Tag Archives: #unpaideinvoice

B to C debt collection costs in France a nightmarish situation when debtor is an individual.

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B to C debt collection costs in France a nightmarish situation. The B to C debt collection costs in France were the subject of a new judicial decision dated September 26, 2019. This decision concerns the collection costs charged to individuals by the collection agencies. The decision of the Administrative Court is as follows. The collection of damages from the debtor must, except to qualify as deceptive marketing practices, be preceded by a justification of the nature and amount of the damage alleged. According to the judges the only fact for the administration to note that neither the proof of bad faith, nor that of the reality and the quantum of the damage, were reported, was sufficient to reclassify the damages and interests in debt collection costs constituting deceptive marketing practices. The burden of proof of the bad faith of the debtor and the loss suffered is on the creditor. Failing this, the collection firm is exposed to heavy criminal penalties for deceptive marketing practices. The context of this decision is related to the practices of some French recovery firms that try to make debtors pay damages by referring to Article 1231-6 of the Civil Code. The root of the problem is related to the small amount of the claims in the B to C files. To make their actions profitable some collection firms do not hesitate to claim substantial damages from the debtors to cover the debt collection costs incurred. The Court’s decision confirms that in practice and for debtors with a private person status, it is in fact impossible to claim recovery costs except to risk very heavy penalties. How to produce receipts for debts of a few tens of euros. And it is equally true that not paying small bills for an individual is a real lawless area, the debtor not in fact risk anything to pay his bills when he sings, if he decides to pay. No one is going to expose the debt collection costs of proceedings for a claim of a few tens of euros.

Hedge Fund the rise of one whom nothing predestined to become the best manager of history.

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Hedge Fund the rise of one whom nothing predestined to become the best manager of history “The man who solved the riddle of the markets” Wall Street Journal’s Greg Zuckerman’s book is the book that everyone is talking about on Wall Street. He portrays the rise of one whom nothing predestined to become the best manager of history. The mathematician Jim Simons, whose fortune exceeds 23 billion dollars, is at the origin of a UFO: the Medallion fund. Since 1988, this quantitative hedge fund has recorded an average annual gain of 66.1%, reduced to 39% after deducting its commissions. Over 20 years (1985-2004), George Soros’ hedge fund (Quantum fund) had an average annual return of 20.2%. Prize of excellence Aware of its value, the Medallion Hedge Fund has taken the highest rates in the industry, 5% of assets and 44% of profits generated through its performance. Hedge Fund typically take between 1.5% and 2% of assets and 20% of profits. Given its success, this Hedge Fund no longer accepted money from investors since 1993. In 2005, it was reserved exclusively for employees of the Hedge Fund. For Simons, this fund was to remain relatively small, less than $ 10 billion, to continue to perform well. The founder is aware of the law of diminishing returns in the financial world: the more the capital is important, the more a manager is struggling to remain as efficient.

Inconceivable In an interview with “Institutional Investor” in November 2000, the founder of Renaissance said: “Today we manage $ 4 billion, perhaps $ 7 to $ 8 billion in the future. But 70 billion, never! It is inconceivable. I am 62 years old and in the next three years I would like to pass the torch. Today the Hedge Fund manages $ 110 billion, and Jim Simons retired in 2010 while remaining involved in his company, being non-executive chairman. The Medallion has been a fantastic Hedge Fund appeal and advertising product, which has launched other funds such as Renaissance equities. He managed the increase in his assets and the change in size of his fund. “Make money when I sleep” In 1978, Jim Simons left his position as professor of mathematics at Stony Brook University to found his first Limroy Hedge Fund. Like other traders of the time, he tries to anticipate the decisions of the Federal Reserve but without much success. Yet at the time, he consulted the opinion of an economist, Alan Greenspan, who would become the president of the Fed between 1986 and 2007. His poor results prompt him to seek a trading system without human interference. “I do not want to worry about markets every minute. I want models that make me earn money when I sleep. He then embarked on quantitative management in the futures markets, particularly commodities. It speculates on potatoes, oil or pig carcasses but again the yields are random. The Hedge Fund, Renaissance Technologies, which was born in 1982, decided to move up a gear and began to build systematic and rigorous quantitative management. “There are movements and configurations in the markets that are not ‘visible to the naked eye’ by traders, but Renaissance wanted to exploit these anomalies in a systematic and rigorous way,” says Greg Zuckerman. Grey matter The fund is progressively recruiting the best mathematicians, astrophysicists, linguists, artificial intelligence specialists and computer scientists. It ensures their loyalty by allowing them to invest their bonuses in the Medallion Hedge Fund, where the average investment of employees is now around $ 50 million. Those who leave the company are subject to very strict confidentiality agreements and a non-competition clause over a very long period. It is not possible that they go into another Hedge Fund to disclose the secrets of the company.

The “home culture” of Renaissance, the antithesis of that of Hedge Fund of the time, was in three words: humility, patience, work. No star manager took positions according to his “instinct”, a word banned internally. His traders had to follow the signals of mathematical models and never take personal initiative. In fact, very few Wall Street professionals have been recruited by Renaissance who prefers to hire IBM alumni. The Medallion fund also invested some of its money in about 40 Hedge Fund. It was a way to seize opportunities that he had not identified himself while benefiting from information feedback on the markets. Data gathering. To help it achieve good market forecasts, this Hedge Fund was one of the first to recognize the importance of having as much financial data as possible. He has collected very old and good course histories. Databases often contain errors that a statistics specialist was responsible for flushing out and correcting. The fund was collecting data that was not available to its competitors: one of the contributors regularly went to the New York Fed in Manhattan to manually collect prices on bonds that were not public. Anticipating the rise of “high frequency trading” (ultra-fast trading machines), the fund invests early in technology and computers at the forefront to increase the speed of its transactions and be the first to seize opportunities. The “gross” anomalies in the markets have long since disappeared and the fund must innovate to remain efficient. “The mathematics we use can be sophisticated,” he told Institutional Investors, “but we start from data analysis, we do not have preconceived notions.” “In our business, we want action, we appreciate a certain level of volatility. In 2008, the year of the financial crisis, the Medallion fund jumped by 80%.

 

Business failures in France

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Business failures in France. It’s an encouraging signal for the French economy: French companies are less likely to experience Business failures. Their number was 10,500 in the third quarter of 2019, according to the count made by the company Altares, down 6.4% compared to the same period last year.

This is an exceptionally low level, unmatched since 2007. The improvement is notable in construction, retail, catering and personal services. Even sectors such as business services and industry – particularly agribusiness – are experiencing a decline in Business failures.

Increase in claims of large Companies

All is not rosy however, since the average size of the failing companies increases. Thus, 73 companies with more than 50 employees went to court in the third quarter for Business failures, against 56 at the same time last year. As a result, the number of jobs threatened by these Business failures is growing. Nearly 37,300 jobs are at risk, 2,350 more than in the summer of 2018. These Companies alone account for nearly one third of jobs at risk.

“It has been several quarters since the Business failures of large Companies increase quite markedly,” said Thierry Millon, director of studies of the company Altares. Children’s clothing stores Orchestra, the airlines eagle Azur and XL Airways suffered disappointments last quarter.

Threats in the fourth quarter

Why are some large Companies experiencing more Business failures than before? “The activity has been pretty good since the end of 2015, but some companies have used their money to manage their working capital needs and not to solidify their growth. Today, with the slowdown, they are in financial difficulties, “says the expert who also notes” a degradation of payment behaviour since the spring. ” Vigilance is therefore in order. With a particular focus on the fourth quarter, marked last year by increased difficulties for some businesses and in the restoration because of the movement of “yellow vests”. However, this winter, the public transport strike on the pension reform is threatening.

Signs of weakness in the automobile and construction

Without large-scale social movement, “this year, the number of Business failures should be around 53,000, down from 2018 when France had experienced 54,700 Business failures, according to Thierry Millon. Again, this would be the lowest level since 2007. Even if it should remain low next year, the loss ratio will however hard to maintain at this low water level next year. “Some sectors are showing obvious signs of weakness. This is the case of the automobile or construction for example, “said the leader of Altares. On the other hand, companies should be able to count on the expected healthy performance of household consumption.

Secret information from a debt collection company.

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The secret information of a debt collection company is a first-rate tool for assessing and analysing the solvency of a company. The proof of this is the example of a large company with over € 20,000,000 turnover whose accounts are supervised and validated by an auditor, and which enjoys a good credit rating with the rating agencies. This company filed for bankruptcy overnight. How could the credit rating agencies validating the solvency of the company be so wrong? Why has the auditor not been alerted?

In reality, this company used a large number of foreign subcontractors and did not pay their invoices changing supplier on multiple occasions, as unpaid foreign suppliers were reluctant to act because of the relative modesty of their claims.

The unpaid invoice files against this company have accumulated with a debt collection company specializing in international debts. The latter immediately suspected serious difficulties when it became impossible to reach anyone in the accounting department. Small instalments were paid irregularly. A payment order for a small fee was contested by the company’s lawyer without any indication of any reason. You did not have to be a top-flight financial analyst to understand that this company was in fact terminating payments. Judicial action for a few thousand euros caused the filing for Bankruptcy.

Another example of a well-hidden secret is the following. The subsidiary of a large group contacts a debt collection company. She wishes to entrust him with the recovery of all his 6-digit client account. As this is a company specializing in B to B services, the customer post is the main or only asset of this company. It turns out during the processes initiated by the debt collection company that most of these claims were disputed, that the disputes were serious and the position of the creditor company legally fragile. In fact, the sole purpose of the creditor was to defend the client item vis-à-vis its auditor by acting with a debt collection company to avoid a massive depreciation of this asset.

The debt collection companies so decried and vilified would have a role to play in the prevention of the difficulties of the companies by having for example a right of information strictly confidential of the organs of control to prevent before it is too late to cure.

General terms and conditions of sale between professionals in France mandatory information’s

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General terms and conditions of sale between professionals in France mandatory information’s.

Obligation of companies

In France the basis of commercial negotiation between professionals, the General terms and conditions of sale must be communicated to buyers who request it. Which mentions should be included? How to communicate them? What sanctions in case of non-compliance with these obligations?

Between professionals (B2B), the General terms and conditions of sale must be communicated to buyers or service seekers who request it. In this case, they must respect specific rules both in terms of their drafting and their mode of communication.

This obligation to communicate the General terms and conditions of sale between does not apply if no customer requests it.

The mandatory mentions of the General terms and conditions of sale between professionals

When they are formalized, the General terms and conditions of sale between professionals must obligatorily include a number of mandatory information provided for in Article L.441-1 of the French Commercial Code. They must include:

  • Settlement terms (including terms relating to payment terms, penalties for late payment and recovery fees)
  • Any price reductions and discount conditions
  • The unit price scale.

Particular mentions

The General terms and conditions of sale may also include optional information such as the terms of termination of the contract, clauses relating to cases of force majeure (natural disaster for example), retention of title or limitation of liability of the seller.

The rules of communication of the General terms and conditions of sale between professionals

If no particular formalism is required by law, the general conditions of sale must be fixed in writing, by any means constituting a durable medium. Generally, the general conditions of sale are found on pre-contractual documents (advertising documents, etc.), contractual documents (purchase orders, contracts, etc.) and annexes (signs, posters affixed to points of sale, etc.). ).

It is possible to establish general conditions of sale differentiated according to the category of buyers of products or applicants for services. To define its categories of buyers, a distinction must be made between:

  • Wholesaler or trader (B2B) buyer
  • Supermarkets
  • Any specialized company
  • distance selling businesses.

The obligation to communicate the general conditions of sale applies only for professionals of the category concerned. The supplier can therefore write as many different terms and conditions as there are categories of buyers.

 

What sanctions in case of non-compliance with the general conditions of sale between professionals?

In the event of a breach of the drafting and communication requirements of the general conditions of sale, Article L.441-1 of the French Commercial Code provides for an administrative fine of up to:

  • € 15,000 for a natural person
  • 75 000 € for one personeiffel-tower-1156146__340

In the secret of a debt collection company and its methods

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In the secret of a debt collection company and its methods. The terms vultures, sharks, mafia methods and other “bird names” are often referred to when describing a collection society. What is it really? Do debt collection companies get rich on the backs of people by practicing unorthodox methods or are debt collection companies doing their Job only? Camille V. calls exasperated debt collection company who claims 27.90 € for an unpaid radiology bill. She has already reported several times to the medical office that the payment was made. His interlocutor Didier O. remains calm. He verifies on his screen and informs Camille V. that it is enough for him to send the proof of the transfer so that the letter of formal notice becomes irrelevant. Camille V. has already hung up and pronounces another well-sworn oath before cutting the communication. Anyone looking for recognition and consideration for his job would be better off not working in a debt collection company. The brand image of this industry is disastrous and the one who receives a letter of formal notice in his mailbox explodes blood pressure. We are looking for positive attitude! Didier O. has worked for 15 years as sedentary debt collection officer he is not a hooligan of a thick brute, he is smiling and sporty appearance. To be hired he had to meet the following criteria: calm, ability to convince and positive vision of life. One of the secrets of a successful debt collection is to receive the file very early, which greatly increases the chances of obtaining payment without having to expose significant costs. This transfer by the companies of recent receivables makes that many delays of payment are only due to negligence or absences for example for leave. A debtor who receives a letter from a debt collection company is immediately on the defensive. According to a survey, 65% of the recipients of this type of mail from a debt collection company believe that the amount claimed is not due. Telephone subscribers, energy providers or consumer credit companies rely heavily on the services of debt collection companies. It is wrong to believe that debt collection companies merely send out standard letters for which they receive disproportionate fees. Especially for trade receivables the debt collection company will have to convince the one who owes money to find an amicable agreement with his supplier sometimes see a partial debt forgiveness. Nobody has any interest in bringing legal proceedings, as the popular saying goes, a bad deal is better than a good trial. The muscular and menacing boxers are not unique to serious debt collection companies. It is in the interest of the debt collection company to settle the file as soon as possible and with the least possible inconvenience for those who owe money. On the other hand, it is abnormal that in France the individual in bad faith does not bear any costs and that for small claims (individual or professional) there is no way to obtain payment without having to bear considerable costs. In the Nordic countries the situation is different and high costs are due even for small debts. In some foreign countries (Germany) there are pressure tactics to oblige the payment of these costs. There is however a satisfied person it will be the client of the debt collection company who will recover his due.bodyworn-794099__340

Corporate insolvencies how to secure you open debts.

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Corporate insolvencies how to secure you open debts. Year-to-date, corporate insolvencies in France were up 1.5% year-on-year, compared with the same month a year earlier. On Tuesday, September 10, the Banque de France issued a press release stating that between July 2018 and June 2019, corporate insolvencies increased by 1.5% in France compared to the previous 12 months (between July 2017 and June 2018). As of June 2019, the cumulative number of corporate insolvencies over 12 months reached 53,538 units, with strong growth in the transport sectors (+ 12.6% compared with June 2018), advice and services to businesses ( + 12%) and financial and insurance activities (+ 5.1%). Deficits also “appreciably” increased in education, health and household services (+ 2.3%), agriculture (+ 1.4%), as well as accommodation and food services (+1 , 3%). The number of business failures nevertheless remains at a level close to its lows of the last 10 years. Information, real estate and construction in better shape The sectors in a better position are none other than those of information and communication (-5.7%), real estate activities (-3.4%), trade (-1.4%) and construction. (-0.5%). Which have seen the number of business failures receded. According to still provisional figures provided by the Bank of France, corporate insolvencies would have increased by 0.8% over 12 months at the end of July 2019. Finally, the institution has however specified that between April and June In 2019, business failures decreased by 2.9% compared to the previous three months.

Gevo, a French collection company specializing in international B to B collection, can help you avoid the loss of your bill if you entrust your file in time.  To say that it will work out “we will wait because it always ended up paying”, to entrust the recovery to the commercial are errors. Only a professional, recovery will give you every chance to avoid a financial loss.