Meet Richard Gray - New In-House Counsel

ICredit Enforcement are please to introduce the highly esteemed barrister Richard Grey to the company. As the new In-House Counsel, his strong reputation and hard working ethics will provide all our clients with concise and reliable legal advice. 

Here is his profile:-

Richard Gray

Barrister-at-Law

Richard Gray was called to the Bar at the Middle Temple in November 1986. Commencing his Pupillage in 1987 at Chambers in Liverpool, his practice was mainly Crime and Common Law, pursuing actions against the police and personal injury matters in the field of industrial disease.

In 1991, Richard joined Chambers in Manchester where he largely enjoyed success as a Criminal Defence Barrister. It was in this field that his particular strength in robust cross-examination coupled with an ability to critically analyse issues, in particular those which required complex disclosure arguments in the area of public interest immunity, was recognised by a number of solicitors firms with whom he enjoyed long and successful relationships. 

Richard’s strong cross-examination skills along with a number of acquittals on behalf of his clients, has enabled him to move successfully to other contentious areas of law. At the end of the 1990s, Richard moved away from his criminal practice although, due to being held in such high regard, he is held on retainer with a high profile Criminal Solicitors in Manchester. Richard developed an interest in expanding other areas of practice such as employment and regulatory work and additionally began to study various areas of taxation and commercial law. These areas of practice have gradually expanded at the Bar and he has appeared for such firms as Mowlem Plc and Coca Cola in the Employment Tribunal.

Experience in Dubai and the UAE

In 2009, Richard was approached to assist an expat who was detained in Dubai due to a series of dishonoured cheques and he was asked to look into areas of negligence by his client's previous legal advisers. This meant that Richard had to visit the UAE a number of times to liaise with Emirate Lawyers and the Dubai authorities, in particular the Attorney General's office and the office of the Chief Prosecutor. He persuaded them that pursuing his client, who had been acquitted on one charge, was both duplicitous and an abuse of the process of the court and four similar charges based upon the same evidence should not be proceeded with.

Richard’s concise arguments have recently been used in the Court of Cassation by the office of His Excellency The Attorney General of Dubai. Richard has also sought to persuade the authorities in Dubai that numerous charges based upon a single course of conduct should result in both concurrent sentences and consideration of the principle of totality.

Negligence in the Emirate

Whilst negotiating contracts in the Emirate, Richard has had cause to extensively consider the law in relation to negligence to limited liability and its effect upon the company official. 

This research and the principle of ‘Service Out of the Jurisdiction’ of the courts

of England and Wales, has resulted in Richard recently lecturing in October 2012 to

the Solicitors Group in Manchester on precisely the same subject.

ICE

In May 2012, Richard was introduced to the Directors and Associates  of ICE to provide privilege legal advice to their clients which Richard enjoys as a practising barrister. This has resulted in a successful relationship between Richard and the company whereby the company clients, who’s legal issues are both complex and various, have sought advice from Richard and have largely been successful in the issues they pursue.

At present, ICE has asked Richard to act as ‘In-House Counsel’ presenting Richard with a variety of issues in relation to the field of debt recovery, bankruptcy and winding up petitions. Later this year, both he and the directors and associates plan to visit the Emirate of Dubai, where they hope to assist the various clients in the complex field of debt recovery and enforcement of international credit agreements.

Richard has strong ties with various agencies in the UAE and will be a considerable asset to the clients of ICE in the resolution of various legal disputes.

Hobbies:

In spite of his busy schedule, Richard has several hobbies to help him relax. He enjoys running, skiing and free fall parachuting as he is an ex member of the Parachute Regiment. In the quieter moments, he enjoys getting lost in his favourite book, which is Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith.

If you would like to contact Richard for legal advice or with any questions you may have please call ICE on 0118 3240 335 or email info@icreditenforcement.com.

The Beginning of ICE PACC

Every business is created from a single idea and Gareth Thomas’s evolved from the growing need to find a way to recover owed monies from slow paying or non-paying clients. Due to recurring factors such as pre-pack administrations, lack of due diligence by creditors, disputes and absconding debtors, some businesses were struggling with their bad debt and Gareth felt that this problem needed to be addressed urgently.

Gareth’s first venture was setting up Financial Solutions South in 2007 which specialised in commercial debt recovery and, even though this business really took off, he wanted to develop a system which gave business owners access to the very best in credit control software without having to employ a debt management firm. By working side by side with CCS LTD, who had developed the collection software Colsys, the innovative International Credit Enforcement Pro-Active Credit Control, or ICE PACC, was born in 2009 and, soon after its launch, it won the backing of Institute of Credit Management (ICM).

ICE PACC is an online credit management tool which has revolutionised the way businesses are able to manage cash flow and minimise bad debt. It's a simple but powerful online tool which gives businesses, from sole traders to corporate businesses, the power to manage each stage of the credit control process, from assessing a client or supplier's risk profile to successfully recovering bad debts. It also offers free pre-legal debt recovery which includes professional written reminders, legal documentation and agreement plans along with door-step collections (adhering to strict codes of conduct) recorded on video, for transparency where necessary, to ensure that the integrity of all businesses are upheld whilst helping with the recovery of bad debt.

The success rate of ICE PACC has rocketed in the last 3 years with 90% of debts being collected before legal action was pursued. This excellent performance, along with a fantastic working relationship, has seen ICE PACC become global with businesses as far as Dubai integrating ICE PACC as part of their standard operating procedure for credit control.

If you would like more information on the ICE PACC software system, contact 0118 324 0335 or visit http://www.credit-control-software.com/

Your Credit Questions Answered

Over the past few months, we have had a number of enquiries from prospective clients about credit and how to manage it. Below are just a few of the questions we have had and our answers to them:-

Q. What is credit?

A. Credit comes from the latin word 'credere' which means to trust. It is the ability to obtain goods or services before payment and trusting that payment will be given in the future which allows the person granting the credit to sell more goods.

Q. What is the role of credit in the financial system?

A. There are several different types of credit used within the economy such as trade credit, export credit and consumer credit:

Trade credit is the largest use of credit for a majority of businesses. This is where the customer purchases goods or services from the supplier on account to pay them back at a later date. When the goods are delivered, a set amount of time is given for payment such as 30,60 or 90 days. Without trade credit, the supplier would have a limited access to market their products which would lead to a lack of commercial viability.

Export credit allows UK businesses to reach similar markets overseas. Without this form of credit, overseas businesses would choose local suppliers over international ones which will cause a lack of demand for goods from the UK.

Consumer credit is mainly used to encourage a long term demand for houses, cars, consumer goods and services to the public. Without this, there would be a drastic reduction in demand for these items which would affect the house market and several industries which would result in job losses.

Q. What is meant by bad debt?

A. Bad debt is the amount written off by the business as a loss and is deemed as an expense to the company. This occurs when the business has exhausted all avenues of collection and has been unable to recover the debt.

Q. Is there a difference between credit control and credit management?

A. No, they are one and the same. Credit control and credit management is when companies increase their sales revenue by extending credit to customers who are deemed a good credit risk and denying credit to consumers who aren't a good credit risk as this reduces the company's exposure to bad debt. 

These are just a few questions that were asked. If you would like any of your credit questions answered just comment on this page, email us at info@icreditenforcement.com, tweet us at @ICEPACC or facebook us. We are happy to help!

ICE PACC

Introducing International Credit Enforcement’s, Pro-Active, Credit Control software solution.
This comprehensive and seamless on-line service is a unique commercial credit solution. Whether you’re a sole trader, small business or large corporation, the ICE PACC can limit your liabilities. We protect your business from incurring, late payment or commercial debt.
Orders are a liability, until the account is settled, thus then becoming a sale. Consequences, if a percentage of the liabilities are written off due to non payment, can be detrimental to both the business reputation and solvency.
Experience overtime has demonstrated that when recovering outstanding monies there are a number of potential prohibiting factors that may be encountered. ICE PACC has been specifically developed taking into consideration all such prohibiting factors.
Business subscribe to the ICE PACC, paying an initial set-up charge and subsequent allocated customer fees, dependent on how many are tracked and monitored.
All business subscribers are given their own secure account, accessed via a unique username and password, enabling the subscriber to assign both existing and new customers.
Their assigned customers are thoroughly credit assessed prior to being engaged. Initial customer set-up procedures include signed terms and conditions, securing the credit, along with other relevant documentation.
Once the customer set-up process is completed the client is then able to process and monitor orders, from the point of inception to settlement.
Each new order will begin a comprehensive credit control journey, promoting due diligence and protecting the clients at every level. This is serviced by a series of e-mailed flags requesting the client to confirm that each phase of the credit control process has been adhered to. Each phase is then documented onto the specific order history and potential areas of concern are highlighted accordingly.
Dispute resolution meeting and subsequent documentation are provided, if required.
If the subsequently entered invoice is paid within the agreed terms that specific order is closed, however in the event of late payment, ICE PACC will automatically initiate all pre-legal recovery action, including the specialist field operatives whilst protecting the subscriber from any reputational risk.
If the account remains in arrears, ICE Legal issues relevant court proceedings, defined by the specific order history. These fees are levied against the debtor an in the event of post-legal settlement are refunded to the subscriber.
In the UK market, providing the ICE PACC process is fully adhered to, the debtor will ultimately be petitioned for their personal bankruptcy unless the account is settled. Therefore registered company directors will be personally cited.
The costs for pre legal recovery are wholly levied against the debtor, and therefore settlement of the account at this stage results in the subscriber receiving the full amount recovered. Consequently there are NO subscriber pre legal fees or commissions levied.
All arrears are paid directly into the subscribers account; at no point are clients monies paid to International Credit Enforcement, ensuring complete transparency.