Terms and Conditions

Introduction

The following Terms and Conditions of Business define the way in which Stirling Collections ("Stirling Collections", "we", "us" or "our") agrees to complete the recovery of outstanding debts and resolution of disputes.

Where 'The Client' is referred to, this indicates the person or company who is seeking a debt recovery or dispute resolution service. Where 'late payment charges' are mentioned, this refers to the interest charges incurred by overdue debt under the Late Payments Act 1998.

Stirling Collections' procedures in debt recovery and dispute resolution are fully compliant with current legislation and work in accordance with the code of practice of the Credit Services Association.

For pricing and procedure reference, please refer to our pricing guide or to your Letter of Engagement.

Receipt of Collected Debt

Stirling Collections can receive payments from the debtor on behalf of the client to our company account and transfer payments directly to you within 30 days from the end of the month payment was received in full.

Consent and Authorisation

The client must give Stirling Collections appropriate consent and authority, whether verbally or written. The client must provide us with all relevant documentation that displays evidence of the overdue debt or invoices in question. It is your responsibility to provide Stirling Collections with the correct name and address of the debtor. We will verify the details of the debtor that you send.

The client must authorise Stirling Collections to collect payments and recover debts on the client's behalf. You accept the following:

The client must not attempt to contact or collect the debt themselves once authority has been signed over to Stirling Collections to do so on the client's behalf.

Accountability

The client must understand that it is not possible for us to guarantee 100% that a debt will be recovered. There are circumstances under which the debt cannot be collected. However, in those circumstances, the client will not be charged by Stirling Collections under our 'no win, no fee' policy for our Single Debt Recovery Service.

There is no time guarantee or restraint for the debt to be collected in full. The time taken for a debt to be collected should not affect or cause a client to break the contract. Stirling Collections cannot accept liability for any errors made in documentation or evidence provided by the client. If High Court bailiffs have been instructed to recover a debt, and after numerous attempts for recovery they fail, the bailiffs are subject to charge the client a £75.00 abortive fee.

Debt Recovery

If there is any change in the debt amount owed or the state of the claim, the client must alert Stirling Collections immediately.

If any payment is received from the debtor or any part of the debt is paid off, the client must alert Stirling Collections immediately.

Stirling Collections can activate a payment plan whereby the debtor pays debt gradually until the full amount is collected, with permission of the client.

Legal Proceedings

Stirling Collections may notify the client's debtor if legal action is to be taken against them. There is no legal obligation for the client to issue legal proceedings over the debtor. If Stirling Collections recommends taking legal action against the debtor, no action will be taken without the approval of the client.

The client will have to pay legal fees, for example court fees in advance to the Court.

Stirling Collections will notify the client in advance of any fees to be incurred by legal action. The client has a responsibility to notify Stirling Collections if any payments are received from the debtor after legal proceedings have taken place.

For debts over £10,000, Stirling Collections will most likely recommend that a solicitor should be instructed at the point when court proceedings need to be issued. We can refer the matter to one of our panel solicitors who will undertake an initial assessment of the merits of the case at a small charge to you. Where possible, costs will be added to your debt including ours along with scale costs payable to the solicitor.

The cost of instructing a firm of solicitors (our panel solicitor or otherwise) will be a matter for you and that firm. Stirling Collections' affiliate solicitor is happy to offer no win, no fee agreements where possible. If we believe that solicitor involvement is necessary, it will be discussed with you before we take any action.

Termination of the Contract

The Contract cannot be terminated by the Client without the written agreement of Stirling Collections. If the Contract is terminated, by agreement, the Client will be liable to pay Stirling Collections a sum equivalent to the Commission that we would have received upon recovery of the Debt.

Stirling Collections reserves the right to suspend the provision of supply of services until further notice without liability to the Client on notifying the Client either orally or in writing if: The Client is in breach of any material term of this Contract; or Stirling Collections is obliged to comply with an Order of any relevant authority.

The Client shall reimburse Stirling Collections for all reasonable costs and expenses incurred by the implementation of such suspension and/or the recommencement of the provision of the service. If the client misses a court deadline, which results in the claim being struck out by court, the client will be liable to pay Stirling Collections the sum equivalent to the agreed commission of the debt amount that would have been recovered.

Disclosure Agreement

The client must treat all information provided by Stirling Collections as confidential. This information should not be divulged to any other person other than the County Court.

This contract must remain in compliance with English law and will operate under the law of the English Court.

Disputes & Complaints

If the client is not satisfied with the service, Stirling Collections encourages the client to express their complaint in an effort for it to be resolved. All complaints and disputes will be considered seriously and with the utmost determination for resolution.

Authority to Receive Payment

The Client hereby authorises Stirling Collections to receive payment(s) on behalf of the above-mentioned and acknowledge that debts due to it have been extinguished.

Data Protection & GDPR

Stirling Collections is engaged in the provision of debt recovery and dispute resolution services; involving the processing of personal details of debtors that are initially provided by the instructing client. These personal details are required to assist with the recovery of due invoices or outstanding debts owing to our clients and customers.

Legitimate Interest of the Creditor

Stirling Collections takes reasonable steps in accordance with the guidance provided by the ICO in considering the basis of legitimate interest in the context of debt collection. Text of Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR states:

All personal details are recorded on an internal system which has limited and restricted access to specified users.

Personal information relating to debtors and our clients is then passed between the Company and our employees.

There are occasions where the information is also passed to third parties such as court, enforcement agents, our affiliate solicitor and or barrister, tracing agents and information is also fed back to our own client.

Additional personal details regarding a debtor's circumstances or whereabouts may be collected during the debt recovery process and may be passed to the instructing client or third parties as part of the debt recovery process, if and only if the details are of relevance.

Privacy Policy

Stirling Collections is committed to ensuring that your privacy and data is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using our services, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with our privacy statement. You can view our full privacy and data policy on our website here: Privacy Policy