"We had used GB Pimney's credit control services for the UK part of our business for a while and given the great service provided, we took the decision to also try their French collection service with our French business. We are happy to say that we’ve been provided with the same excellent results we’ve become accustomed to and have now outsourced our entire French ledger to them. I am more than happy to recommend the professionalism and responsiveness their French collection team provides."

Rachel Woolcott
EUROPEAN FINANCIAL CONTROLLER
Pricerunner Europe

Debt Collection in France

GB Pimney operate an easy to use service for UK companies to collect on unpaid invoices and debts that are owed by France-based debtors. Over the past 3 years we’ve fined tuned our France debt collection process to fill an apparent and ever-increasing problem for our clients with France-based customers.
Most of the time, a UK company can collect a debt from a company in France with few problems. However, in our experience, when there are problems, trying to collect a business debt from a French company can be close to impossible for an English speaking company.

THE FRENCH COLLECTION PROCESS

The Problem

While there are obvious differences between the UK and France, the path to successful debt recovery from a French company isn’t all that dissimilar to that of one from a British company. However, in our experience, there are 3 key areas where UK creditors fall short in collecting debts in France:

• Being based in the UK – the biggest obstacle of all.

• A lack of knowledge of the French legal system – would you know which debts qualify to be brought before a tribunal d’instance, a tribunal de commerce or a juge de proximité?

• Not having native French speakers on salary – even if you guessed correctly to the above question, it makes petitioning the right court impossible.

The Solution

In order to address these problems areas of collecting debts in France (location, experience and fluency), GB Pimney has established a professional presence in France. We have a highly qualified team of  French collection specialists with not only an excellent track record in successful debt collection from French companies operating across a wide range of industries, but who also have considerable experience in shepherding cases through the French court system. This service is backed by a French law firm on retainer. Collecting debts in France? Problem solved.

The Results

We have seen firsthand the increase in the ratio of successful France-based debt collection between a domestic French collection agency compared to one outside of French jurisdiction. In the last quarter of 2011 our French debt collectors recorded an 89% collection rate, a figure we’re justifiably proud of.
 
Risk Free

In uncontested cases, whether pre-litigation or litigation, our French debt collection service operates a strict No Collect/No Charge pricing policy, thereby removing the downside potential for our clients. If we don’t collect, we don’t get paid. It’s a simple as that. Our French legal firm charges £45 charge to draw up the initial correspondence and have their certified letter hand delivered to your debtor.
ricing policy.

Professional and Ethical

All of GB Pimney’s French debt collectors abide by our ethical and professional approach to collecting. Always courteous but firm, we strive to not negatively impact any goodwill remaining between creditor and debtor, and it’s not uncommon for business relationships between the parties to begin anew once the case has been brought to a conclusion.

An indication of our fees:

We price on a case by case basis with French debtors but an indication of the range is:

Debt Collection

This is a No Collect / No Charge Service but our Agents prefer to initially hand deliver the initial demand. The fee is €95 for the Process & Serve Fee. This has a big impact on collection performance.
12.5% - 20% of monies collected from France based debtors. No Collect / No Charge

Legal Action on non disputed cases

The current court fee is €87.45.

20% - 25% of monies collected from France based debtors.
Minimum Fee £150 on any collected case. (No Collect / No Charge)

Legal Action on disputed cases
Our lawyers charge an hourly rate for disputed cases with French Debts

Summary

GB Pimney’s French debt collection service is:
•    Experienced
•    Professional
•    Knowledgeable
•    Fluent
•    Ethical
•    Results driven
•    Risk-free

We’ve successfully recovered debts in France from companies operating in the following sectors:
•    Tourism & Travel
•    Automotive
•    Pharmaceutical
•    Utilities
•    Leisure
•    Banking (yes, banking!)

If your company currently has a debt in France that you’re finding hard to collect pr long overdue, contact us +44 (0) 1234 218 618 for a confidential, no obligation chat, or email us at info@gbpimney.co.uk