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Debt collection in France
Since 1996, Gevo has been assisting foreign companies that sell their products and services on the French market.
A professional debt collection service is placed at the disposal of our clients by our subsidiary Gevo Recouvrement de Créances Sàrl.
English and German are among the languages in which we operate and our reports and commentaries are available in German and English.
Numerous foreign companies put their trust in us: you will find a list on the website's References page.
Gevo Recouvrement de Créances is a debt collection service that satisfies the requirements of French Law:
- Our activity has been declared to the Procureur de la République.
- We have taken out professional civil liability insurance as a debt collection agency.
- Clients' monies are paid into a dedicated bank account.
- Payments corresponding to unpaid invoices are paid in no later than 30 days after collection, bearing in mind that,
at Gevo, the monies collected are paid on to our principals every 10 days.
When an invoice is still unpaid on its due date, when reminders, letters and phone calls are ignored, it's time to think about handing over to a debt collection service.
It makes sense to pass on the unpaid invoice to a debt collection agency between 30 and 60 days after the initial due date of that invoice.
The risk of never receiving payment of the invoice owing to you increases exponentially as of 60 days after the due date.
A year after the due date, the job of the debt collection service will be extremely complicated.
Why entrust an unpaid invoice to a debt collection agency?
What can we do more than you can?
The first advantage, the first positive effect of having your unpaid invoices managed by a debt collection agency is the change in contact person.
When you hand over to a debt collection service, your defaulting client receives a strong signal: things are getting serious.
The second advantage is the end of any emotional relationship between client and supplier; blackmail to order is over and the client will definitely be more inclined to explain his difficulties to a third party and, if he is acting in bad faith, he will understand that his new contacts are accustomed to foiling any number of unfounded excuses.
The third advantage is that we are professionals in this kind of situation, we are thorough and organised according to the principle of the iron fist in a velvet glove. If a payment is promised for Monday and it has not arrived by Tuesday, we make a telephone call to the debtor.
The fourth advantage is that all of our employees have received tertiary education as jurists and they handle your dossier in its entirety from the first letter of reminder to seizure of the debtor's assets, should things get that far.
The fifth advantage is that our company and our employees are only paid if payment for your invoice is collected.
As far as the costs of our services and actions are concerned, they cannot, under French Law, usually be laid at the door of the defaulting client who is not paying his invoice.
But ways do exist to get the debtor to pay the cost of the collection service.
We are talking about a penalty clause and the fixed collection fee of €40.
To be applicable, those clauses intended to pass on the onus of the expense of debt collection services must appear on your unpaid invoices and in your general terms and conditions of sale.
We can help you to draft such clauses and terms.
Our contracts do not bind you to any subscription or fixed retainer.
You give us a file, we bill you for a file fee and we only send you an invoice for our fees when we are successful on the sums actually collected either by us or paid directly to you.
We do not commit to any costs or any action without first getting your agreement in writing.
Our tariffs and contracts are clear, transparent and do not contain any pitfalls or surprises.
It is in our own interest to build a lasting relationship of trust.
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