First Party Collection
Courtesy, Integrity & Respect
As first party collection partner, our top priority in providing receivables management services is to approach your customers as if they were our own. This means providing courteous, helpful service and striving to resolve outstanding accounts in a way that will help keep your debtors as your customers once they have overcome their current financial issues.
We are the only known law firm offering first party collection services in Canada. By using lawyers to oversee our first party collection services, we offer our clients piece of mind. Our first party collection employees are carefully selected for their sense of empathy and professionalism. They are then trained in the art of customer service and to identify difficult legal issues or sensitive cases very early in the process so as to defuse and properly address these situations before they become problematic. We pride ourselves in offering unmatched professional services. For us, talking on behalf of our clients is natural. It is also an honour.
Regular Third Party Collection
Tact and Sound Judgment
Non-productive assets eat away at your cash flow and profitability — not to mention your sleep. How do you get them working for you again by recovering what is due?
Whenever we approach a delinquent account, we do so with the utmost courtesy and tact, treating all individuals with respect. But we also use our sound professional judgement to properly educate your debtors on their legal obligations and the potential consequences of failing to cooperate. While performing our third party collection activities, our lawyers, paralegals and highly trained negotiators are advisors to both our clients and their customers. Being a law firm, we are in a better position than anyone else in the industry to take on that role.
Collection Through Litigation
Our Specialty
By using innovative management processes and new technology, we have stripped away and simplified the work which does not need to be done by lawyers (negotiation, litigation preparation, document assembly, scheduling and analysis, etc.) and assigned it to highly trained non-lawyers. When necessary, this allows us to litigate small accounts on a large scale without breaking the bank. We call this process Collection Through Litigation.
Using our Collection Through Litigation modeling structure, we also draw the end line of each case at the inset of litigation. This way, it is easier for our client (and for us) to negotiate an end to the process when it is no longer cost-effective and/or the exposure to risk is unwarranted.
Legal Collection can improve your recoveries by more than 250%.
Litigation
Good Old Savvy Lawyering
The decision to litigate — as well as how — is a difficult one. As much art as science, it involves making sophisticated judgements about a debtor’s intentions and openness to alternate solutions. Wherever possible, we strive for early, simple resolution of cases, so that you avoid ongoing, costly and complex legal battles. In making those judgements, we rely as much on our experience in the world of collections as on our expertise in litigation.
As respected authorities in the field, we will guide you through the litigation process and always advise if there is a quicker, cheaper way of attaining your objective. While we are proud of our ability as litigators, we are even prouder of our skills in conflict resolution.
Yet, once the decision has been made to proceed with litigation, we pursue your rights tirelessly.
Legal Demand Letters
CTL is able to not only advise as to the most effective content to be made use of in the preparation of a demand letter, but also as to the legal requirements and obligations involved in the various jurisdictions to be found. At CTL, we ensure that our clients are advised of the relevant legislation surrounding demand letters and that at every stage, their correspondence meets the relevant statutory requirements.
CTL is able to provide its clients with demand letters suited to both legal and collections based accounts, custom tailored for any industry and for the greatest level of effectiveness.
PPSA Registration
CTL has the necessary expertise to register your associated liens and PPSA in all Canadian provinces and territories As long as you are able to demonstrate an agreement providing you with security over an asset, we can make use of the registration system to place a lien on the associated property in question.
Such registrations can take place over vehicles, equipment and in many cases, inventories at large. Our experience in providing these services can permit us to assess how best to proceed with the associated registration.
Enforcement Proceedings
With our help, we can take the complexity and stress out of enforcement proceedings. Whether it be a Debtor Examination, or associated hearings, CTL can provide you with the experience and knowledge required to obtain the most effective information from a Defendant.
Our experienced team is educated in the most effective examination techniques and processes, with knowledge of both the system and the strategies best employed in any situation. Regardless of whether the examination is set to take place at the Small Claims, or Superior Court level, we are prepared to assist our clients in navigating this often difficult process.
Garnishments
Winning a judgement doesn’t mean guaranteeing a payment. One of the most frustrating aspects of the debt recovery process is the difficulty of enforcing a court order.
Let us remove the frustration. As experienced legal professionals, we know exactly how to proceed in obtaining what is rightfully yours. Whether the best strategy is seizure of an asset such as property, or garnishment of a customer’s salary or bank account, we will manage the entire process.
Writs of Seizure and Sale
With a writ of seizure and sale, we can claim assets on your behalf from a debtor and give a sheriff the authority to seize and sell them.
We handle the entire legal process, from requisition and issuance of a writ to filing it with the sheriff. Inevitably, there are many technical procedures to observe, as seizing assets can involve tricky legal issues. But as lawyers, we know the ins and outs. We will diligently assert your rights through to the end of the process, and use every legal means to pursue justice on your behalf.
Writs of Enforcement
When a debtor has lost a judgement, a writ of enforcement is your means of ensuring that it is executed. It’s a process that can be protracted — but as lawyers we know how to handle it.
We will file the appropriate forms on your behalf, and ensure that all procedures are correctly followed so that your rights are upheld. Once your writ of enforcement is registered, you are entitled to enforce your judgement — against property or in the form of a garnishment. We’ll advise you on how best to proceed at every step along the way.
Enforcement of Foreign Judgment
Business today knows no borders — and nor should the law.
If you have obtained a judgement in a foreign jurisdiction, you can have it enforced here. We can lead you through every step of the process and ensure that your legal efforts abroad are recognized at home.
Enforcing a foreign judgement follows a well-established legal path in Canada. As professionals, we have extensive experience in doing so, as well as with any complications that a foreign judgement can involve. Furthermore, judgements are not restricted exclusively to monetary amounts.
The enforcement of a Foreign Judgment in most Canadian provinces and territories follows the basis of the real and substantial connection test, where there must be a connection between the action and the foreign Court. Should a party be able to demonstrate that the action was lawfully brought in the originating jurisdiction, a new action can be commenced at the appropriate level of Court in Ontario and a request made to have the Judgment recognized.
Where the action is heard, there will be no assessment as to the validity of the Claim, but merely as to whether the Claim itself was brought in proper order and whether service was effected in a valid fashion. Once granted, the new Judgment will permit the Plaintiff to make use of the various enforcement tools available within the Court’s system.
Mortgage Enforcement
Enforcing a mortgage that is in default is a major challenge. A home is almost always a debtor’s largest asset, and one in which they are emotionally as well as financially invested. Ensuring that a homeowner respects the terms of their mortgage can involve lengthy and difficult negotiations.
Striving for an amicable resolution
We are adept — and experienced — at handling those negotiations for you. Knowing that lenders have little appetite for taking over real-estate assets, and that borrowers almost always want to stay in their home, we aim for a solution that satisfies everyone.
We begin by acknowledging the homeowner’s emotional worries. Setting them at ease and emphasizing that foreclosure is only a last resort, we work to find a payment solution that will keep them in their home. At the same time, we carefully protect your interests as the lender, doing everything possible to ensure that your financial asset continues to perform.
Our approach is always guided by sensitivity and respect. But if a solution cannot be found, we firmly assert your rights as the lender. Our expertise extends to foreclosure and court enforcement, and we ensure that lenders retain their assets once they have exhausted all other means.
Repossession of Assets
Contrary to the image projected by popular culture, repossession is a process that is driven by law — not by flamboyant repo men on fast motorcycles and in leather biker jackets. That’s why we are able to promise you repossession services that are professional, courteous and distinctly undramatic.
As a law firm, we scrupulously follow proper procedures when undertaking the recovery of physical assets. From legal notices to registry of liens, we protect your interest and reputation, ensuring that actions on your behalf respect the legal framework for asset recovery.
Above all, we guarantee that only bailiffs acting with the due authority granted them by the Bailiffs Act will execute orders for rightful repossession. Recognizing that this can include eviction, we stress sensitivity, professionalism and respect for debtors whenever we are engaged to provide repossession services.
Airplane Repossession
In Canada, to the exception of special provisions under the bankruptcy law, self-help repossession is permitted. However, this can only be done in peaceful circumstances. If the lessee bars access to the airplane, for example, or otherwise resists repossession, it will be necessary to seek authorization from the Court since a dispute with a lessee is a contractual dispute.
At CTL, we can assist our client navigating through the complex process of aircraft repossession in a timely manner. Our services range from the preparation of the necessary notices of termination of leases, the mitigation of risks by ensuring proper insurance coverage is in place, the preparation of the necessary documents for the immigration authority (for foreign crew visiting Canada for the purpose of a re-possession), the preparation of proof of claim when this is required by the trustee in bankruptcy, right up to the de-registration or change in registration of the aircraft in or from the Canadian Civil Aircraft Register.
Few things to know about Court Proceedings for Repossession:
- Repossession of airplanes is strictly of the domain of the civil and commercial courts;
- Some foreign judgments will be recognized in certain provinces or territories, some will not.
- If the lease agreement is subject to foreign law, despite certain exceptions, this law will be applicable and applied by Canadian Courts if proven by an expert witness;
- The length of the court proceedings depends on the degree of opposition (competing claims may lengthen the proceedings up to 2 years);
- Costs can vary from approximately $50,000 to $100,000;
- Disbursements are recoverable in full by the winning party. Costs, however, are only recoverable partially and the amount that can be recovered will vary depending on the Canadian province or territory where the re-possession took place;
- If there are competing claims, a bond or security may be required;
- Foreign state immunity: If an aircraft is owned by a foreign state itself (not by a state enterprise or state agency), it cannot be subject to repossession on Canadian grounds, unless the immunity of the state in question has been waived in the lease or finance agreement.
- Summary procedures are available in certain circumstances.
Prepaid Annual Collection and Litigation Program
CTL offers its clients a wide variety of payment options and strategies. Included in these, is the option for a yearly flat-rate legal service plan, wherein our clients will have the opportunity to receive services such as those of a legal demand letters for a single yearly feel.
Further, while providing traditional hourly and contingency based services, CTL also provides its clients with the opportunity to obtain general legal and litigation services on a flat-rate basis; one fee to cover your action to a certain pre-determined point in the process, or until its conclusion.
CTL is always willing to work with its clients to determine the best strategy to employ and the most cost effective route for their specific situation. With our help, we can ensure that all clients have the opportunity to obtain access to justice and at an affordable rate.
Skip Tracing – Investigation and Assets Location
In some cases, the hardest part of recovering assets is locating them — or the person who holds them. We recognize that this kind of challenge is beyond most creditors, which is why we offer asset location services.
When you need to trace assets, we will do the heavy lifting.
We scour the largest and most reliable databases to find your debtors and their assets. And if conventional skip tracing doesn’t turn anything up, we go one step further. We will engage reputable investigation services with a proven record in finding people and assets that are hidden from view. Once we’ve located what you’re looking for, we can then use our legal services to return to you what is rightfully yours.
Management of Judgment Portfolios
Far too many firms in the collections field fail to distinguish between the separate phases of the recovery process. In particular, they lump pre-litigation and post-litigation together, treating both as part of the same effort.
CTL never confuses the two.
We recognize that a judgement file has an afterlife. And as such, it has to be managed in a way that is very different from everything that led up to it. By separating the management of judgement portfolios into a distinct process of its own, we keep our eye on the ball — rather than fumbling it just before the goal line.
Our management of judgement portfolios focuses on identifying debtor assets. We do so by devoting investigative resources to non-compliant files, redoubling our efforts in skip tracing and actively monitoring databases that can reveal new activity in a previously dormant account. If your debtor suddenly applies for a credit card, opens up a bank account or takes out a new loan, we’ll know about it — and we’ll act.
Keeping Your Rights Alive
We don’t stop there, however. We also follow carefully the timeline of your judgement, ensuring that your rights are renewed according to the schedule set out in the applicable jurisdiction.
This can be a complex process, as renewal schedules vary across the country and can easily change over time; but we stay with your portfolio for as long as it takes to recover what has been rightfully awarded to you. With CTL, you will never see a judgement slip through your fingers because of carelessness or oversight on our part—we guarantee it.