More FAQs

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Q. HOW SOON CAN YOU COLLECT FOR ME? 

A. Some cases are collected within the first 30 days and others are never collected. In general, most successful collections become apparent soon after our collectors begin dunning the debtor. Other times, the debtor pays immediately after the lawsuit is served, and generally we know if the collection will be easy, even if contested, within the first 120 days. While sometimes it is possible to delay in court for months to years, most collection cases are easy to win and harder to collect than regular court cases. That means that, even in a contested case, we can have a good projection for you rapidly. 

Q. WILL YOU COMPROMISE MY CLAIM? 

A. Only you can approve a compromise! We will do our best to get all of your money and we won't compromise your claim without your consent. If we get any written offer, we will communicate it to you for your decision. If we get any legitimate oral offer, we will also communicate it to you for your decision. Ultimately any settlement or compromise will be your decision. 

Q. DO YOU TAKE PAYMENTS? 

A. We always demand full immediate payment. Very frequently the threat of litigation or the filing of proceedings with the court gets the debtor to pay all of the debt immediately. In some circumstances, payments may be the only way to collect all of your money. If it becomes apparent that a debtor must make payments, or that we can get your money faster with voluntary payments than by waiting to fight in court, we will recommend a structure for the recovery of your money in such a way that you get it or we have the immediate right to seize assets and interrupt income stream. Remember, it will be your decision to accept time payments.

Frequently Asked Collection Questions (Part 1)

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Q. IS YOUR LAW FIRM AND AGENCY BONDED, INSURED AND LICENSED?

A. The law firm is licensed to practice law in the state of GA and TN. We also have collection agency licenses in all states that require attorneys to be licensed as a collection agency. The Law Offices of Ross Gelfand, LLC has a $3,000,000 aggregate errors and omissions policy through Minnesota Lawyers Mutual -Policy #8199-03. We also have a $500,000 fidelity bond and a $1,000,000 business liability policy through Hartford Insurance --policy #20 SBA TQ2184.

Q. WHAT IS YOUR SUCCESS RATE?

A. Our most frequent question is "Will you be able to collect my money?" Everyone wants someone who can say "YES". We believe that if anyone can collect, we can. Because our business is debt collection and we are a national law firm, we collect more money, more often than most other third parties! Furthermore, our state of the art software as well as our highly trained collectors and paralegals make our success ratio higher. Our success rate depends on many things and even before we investigate and attempt your case, we can get a good idea of collection prospects. Certain cases, for example, are highly collectable while others have a low collection percentage.

High probability of collection success is often indicated by:

1. very recent debt; and/or 

2. lavish life style of an individual debtor; and/or 

3. operating businesses; and/or 

4. excellent credit history; and/or 

5. occupational or professional licenses of debtors; and 

6. generally stable history; and/or 

7. supportive family; and/or 8. strong financial statement or substantial asset ownership; and/or 

9. history of reliance on obtaining credit; and/or 

10. debts under $75,000.

A lower probability of collection occurs in cases that are:

1. very old; and/or 

2. against corporations that are out of business; and/or 

3. against outright thieves, like those in jail or who are being chased by law enforcement; and/or 

4. against those who have or will be filing for bankruptcy protection; and/or 

5. against those people whose lifestyle tends to indicate no assets now or in the future, such as alcoholics, drug abusers, chronic gamblers, those chronically on welfare, the terminally ill; and/or 

6. huge debts; and/or 

7. large IRS tax liens.