiently and enabling us to do the hard work. There are some basic ways of tracing debtors that you can utilise at first. This may also provide information that will be useful for the tracing team. This could include using social media, internet searches and speaking to other people. However, it is unlikely to provide you with the important contact information you require to recover an unpaid debt.
Evasion strategies
Where a debtor is trying to prevent themselves from being detected, they will often put goods and services in a partner’s name. However, specialist tracing systems can be used to confirm residency at an address and accurately locate debtors.
When they have been traced to a property, debtors can often deny that they are the individual when an agent attends. However, specialist debt collection agents are fully aware of the tricks and strategies used. They will request proof of identification and ownership of any property / vehicles etc.
Financial background information
Understanding the financial status of a debtor is useful for making a decision on when to chase an unpaid invoice. Knowing what assets and liabilities they have will enable you to make a judgement on how successful you will be in recovering the debt. For instance, if the debtor has no worthwhile assets or means to pay it is less likely that your debt will be collected. In some cases, it might be worth waiting to see if their circumstances change before starting proceedings. You have up to six years to chase a debt and then a further six years if a judgement is awarded to enforce it.
Identifying any high-worth assets will also assist a certificated enforcement agent, where one is used to enforce a judgement. They can use the identified asset, such as a vehicle, as leverage when negotiating payment of the debt.
Stay Legal
Ensure that any research you do to locate an individual is conducted legally. Using a professional tracing company, such as CEA Limited, means that all the stress is taken away from you. All the systems that we use abide by current laws and regulations. This ensures that the information we provide you with can be relied upon for accuracy.
To find out more about our tracing and debt recovery services, contact the team on 0800 246 1473 or email office@cealimited.co.uk.
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