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How to Instruct Us
We simply require the following details:
Full name & address of the debtor
All available contact details of the debtor i.e. contact name(s) / Tel / Mobile / Email(s)
Amount owed (Invoice(s) or Statement will help)
Or ask us to call you – just leave us your details:
Case Study - NZD 4,000 recovered from Fiji Debtor
Initiation of Case
A New Zealand company located in Auckland had a debt of NZD 4,000 against a debtor in Ba, Fiji. The debt related to support and maintenance services provided. There were no known disputes and regular contact was made by the client chasing the account but without success.
Debt Collection Processes
Upon receipt of the case we forwarded it to our local approved partner in Fiji. They then immediately sent the initial dunning letter to the debtor stating the amount owed and a deadline to pay. Our local partner made contact with the debtor and following a few weeks of chasing payment in full was made direct to our client.
Summary
The client was more than satisfied with the efficiency and professionalism of our services provided and the processes used by our local partner.
Fiji Debt Collection – No Win No Fee
Creditreform operates a global specialist International debt collections service. We have local offices and fully approved expert international debt collection agency partners in every country worldwide. All our International debt collection agency partners and offices operate on a No Win No Fee basis charging an agreed commission against monies recovered only. All our international offices and partners initiate the collection processes by sending the debtors a debt collection letter to introduce their involvement.
Main reasons why a local country debt recovery agency is so important rather than trying to recover from a debt collection agency UK are as follows:
The local International Debt collection Partners know:
The local cultures
The best methods of initiating debt recovery letters and processes
The languages
The laws
Are in the same time zones
Herewith details of our debt collection service Fiji:
Location of debt recovery office in Fiji?
Suva. All debt collection letters are sent by the local head office.
Number of debt collection staff?
40. Each staff member is allocated a client and all their debt collection letters are personalised in order to effect the best response result s from debtors.
How long have you been operating a debt recovery service in Fiji?
We have been operating an Oceania/Pacific debt collection service on a no win no fee basis in Fiji since 2004. Fiji is included on our debt collection agency list.
What type of debt collection services do you provide? Do you do commercial debt recovery (B2B) and consumer debt recovery (B2C)?
We handle both Business to Business debt recovery cases and Business to Consumer debt collections cases. There is different content for business to business debt collection letter templates and business to consumer debt collection letters templates.
Statue of Limitation in Fiji?
6 years in Fiji.
Fiji civil litigation statute of limitations is a law that time limits a plaintiff’s right to bring a claim against a defendant. The statute of limitations in Fiji is 6 years. However, if an action has been taken within this time then the statute of limitations time will be extended to account for this. Once the specified time period elapses then no action can be taken through the legal processes unless the plaintiff is able to prove exceptional circumstances. Other Statute of Limitations include:
Fiji Open Account Years – 6 years
Fiji Promissory Notes – 6 years
Fiji Written Contracts – 6 years
Fiji Oral Agreements – 6 years
How EU (European Union) laws effect debt collection in Fiji?
It does not effect Fiji.
Fiji is in discussions over a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) which was provisionally applied for in 2009. This is referred to as the ‘Interim Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Pacific States’. The signatures will be obtained in London and Copenhagen.
How many companies registries in Fiji for businesses (i.e. UK has just 1 central registry)?
There is 1 company registry in Fiji which is called Fiji Government – Companies and Business Registration located at Level 2, Suvavou House Victoria Parade, Suva, Fiji.
We have access to Fiji Company Registry searches to find out who further background information on all Fiji companies.
What is the debt collection process in Fiji?
PROCEDURE FOR DEBT RECOVERY
1. 14 days’ Notice of Demand to be served the debtor.
2. In the event we receive no response we will file a Writ of Summons, whereby, the court issues a date to hear the matter, depending on the availability of the Magistrate.
3. We arrange for service of the Writ on the Debtor and filed Affidavit of Service. Writ of Summons is only valid till 6 months. If we fail to serve within six months we will have to file a fresh Writ of Summons. In the event that the debtor’s whereabouts are unknown or the debtor is evading service, we can opt to file a Notice of motion and an Affidavit in Support of Notice of Motion, to seek permission of Court to conduct a substitute service of the Writ of Summons via a local newspaper or registered post (highly recommend local newspaper as many people do not check their post boxes).
4. We arrange for all attendances and advise client on what transpired.
5. If the Debtor does not make an appearance before the court on the hearing date, we seek Judgment by Default. In the event that the Magistrate issues any other directives such as a Formal Proof of the matter, we will advise Client and prepare an Officer to enter appearance in Court to formally proof the claim viz support of signed contract(s) and Statement of Account(s).
6. If the Debtor enters appearance and agrees that s/he owes the client the claimed monies, a Consent Order is obtained, sealed and served accordingly. After obtaining the Order / Judgment, client or solicitor can contact the debtor to enter into a payment arrangement on dues. Please note that the Consent Order is in no way or form, a payment arrangement rather an agreement that debtor acknowledges the debt and wishes to clear the dues.
7. If the Debtor does make an appearance before the court, directions will be given for filing of defence and pleadings if the debtor contests the claim.
8. Once the pleading is complete, the court may ask for Pre-Trial Conference Minutes and Agreed Bundle of Documents to be filed. Duration of such proceeding cannot be ascertained, as it depends on the Magistrate’s availability.
9. Hearing date is set; we will file and serve Subpoenas and Precipe, 7 clear days from the date of hearing.
10. After Writ of Summons proceeding is concluded and there being default in payment by the debtor still, there are three procedures thereafter, which would be other to file via Bankruptcy proceedings, Judgment Debtor Summons (Highly recommended proceeding) or Writ of Fieri Facias.
(1) Bankruptcy Proceedings
1. File Request to Issue Bankruptcy Notice plus Bankruptcy Notice simultaneously;
2. If the Debtor's whereabouts are unknown then we need to file Ex-parte Motion and Affidavit in Support, together with above documents, seeking leave of the Court to advertise all documents pertaining to Bankruptcy proceedings;
3. Upon appearance in Court on motion, seeking leave to advertise and being granted Orders, we will seal the Order (Note this will only be filed if the Debtor's whereabouts are unknown);
4. Advertise Request and Bankruptcy Notice and file an Affidavit in Service;
5. We will file and advertise Bankruptcy Petition; the Court will give us a returnable date, which should be more than seven days after filing of Petition;
6. File Affidavit verifying advertisement of Bankruptcy Petition;
7. File Affidavit Verifying Debt at least 24 hours before the call date of Bankruptcy Petition.
8. On call date of Bankruptcy Petition, we will seek Receiving Order, as under the Rules the Debtor should respond within 7 days of service of Bankruptcy Petition;
9. Seal Receiving Order and file General Proxy Form aka Proof of Debt form at Official Receivers Office (Liquidator).
10. In the event that the Debtor later contacts the Official Receiver and settles the debt, then it becomes the Official Receiver's duty to make an application to rescind (withdraw or cancel) the Receiving Order.
(2) Judgment Debtor Summons
1. File Praecipe for Judgment Debtor Summons and Judgment Debtor Summons and serve before the court date. The summons is only valid for 6 months, if Summons is not served within 6 months from the date of the summons, the same will be cancelled and you will have to file a fresh Summons;
2. An Affidavit of service will be filed to proof that the Judgment Debtor Summons has been served on debtor.
3. If the Debtor does not appear on the first call date of the Summons, seek a Bench Warrant (arrest warrant).
4. If the Debtor does appear, we will examine him/her on its means of income and all expenses. Payment Order will be made according to one’s affordability to pay.
5. If in the case that the debtor fails to adhere with the orders made by the court, we will then file Order of Commitment (Final arrest warrant that considers jail term for the debtor, if failed to clear dues).
6. Once the Debtor is arrested and is in the Court’s custody for either Bench Warrant or Order of Commitment, the Court will advise our office of the court appearance date which we will attend promptly on the same day of arrest.
(3) Writ of Fieri Facias
1. File Writ of Fieri Facias, which shall be directed to the Court Sheriff who shall be empowered to levy, by distress and sale of the personal property, wherever found in Fiji, of the person against whom the Judgment was given. Police Officers can assist the Court Sheriff in this matter. Only items belonging to the debtor can be taken for sale to recover dues.
2. Note, this proceeding is only effective if client is aware that the debtor holds reasonable assets for recovery of dues via seizure and sale.
Few legal terms to note:-
1. Consent Order :- When defendant is present in Court and acknowledges debt claim and willingness to discuss arrangement thereafter with Client or its Solicitor;
2. Default Judgment:- When defendant does not appear despite service of the Writ of Summons. An Order is made in Defendant’s absence that s/he has to pay the dues to the client;
3. Formal Proof:- Should the defendant not enter appearance despite us serving a copy of the Writ of Summons, we may be asked to formally proof the debt to the Magistrate so that a Final Order / Default Judgment can be obtained. For Formal Proof, client will be asked to provide all supporting documents such as a duly signed Contract along with full statement of Account, reflecting transactions as per the statement of Claim in the Writ of Summons. We will also require the Client to provide us the details of the Manager or any authorized officer who is well aware of the cause of debt and its timeline. We, as your Solicitors will require this officer’s time in preparing him or her on what questions and answers we will anticipate during the Formal Proofing in Court. Officer will appear in Court with a Solicitor whereby, our Solicitor will cross-examine the officer on his or her knowledge on the debt.
4. Reinstatement:- When a matter is cancelled from court’s Cause-List (active listed matters for hearings /mentions (normal court dates) due to the Solicitor of the Plaintiff not entering appearance on the given dates or for any other unforeseen circumstances (most frequent one would be, Registry clerk calling the matters on wrong date and having no one to appear as the parties are unaware of the matter being called and having the matter struck out (cancelled the whole civil action). In such case, Registry will not put the civil action back in the list though they are on fault. It is our duty to then draw up a Notice of Motion and Affidavit in Support which states what had transpired, making sure we are not directly putting all blame on Registry for the mishap. We have to respectfully, request formally via these two forms, to have a date assigned to the Notice of Motion then seek permission to reinstate the matter. During such time, we will have to serve a copy of the Motion and Affidavit on the defendant so that the defendant is aware of the next court date and make appearance.
5. Means Test:- When a defendant advises Court that he or she is unable to make repayment or cannot meet the required installment on the account, Court demand full details and evidence of the defendant’s income and expenditures so that Court can assess what is the affordability of the Defendant when it comes to clearance of dues.
Average length of time to collect a debt?
The average time taken to recover a Fiji B2B debt collection case varies from case to case.
Maximum of 6 months but due to unforeseen circumstances, such as unavailability of Magistrate/ Judge or contested claims, may prolong the conclusion of the case. We cannot ascertain the time frame in such situations
Can late payment fees / interest to be added to claims?
If these fees are contractual, yes, else, only statutory interest can be added to the principal debt
Details on legal service / process in Fiji?
WINDING UP PROCEEDINGS:
1. 21 day Statutory Notice (S 515) will be served on the Debtor Company, at its registered office.
In the event we receive no response, we will proceed with Winding Up Application, which includes: 1. Write to the Official Receivers seeking its consent to act as a liquidator in the Winding Up proceeding;
2. Once, an approval letter has been provided by the Official Receivers, file the Winding Up Application (D 1 Form) and the Affidavit Verifying Petition (D 3) at the Official Receivers office with a fee of $700.00 VEP;
3. With the original receipt of the Official Receivers and its Approval Letter, file the Winding Up Application (D 1) and an Affidavit Verifying Application (D 3) at the High Court Registry;
4. High Court will issue two dates on D1 Form. The first call date is for Compliance check to obtain compliance certificate (the Court will want to see that you have completed all steps required in the Winding Up Proceedings such as service of D1 and D3, filing of Affidavit of Service, facilitating advertisements in local newspaper and gazette, filing of an Affidavit of Advertisement) and the second date is for the Application to be heard.
Things to complete before the mention date:-
5. Serve D 1 and D 3 on the Debtor Company at least 2 days before the advertisement. It is the right of the Debtor Company to contest and appear on the date marked on the Petition.
6. After service of D1 and D3, we will have to file an Affidavit of Service to confirm that the said documents were indeed served.
7. File Notice of Winding Up Application (D 4). This document would allow us to advertise in the Newspaper and Fiji Gazette.
8. After advertising (which should be no less than 14 days before Hearing), we will file an Affidavit Verifying Advertisement.
9. A List of Parties Attending the Hearing has to be filed a day before the Hearing (in the afternoon as the Notice of Winding Up Application gives time till 4: 00 pm, a day prior to the Hearing, for the parties to submit their intention to appear /support or oppose the petition).
10. On the day of Hearing, you should have the Compliance Certificate as evidence of Deputy Registrar’s confirmation that all required steps were completed by the applicant, and are now ready to obtain the Final Order (winding up Order). Upon Orders being granted; we will need to seal the Winding Up Order. Once sealed Order in hand, we will have to lodge same at the Official Receivers, together with a Proof of Debt that comprises of all supporting documents pertaining to the debt claimed. Note, it is up to the Official Receivers on how long it takes them to close down the company or make arrangements with Debtor Company to clear the dues.
Fiji Business Credit Reports
Creditreform provides over 88 million international business credit reports throughout Europe and 200 million international business credit reports worldwide. We provide freshly investigated Fiji Credit Reports which can be done prior to trading to make sure the company you will be dealing with can meet the commitment or once the debt becomes overdue to ensure the debtor can meet the amount owed.
Fiji Skip Tracing Agents
Creditreform’s debt collection company service also uses expert local Fiji skip tracing agent services to locate any absconded debtor. This debtor tracing service is provided on a No Find No Fee basis only charging for a successful trace.
Specialist Debt Recovery Experts
There are many unique requirements to recovering international debts in all countries including Fiji debt collection services which differ from the UK debt collection agency services and therefore it is very important that cases are handled directly by our expert international debt collection agencies and not from debt collectors UK. This method of international debt collection sets Creditreform aside from the competition who in many cases try and recover debts from a UK debt collector only. Using the local offices and partners enables us to achieve a far greater success rate and our No Win No Fee service together with competitive commission rates against monies recovered only ensures you get the best service.
Fiji Debt Collection Partners in the following Fiji Cities:
What is the legal system in Fiji?
The Fiji system is based on English common law.
Which countries border Fiji?
Who are the main trading partners for Fiji?
The main export markets for Fiji are United States, Australia, New Zealand and Tonga and for imports they are Singapore, Australia, France, China and New Zealand.
What is the Supreme Court in Fiji?
The Supreme Court for Fiji is called the 'Supreme Court of Fiji' (Judiciary of Fiji)
Fiji Debt Collection Agency FAQs
1. How does a Debt collection agency in Fiji recover overdue debts?
The debt collection process is initiated by an introductory letter to your debtor stating the amount owed to you and informing them of our involvement. Letters are then followed up with emails and telephone calls. From our experience the most effective part of this process will be the outsourcing to a third party debt collection agency in Fiji as the debtor now has to resolve the debt and can no longer hide or provide lame excuses.
2. How long does the debt recovery agency in Fiji take to process a case?
The debt collection case will be processed immediately up receipt and a letter sent normally by email and post. You will receive an automated confirmation by return.
3. What is the success rate for debt collection agencies in Fiji?
The success rate of the debt recovery case depends on a number of factors including the solvency of the debtor and whether the case has a legitimate dispute. Our aim is to recover every debt that is recoverable.
4. Does the debt recovery agency in Fiji operate a No Win No Fee debt collection?
We take on all debt collection cases on No Win No Fee basis only charging the agreed commission against monies recovered.
5. Why use a local debt recovery agency in Fiji?
The reasons for using a local Fiji debt collection agency than processing from a different country is the debt collector in Fiji speaks the local language, knows the local laws and operates in the same time zones.
6. Are there any debts too old or too small for Fiji debt collection?
We will assess all debt cases, irrelevant of age and size and then advise the best processes to recover these through the Fiji debt collector.
7. How do I instruct the debt collectors in Fiji?
Instructing the debt collectors Fiji is a simple process. You just email details of the debt, debtor and amount to be recovered and the case can be initiated.
8. What evidence do I need to provide when instructing the Fiji debt collector?
When instructing the debt collector in Fiji just provide copies of invoices/statements, debtor contact details and any relevant information you may have to assist with the recovery process.
9. Who does the debtor pay?
In general the debt collector in Fiji will request payments to be sent directly to the client but if not possible for any reasons will take payment directly. If payment is taken then cleared funds will be processed and sent to client straight away.
10. Can I instruct multiple cases?
You can send unlimited debt case instructions. Our systems will automate volume cases to meet your requirements.
11. Can you trace debtors in Fiji?
Through our network of skip tracing agents we have an extremely high success rate of locating your absconded debtor.
12. How long does the debt collection process take?
On average the debt collections process takes 90 days to resolve an amicable debt recovery case. There are a number of factors that can delay this process but we will keep you informed every step of the way.
13. What are my options if debt collection in Fiji is not successful?
If the debt recovery service is not successful we will advise you of your options including legal actions. Please note no legal actions or other processes will be taken without prior instruction from you.