Lawful debt management

The term “preparation and conclusion of legal debt management” requires some explanation due to its careful and umbrella-like wording. Contrary to what the public believes, a private detective is not a muscleman who collects money on behalf of the creditors. Debt collection is an organised crime activity, employing musclemen who are more than willing to collect a debt with aggressive, unlawful methods – extortion, blackmail and violence – and with no regard to the law or the debtor. (This may be a very efficient method, but we shouldn’t forget that those who commission such services are equally responsible for the crimes committed by the debt collectors.)
Based on our experience, private detectives are only approached only when other legal options have been exhausted. We can’t do much either, since our methods are legal and if there are no legal options left, the creditor can only turn to the debt collectors who offer illegal and unlawful solutions. There is only one profession allowed by law to collect debts: independent court bailiffs who – with a final judgment from the court – can foreclose the debtor’s real estate and movable assets and auction them off. Meaning: if there is no legal basis – i.e. a verdict or final judgement – the persons setting out to collect the debt are committing a crime, in more serious cases extortion and blackmail. Regardless, there are many companies and private investigators that offer such services: debt management or “asset handling”. Then there are the attorneys whose financial cases almost always involve debt management in one way or another. They cannot collect debts but they can conduct lawful debt management proceedings with preparation for foreclosures, motions or out-of-court settlements. The latter is also the focal point of lawful mediation proceedings. 
What can a private detective can do within the boundaries of the law to enforce a client’s lawful claim? The private detective does his job by the letter of law if before accepting a case, he examines the grounds of the claim, and if the need arises, asks for the help of a legal expert to establish the exact amount of the debt (capital + interests). If this amount is established, the private detective can take up the assignment and start working strictly within the boundaries of the law. 
Lawful debt management is a complex procedure, consisting of two phases. In the first phase, the private detective establishes the financial standing and solvency of the debtor (an individual or a company), examines and establishes the debtor’s willingness to pay, then evaluates the results of the first phase. With these results the private detective moves on to the second phase, in which he tries to enforce the client’s claim lawfully and legally. In practice, the preparation procedure means the examination of the debtor’s financial standing and solvency, plus their willingness to pay. 
(Checking an individual’s financial status can be initiated by an attorney or their client in many civil and family lawsuits. Therefore cases like this take up a considerable percentage of our practice: we constantly work on cases in which we have to establish an individual’s financial and marital status, his or her lifestyle, circle of friends, hobbies and customs.)
Upon completion the first phase of the investigation, we can reach three different results:

1. The debtor – regardless of their willingness to pay – is broke. This can have many causes, which the private detective will have to establish and sum up in a summary report. If the debtor’s insolvency will not change in a timely manner, there’s no need for the second phase, and the private detective concludes his case. But he didn’t do his job in vain since he saved a time, money and energy for his client: he proved that his client shouldn’t finance more legal proceedings because there’s no hope of getting any amount back from the debtor.

2. Due to temporary financial difficulties, the debtor asks for debt rescheduling. If they are willing to pay, the private detector will have to follow the deadlines set out in the notarized document in which the debtor acknowledges their debt. Also, the private detective has to maintain a problem and conflict-free relationship with the debtor. This represents the second phase of the case, and basically is a mediator role for the private investigator.

3. During the debtor’s solvency check it turns out that he or she is solvent but is not willing to pay. In this case, a drawn-own second phase lies ahead.

The second phase of legal debt management requires the client – beyond the usual contract – to authorize the private detective to fully represent him or her during the proceedings. The acting private detective will act as a mediator and starts negotiations with the creditor or his or her representative. The aim of these negotiations is to reach an agreement with the debtor based on the facts the private detective unearthed and established during the first phase. This means not only the establishment of solvency, but of willingness to pay as well. The negotiations must remain calm, fair and without conflict, and it is in everyone’s interest if the legal representative of both sides are present. This is especially useful when the negotiations come to a halt, since the next steps are legal steps, and the attorneys present can start the preparations for a civil lawsuit, or in the case of companies, motions to file for bankruptcy. Our investigators are ready to help in any phase of the proceedings, ready to obtain further information since often, further investigation of a debtor can lead to criminal lawsuits of fraud, embezzlement, tampering with official documents, credit fraud, etc.
During the mediation process our private detectives enlist the help of our partner law firm, and larger debts are handled by our economist-attorney expert.