B2B DEBT COLLECTION IN USA

The whole process of b2b debt collection in the United States of America is not the same as in other countries or anywhere worldwide. The main difference is the strict regulation of collection activities by the state. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a federal law that restricts the behavior and actions of the debt collection agencies. CIS DRS is compliant with all Federal laws in regard to all debt collection practices.

Another important difference is the existence of local legislation that governs the efforts of collection agencies and their associates in each state. There are many cases when the debtors file a claim with the court for violating the laws, namely, exceeding the permissible number of daily phone calls, conducting rude negotiations, etc. In this connection, trusted lawyers always consider legislation of every state before we start our work in every claim that we receive from our clients.

A professional investigation on the debtor is an important step towards debt collection. Solid investigation experience in the US gives us the opportunity to conduct a deep investigation on the debtor's companies, shareholders, affiliates, and financial funds.

In our investigation service, we use the concept of open-source intelligence (OSINT), which means the mass of data collected from different sources that is combined into a unified system. Using the obtained information, we build a collection strategy that helps us to conduct effective negotiations directly with the responsible for repayment persons.

Our latest success story was recovery of the debt from a small business that ordered a batch of textiles from China. Following the concept of OSINT, we have filed our written requests to the California Secretary of State and obtained detailed data about the registration of the company, copies of certified LLC's documents, information about its beneficiaries, and the location of the debtor's office as well as its other commercial property.

We combined the obtained information from the Secretary of State with the results of our online research and found out that the debtor is affiliated with a large group of companies. Our team also arranged a site-visit to the debtor's warehouse in Los Angeles, CA, and confirmed that the debtor had sold the whole shipment. Having this information, we conducted negotiations with the debtor's management and agreed on a settlement plan with them.

CIS DRS has profound experience in negotiations with the debtors in business to business cases with defaulted payments, and we always recommend international suppliers to check the buyer before signing of the trade contract. In the US this can easily be done by sending requests to local Secretaries of States either online or by regular post.

Besides that, we recommend obtaining as much contact information from the buyer as possible. The best option is to have personal phone numbers, email addresses of the company's shareholders, and general director, not only trading managers. Bearing in mind the fact that the most efficient way to agree on the payments is through negotiations with the company's owners, the suppliers should be able to contact them directly.