International Advisers
specialized in debt collecting
The case of dubious quality
The case of dubious quality
A German clothing manufacturer has been selling its products to a trading house in Portugal. In exchange for exclusive sales rights, the Portuguese company gave the manufacturer a “turnover" guarantee. For a while, all was well.
Then payments stopped. When asked for an explanation, the Portuguese company said, “The quality of the orders delivered is unacceptable." The German supplier does not agree with this at all and explains his problem to his credit insurer. In turn and in concert, the manufacturer and the credit insurer called in International Advisers.
International Advisers contacted our office in Lisbon. The same day our Lisbon office sent a registered letter to the debtor. In its reply, the trading house repeated: “The quality of the goods is poor and that no payment will be made."
International Advisers then initiated an extensive investigation into the total operation of the trading house. It turned out that the company has been taken over by a competitor … and, unsurprisingly, that competitor does business with other clothing manufacturers who provide goods comparable to the claimants. Ah! Investigation also reveals that there is nothing wrong with the German goods. Apparently, the new owner simply wants to get rid of the exclusivity contract.
In this instance, neither side would yield. The manufacturer knew the goods were of good quality; the trading house simply refused to acknowledge the debt. That meant the only recourse was litigation. The court case resulted in a resounding victory for our client.
In short: healthy skepticism, thorough research, legal expertise and the right connections virtually always yield results (i.e. money). When filing suit is the only alternative, IA proceeds with vigor and professionalism.