The questions creditors actually ask, answered without hedging.
It depends almost entirely on the debtor, not on the claim. The factors that predict recovery are consistent: the debt is recent, the debtor is operating and has a lifestyle or premises suggesting assets, the business has a stable history, the principals hold professional or contractor licenses they do not want jeopardized, and the balance is large enough to pursue but not so large that it invites a bankruptcy filing. A claim with those characteristics collects far more often than not.
Very old debts. Defunct or suspended corporations with no successor. Debtors who are incarcerated. Pending or threatened bankruptcy. A debtor whose visible lifestyle indicates no reachable assets. Very large debts where the debtor would rather liquidate than pay. And debtors already carrying substantial IRS or state tax liens, because those liens generally prime ours. We will tell you at intake if we see these.
Some cases are collected within the first 30 days and others are never collected. That is an honest range, not evasion. Most matters that resolve successfully show meaningful movement within about 120 days — that is roughly the window in which a defendant must respond, a default can be taken, or a settlement gets struck.
Almost immediately upon receipt of the file. Asset and record investigation starts right away. On accepted files, legal action typically begins within the first several days. We do not hold files waiting for a batch.
No. Every written settlement offer is communicated to you. The decision to accept or reject any compromise is yours alone. We will give you a recommendation, and sometimes a blunt one, but we do not settle claims on our own authority.
Our demand is full immediate payment. We will consider a structured payment plan in two situations: where it demonstrably accelerates recovery compared to continued litigation, or where the debtor genuinely has no lump sum available and the alternative is nothing at all. Any plan is subject to your approval and is normally secured by a stipulated judgment.
No. We accept a file when the claim has good merits, the debtor can be located, and there is a reasonable probability of recovery. Because we work on contingency, accepting a file means putting our own fee at risk on it — our screening is genuinely a partnership decision, not a formality.
For a typical single-defendant matter, the initial deposit carries the case through judgment. Costs run past it when a file requires significant asset-seizure work — a keeper at a business location, a receiver, a debtor examination in a distant county, multi-property title work. We obtain your approval before incurring any of those.
An initial phone interview to establish the facts and identify available evidence, usually 20 to 30 minutes. After that, very little. You are not required to visit the office. If the matter goes to trial or you are needed for a deposition, we will prepare you thoroughly, but the substantial majority of collection matters resolve without either.
Every file is assigned a legal assistant by name, and you can reach that person any time to discuss intake status, tactics, prospects, or where a settlement stands. You are not routed to a general queue. Attorney contact is available whenever the question warrants it.
Money recovered is deposited into the firm's client trust account at an FDIC-insured institution. Once funds clear, disbursements are made weekly — your share to you, the contingent fee to the firm, along with an accounting showing exactly what came in and how it was applied.
The file is returned to you promptly and the contingent fee is waived. The two exceptions are where we are actively pursuing a matter with real prospects and you direct us to stop, or where the case is discontinued at your instruction rather than for lack of merit. We do not sit on dead files, and we do not bill for time on a claim that produced nothing.
Question not here? Call 1-800-555-0142 and ask an attorney directly, or send us the details of your claim.