When it comes to commercial debt collection, many businesses choose to work with a commercial collections agency.

Many people don't know all the downsides of these collection agencies.  They also don't usually learn about them until it's too late.

When you have past due accounts, and more importantly, large claims, there are several advantages to working with a commercial collections lawyer instead of an agency.

Here are a few key differences between the using a business debt collections attorney vs. a commercial collection agency:

• A commercial collections lawyer is licensed and regulated by the state bar, whereas a commercial collections agency is not. This means that a lawyer is held to a higher standard of ethics and professionalism.
• A commercial collections lawyer has the ability to file lawsuits and take other legal action against debtors, whereas a collections agency does not. This gives you more options for recovering your debt.
• A commercial collections lawyer will typically charge on a contingency basis, which means you only have to pay if they are successful in collecting your debt. A collections agency will typically charge a flat fee, whether or not they are successful.

Why is each item above important when it comes to collecting commercial debts?

Debt collection agencies often use fringe tactics that may or may not be legal. They also tend to apply pressure when collecting debt that could harm the reputation of your business. This could be important, even if they are at fault.

Licensing and regulation by the state bar ensure that commercial collections lawyers are held to a higher standard of ethics and professionalism. This means they are less likely to engage in questionable or illegal business practices when collecting outstanding debt.

Commercial collection agencies are often limited in their abilities to use all federal and state laws to their benefit. A commercial collections attorney has the additional benefit of being able to file lawsuits and take other legal action to collect money owed and this gives you more options for debt recovery.

Commercial debt collection agency fee structures can vary wildly as can their collection services. So can their collection process.

Our fee structures are simple. We use a combination of our experience gained from working on thousands of cases and the details of your case and help you to select between a full contingency-based arrangement where we carry the cost burden until there is a successful outcome or fee-based plus expenses where costs might be lower in the event of large amounts.

Let me share a story from one of my clients who used a debt collection agency...

We'll call him John.  I often get cases from folks like John who first unsuccessfully dealt with a debt collection agency.  John came to me after working with a commercial collection agency for two years.  And after two years, he was in no better situation than he was when he had started.  Worse, he had lost time and spent quite a bit of money.

The agency was unsuccessful in collecting for John and they advised that it was time to take legal action with the debtor.  John learned that the debt collection agency didn't have an internal legal team.  They hired legal services from an outside law office.  John had to both pay to retain the attorney and pay the legal filing fees to begin the process.  At this point, he was out of pocket nearly another $1,000.

John also wanted updates regarding his case.  He wanted to speak directly to the attorney for these updates and to provide additional information that might be helpful.  But John learned that the attorney didn't want to speak directly to him because John wasn't his client, the collections agency was.

Then after hiring the lawyer through the collections agency, and paying the legal fees, he later learned that the agency had dropped the ball and no lawsuit was ever filed.

But how did he learn this?  How did he learn that a lawsuit was never filed?

He didn't learn about it from the commercial collection service.  He learned this from me.  He because so sick and tired of waiting for the collections agency to make progress that he took his case away from them and went straight to the source, a business debt collections attorney who would actually give him the services he needed.

Hiring a debt collection agency can be like stepping into a big black hole where nothing ever comes out of it ever again.

Don't be John...

The other downsides of a debt collection agency

Debt collection agencies are by and large national companies with no knowledge of your industry, your customer, or your needs and requirements.

They are staffed by people with no legal training whose job is to send letters and make telephone calls. Hundreds of them a day.

Do you really think that your deadbeat customer is really going to respond to this kind of tactic?

The most effective way to get your customer's attention is to serve them with a lawsuit. Bob Dewberry is a man of action. Deeds, not words

Why knowing the law, and all the angles, can impact the commercial collection experience

When selecting a commercial collections agency, or a business debt collection attorney, you want to know that they have the experience necessary to turn bad debt into collectible debt. You want to work with someone who understands how and when to use the law and necessary legal angles for your benefit. You want to work with someone who knows where to press and how hard so that you can successfully collect outstanding debt.

After working on thousands of commercial collection cases I have developed a pretty good understanding of where and how hard to press. I know when to use the law and how to apply it in every collection scenario, more so than just about any commercial collection agency.

Even better, I know how to structure deals that help clients pay their debts

Over the years I've seen it all. Sometimes clients simply don't want to pay their debts. Other times, they do want to pay but they don't think they have the cash flow to be able to. This is another area where years of experience come into play and can be used for your benefit.

I have structured countless settlements, both using the law or simply using creative methods to help clients collect debt that might otherwise go uncollected. This is something that you won't get from a traditional commercial collection agency that will just use their hammer and make endless phone calls pestering and pounding your clients into submission.  That's not usually the best way to do it.

I find solutions that help you collect debt while helping your clients find ways to get things settled.

Are you ready to talk and discuss your debt collection case?

I take phone calls all the time from business owners and executives like you. If you are owed over $10,000, I'd be more than happy to talk to you about your case and assess your odds from a legal perspective and from the perspective of a debt collector.

I will help you understand why working with an attorney will be better for you than working with a commercial collection agency.  We offer a wide array of commercial debt collection services and I will quickly help you understand which would be best for you. And finally, we can lay out some collections process and strategies. I'll even share success rates for similar cases.

Don't waste valuable time. Give us a call at (714) 932-7516 and we'll get things figured out. You can also click here to request an appointment, but if you want immediate answers, we'll give them to you if we're available. Otherwise, leave a message and we'll call you back.

I hope to hear from you soon. If your case qualifies, I'd love to have you as one of our clients.

PS.  I am based in Irvine, CA, and I primarily work with companies in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Riverside Counties.  I also work with companies outside of these areas and have worked and settled cases in every county in California.