The Difficulty Of Collecting Debts In Ireland

It is very difficult for businesses collecting debts in Ireland, there are no licensed collection agencies regulated by the government. It is common for many debtors to be intimidated by debt collectors who use strong arm tactics. There are many reasons that creditors resort to this type of collection method most notably the lack of formal legislation.

A person can understand why businesses need to resort to unethical methods, there should be in some legitimate way for them to recover their money. Small business cannot always afford the cost of solicitors. Even claims that are unchallenged are lengthy and expensive to wind up in court.

Most creditors will use collection agencies after exhausting all the persuasive methods available to them. At this point the creditor is now past the point of worrying how he gets his money back, even if unethical methods are used. Any business owner will know what it is like to keep the business afloat when there are large amounts of money owing and will certainly sympathise with creditors who resort to other means of collecting money due to them.

The introduction of small claims courts was an attempt by the government to allow the average person to pursue civil claims. Only a certain maximum may be claimed in these courts and is most often not enough to cover the due amounts. Unfortunately claims from business to business cannot be heard by the small claims court and need to follow the litigation procedure as per the sanctioned legal methods of the country.

The country’s legal system makes it very difficult for creditors to collect their money and it does not seem to be any good news in the foreseeable future. The current economic crisis affecting the country requires the government to make provisions for the recovery of debt by introducing suitable legal methods of recovering bad debts. The new laws should have the basic rights of individuals and business owners entrenched in their promulgation.

There was an ideal opportunity for fast tracking civil claims with the introduction of small claims court. This did not happen and the introduction of small claims court had no real effect on businesses in recovering bad debt. The cost of following the legal route is way out of reach for most small to medium business owners in the country.

The Irish are known to have short fuses and are also very generous in their dealings with friends and neighbours from their community. The extension of credit to customers because of an owners inherently good nature, has left many businesses on the brink of collapse. Without the use of proper credit agreements that follow sound business ethics, the situation will only worsen.

Undoubtedly the issue of collecting debts in Ireland is a very tricky subject. Unemployment caused by failing businesses who cannot afford to claim monies owed to them is of grave importance to the overall economy of the country. Long standing friendships are being ruined because of bad debt and the methods employed in collecting them.