In our first blog post on USA debt collection we discussed the three pre-legal stages an American debt recovery agency will use to attempt recovery. But what happens when they have done their best to collect, but the debtor refuses to co-operate?

In this instance your only option to collect the debt may be to consider taking legal action. As with any legal claim here in the UK you can expect to pay the court costs and lawyers fees. But unlike in the UK you as a creditor will be required to attend any hearing, generally at your own cost.

Read more: Ten Questions to ask before Suing a Debtor in the USA

Business loans have been making the headlines recently, but it's not all bad news - particularly for companies that have improved debt collection over the past year or so.

There's a perception in the media that businesses need loans in order to succeed. And in some cases, yes, that's true - an injection of cash can be useful for all kinds of reasons, from setting up a new firm to undergoing expansion or a change of direction.

Read more: Whats Wonga With This Picture?

Here at Safe Collections we have decades of experience in helping our customers recover unpaid invoices and bad debts both in the UK and across the globe.  One of our key markets is the USA and we have been working closely with our US debt recovery affiliate since 1986.

Robert is the Vice President of International & Corporate Quality at our affiliate office in New York and here he explains the Three Phase USA debt collection procedures they follow in recovery of overdue accounts from US based debtors.

Read more: USA Debt Collection Procedures

A headline-grabbing report from the Forum of Private Business and Graydon reveals that formal credit control processes are in place at fewer than half of the UK's small businesses.

The survey looked at 500 companies across the UK, and just 44% said they had formal credit control procedures to fall back on if they are not paid promptly by debtors.  However, many others admitted to making use of a spur-of-the-moment approach to payments, with 16% juggling payments as they go along and 38% mixing formal credit control processes with informal payment-chasing.

Read more: UK SME Late Payment Culture Exposed