UNPAID INVOICES

We are a responsive and flexible law firm that will work with fixed priced services whenever possible.We don’t outsource to anyone or any organization, this is the only lawfirm in the UAE where you’ll have direct contact with the experts.

In most cases we’ll open a section on our portal, so you can see and read along with what we are doing in your specific case.

You've checked for the sixth time. The invoice has not been paid. Now What To Do?

It is almost unavoidable, one or more of your invoices are not being paid. Now, what is the best thing to do? This subject is not nice, and this post is about getting your invoice paid in Dubai or the UAE. Although we are a law firm, the laws will not be explained in this article, since laws come second, common sense some first.

And, you are very likely not the only creditor that is not being paid by this specific debtor. Time is of the essence.

Don’t Wait, Act!

That really is the most important advice that we can give you if the first 5 steps did not bring you any results. Over and over again clients approach us with debts in the UAE that are older than a year. We don’t get why people have so much patience with a debtor. We haven’t! Obviously for us too, it is very hard work recovering those debts after such a long time. Therefore, the most important advice is and stays; act.

Yes, we can start a police case for you, we can go to court, we can do a lot of ‘legal’ things that sometimes help. But being a law firm doing debt collection in a sensible way means that we use common sense first, and law second. Don’t get us wrong, we are a law firm, we can do a lot more than just calling the debtor. Since we are a law firm, the debtor knows immediately that we can do much more than making some phone calls. We can credibly state that we will bring the case to court, we can credibly state that we’ll create a police case, we can credibly state that we will strive for a travel ban successfully. But if we don’t have to, we won’t. Since it’s not in your interest.

Famous last words; being a good law firm, we put your interest at our number 1 position. You are not interested about a lecture about the debt collection laws that govern the debt collection process in the UAE, you are not interested in stories about how successful we have been in the past. You are interested in what is yours; your money that is still in the hands of your debtor.

What We Can Offer If You Need Debt Collection In The UAE

A very specific problem in the UAE is that people come and go. They go to other countries. They think they have fallen off the UAE grid. One of our specialties is tracking down people.

Also in Irak, Afghanistan, Oman, and other ‘difficult’ countries. This helps. As soon as the debtor realises he did not fall off the grid, at least not in the UAE, he or she might be willing to cut a deal. Specifically, since we can credibly suggest that he will not be able to travel via DXB, Dubai’s international airport. Since DXB is such an important hub for the Middle East and for Asia, this is a thing that bugs people, even after they’ve left the UAE.

No Cure No Pay Is Simple, But We Structure Our Contracts Differently

We will do debt collection for you on a no cure no pay basis provided that the amount is significant. We are – we think – the only service provider that lets the debtor pay directly to you. After the debtor paid the invoice, and we strive for 100% payment, you will receive our invoice. WARNING; be very careful with contracts that state ‘no cure no pay and we take 15% of whatever we can get from the debtor’. That is a badly structured contract. It means that if the debt collecting agency simply cuts a deal with the debtor and you only get half, you still would have to pay the debt collection agency that 15%. Reality is that if you yourself had proposed half to your debtor, chances are very likely that you could have gotten that half yourself.

We structure our contracts differently. We take a small percentage over – say – the first half, we take a higher percentage over the next 25% and we take a serious percentage over the last 25%. That way we are very very motivated to get you 100% of the money you are entitled to.

Actions That Are Always Good When Your Invoices Are Not Being Paid

Don’t be shy and don’t assume that your firmness when it comes to getting paid works against you. Very often this is not the case, it is in your head, not in the head of the debtor. So:

Act fast, don’t wait. As soon as the invoice is late, start calling your debtor. Don’t waste time in this phase with e-mails or letters. Ask questions; why is my invoice not paid, when will it be paid, are you willing to pay? Do you have sufficient funds to pay? Who is the end-responsible for the payment? And write all answers you can get down every time you’ve made a call and do this right after the call.

Start collecting the details of the legal entity you are dealing with. Find out the exact address. Can you see signs that they are ‘packing up’? They didn’t renew their license for example. If so, you know you should be prepared to take a cut and to make a deal fast.

Go on LinkedIn and see if you can connect with them. This can be a great way to create some additional pressure.

Find out (LinkedIn again) who is end-responsible for getting your bill paid.

Ask the receptionist kindly if you can have the direct dial-in number of the person responsible for getting your invoice paid. Do this in this phase, because chances are you get a ‘yes, here is the number’.

You see? No laws, no lawyers, just common sense. That’s way more important in this phase.

Every Debtor Is Unique, Forget About Flow Charts

In our long-standing experience, we’ve come to the conclusion that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach when the steps above don’t work. Most important advice; stop struggling, call in the professionals. By now this unpaid invoice is draining your energy and is stopping you from focussing on your real business. Give the invoice to a professional party. When the 5 step approach above fails you, you are probably not going to succeed. Not next week, not next month. Not even next year. Your cash-flow is going to take a hit. Don’t let your debtor’s problem become your problem.