Terms & Conditions

1.0 Definitions

1.1 “CCA” means the Construction Contracts Act 2002.

1.2 “Client” means the individual or entity engaging the Company for debt collection services.

1.3 “Company” means Commercial Collections Group Ltd.

1.4 “Debt” means the unpaid financial obligations owed to the Client by the Debtor.

1.5 “Debtor” means the individual or entity from whom the Client seeks to recover debt.

1.6 “Due Date” means the date payment is due under these Terms or, if no date applies, the 2 Working Days following the date of the Company’s invoice.

1.7 “Proceeds” means all money or other value recovered in relation to the Debt, whether received by the Company or the Client, including any interest, costs, judgment, determination, settlement or costs award.

1.8 “Representation Fee” means the fee payable for representation in an adjudication under clause 6.

1.9 “Services” means the services described in clause 2.

1.10 “Terms” means these terms and conditions, as varied under clause 15.

1.11 “Working Day” means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or New Zealand public holiday.

2.0 Services

2.1 The Company will provide debt collection services, including recovery strategy development and advice, preparing payment claims, demands, notices and correspondence, contacting Debtors, negotiating payment terms, issuing statutory and contractual notices, and, if applicable, facilitating legal action.

2.2 The Company will make reasonable efforts to collect the Debt; however, results are not guaranteed.

3.0 Commencement of Engagement

3.1 The Client’s engagement of the Company commences at the point the Client agrees to these Terms (whether by signing, by electronic acceptance, by instructing the Company to act, or by conduct), and continues unless terminated in accordance with clause 11.

3.2 Free or preliminary work by the Company is part of the engagement. It does not delay the start of the engagement or affect the Client’s obligations or the Company’s right to commission and fees on any recovery.

4.0 Client Obligations

4.1 The Client must not instruct anyone else to recover the Debt while the Company is engaged.

4.2 The Client agrees not to contact the Debtor, or enter into any compromise, negotiation, or settlement with the Debtor, without the Company’s prior agreement. If the Client settles or compromises the Debt without the Company’s agreement, the Client must pay the Company the commission it would have earned had the full Debt been recovered.

4.3 The Client confirms that any and all information concerning the Debtor has been collected, obtained, used, and disclosed in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and the Credit Reporting Privacy Code 2020.

4.4 The Client warrants the validity, amount, and authenticity of all claims and accounts placed with the Company for collection. Upon request by the Company, the Client agrees to provide documentation to prove the amount and authenticity of the claim.

4.5 The Client grants the Company the authority to forward all undisputed debts to a nationwide credit reporting database after 14 Working Days of lodgement.

4.6 The Client agrees to provide the Company with sufficient and current contact details for the Debtor, and any other information reasonably needed, to enable the Company to communicate with the Debtor and pursue the recovery.

5.0 Authority to Act

5.1 The Client authorises the Company to contact the Debtor and any relevant third party, and to send, issue, and receive communications, notices, demands, and documents relating to the recovery of the Debt, on the Client’s behalf.

5.2 At the Client’s request, the Company may register, amend, renew, or discharge financing statements on the Personal Property Securities Register in the Client’s name in relation to debts the Client places with the Company. For this purpose, the Client authorises the Company to act as its agent. The Client warrants each registration is supported by a security agreement and will pay the registration fees. This authority ends when the engagement ends.

5.3 If the Client asks the Company to complete, file or lodge an application or form for a government agency and the Company agrees, the Company does so at no charge. That work is not part of the Services. Any fee charged by the government agency is payable by the Client, and clause 7.3 applies to it.

6.0 Adjudication

6.1 In this clause 6, words defined in the Construction Contracts Act 2002 and not defined in these Terms have the meaning given in that Act.

6.2 The Client authorises the Company to refer disputes to adjudication on the Client’s behalf where the Company considers it in the interests of the recovery. This includes engaging a third party representative to start and run the adjudication.

6.3 The representation ends when the determination is issued or the adjudication otherwise ends.

6.4 The Client is liable to the Company for the actual and reasonable costs the Company incurs for the representation, including the Representation Fees of any third party it engages, from the time the Company incurs them.

6.5 If the Client withdraws or fails to proceed before the adjudication claim is served, a Representation Fee of $2,000+GST is payable. After the adjudication claim is served $5,000+GST is payable.

6.6 If the adjudication ends without determination for a reason outside the parties’ control, such as the adjudicator resigning, becoming unavailable or failing to determine the dispute in time, the Company may withdraw and refer the dispute to adjudication again on the same terms.

6.7 If a CCA payment claim has been served on the Debtor for the Debt after the Client engaged the Company, and the Client does not instruct the Company under clause 6.2 within 10 Working Days of the Company asking it to, the Company may refer the dispute to adjudication at its own cost.

6.8 If the Company refers the dispute to adjudication under cl. 6.7:

(a) the Company will pay the adjudicator’s fees and indemnify the Client against any costs the adjudicator awards against the Client under section 56 of CCA, except to the extent caused by the Client’s breach of clause 4.4 or 6.9,

(b) the commission in clause 7.2 applies to Proceeds.

6.9 When an adjudication is commenced under clause 6.7, the Client must give the Company materials (the documents, information and witness evidence it reasonably asks for) and must not withdraw the adjudication claim or terminate the engagement in relation to the Debt. If the Client does not supply the requested materials within the time reasonably required by the Company, it must repay the Company the fees and expenses paid under clause 6.8(a). Clause 6.8(b) continues to apply to money later recovered.

7.0 Fees and Commission

7.1 The Company charges a commission of 30% on all Proceeds, including any interest, costs, or recovery charges recovered in addition to the Debt.

7.2 The Company charges a commission of 60% of Proceeds (after costs) where litigation funding arrangements are entered into.

7.3 Third party costs, such as fees charged by lawyers, adjudicators, process servers and courts, may arise during the engagement. Where they arise, they will be discussed and agreed with the Client before they are incurred and the Client must pay them unless the Company has elected adjudication under clause 6.7.

7.4 Work outside standard debt recovery, agreed in advance, is charged at $250 per hour or at an agreed fixed fee.

7.5 Commission, fees and charges are subject to GST.

8.0 Payment of Collected Funds

8.1 Proceeds, minus the commission and any applicable fees, will be paid to the Client’s nominated bank account by the 20th of the month following receipt.

8.2 If the Debtor pays the Client directly, the Client must tell the Company and pay the commission to the Company’s nominated bank account within 2 Working Days of receiving the payment.

8.3 The Company may deduct its commission, fees, and any amounts owing to it from any Proceeds (including any judgment, determination, settlement, or costs award) before paying the balance to the Client, whether the Proceeds are received by the Company or the Client.

9.0 Liability and Disclaimer

9.1 The Company is not liable for any failure to collect the Debt or for any consequential, indirect, or other loss incurred by the Client.

9.2 If a liquidator, receiver or other insolvency practitioner recovers money the Company collected, the Company keeps its commission, fees and disbursements.

9.3 Any review of a Client’s terms of trade or similar service is general commercial commentary only.

9.4 The Company’s liability in any circumstance will be limited to the amount of commission received for that Debt.

9.5 The Client agrees to indemnify the Company, its employees, agents, and subcontractors against any claims, damages, liabilities, costs, or expenses (including legal fees) arising from:

(a) Any breach by the Client of its obligations under these Terms.

(b) Any claim or action brought by the Debtor or any third party as a result of the information provided by the Client or actions taken on the Client’s instructions.

(c) Any breach by the Client of applicable privacy laws, including the Privacy Act 2020 and the Credit Reporting Privacy Code 2020.

9.6 This indemnity will survive the termination or expiration of these Terms.

10.0 Confidentiality

10.1 The Company will keep all information related to the Debt confidential, disclosing information only when required by law or to further the debt collection process.

11.0 Termination of Services

11.1 Either party may terminate the engagement with 60 days’ written notice.

11.2 If the Client terminates the engagement, commission under clause 7.1 or 7.2, and any Representation Fee, remain payable on any money received within 6 months after termination that results from steps the Company took before termination, including any demand, payment arrangement, payment claim, adjudication determination, or judgment.

12.0 Governing Law

12.1 These Terms are governed by New Zealand law, and any disputes arising from them are subject to the jurisdiction of New Zealand courts.

13.0 Interest and Charges on Overdue Amounts

13.1 If the Client fails to pay any amounts due to the Company under these Terms by the Due Date, the Company may charge interest on the overdue amount at the rate of 2.5% per month, calculated daily from the Due Date until full payment is received.

13.2 The Client agrees to pay all costs and expenses (including full legal costs) incurred by the Company in recovering any overdue amounts owed under these Terms.

13.3 If the Client fails to pay any amount owing to the Company by the Due Date, the Client authorises the Company to disclose the Client’s details and the default to any credit reporting agency or commercial credit bureau, in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020 and the Credit Reporting Privacy Code 2020.

14.0 Acceptance and Acknowledgement of Terms

14.1 The Client confirms that it is in trade and is engaging the Company for the purposes of its business, and that the Services are supplied and acquired in trade.

14.2 These Terms, together with any written instructions the Client gives the Company, are the entire agreement between the parties. Each party confirms that it has not relied on any statement, representation, promise, or conduct of the other, whether made before or after the Client engaged the Company, that is not recorded in these Terms.

14.3 The parties agree, to the extent permitted by section 5D of the Fair Trading Act 1986, to contract out of sections 9, 12A, 13 and 14(1) of that Act in relation to these Terms and the Services, and consider it fair and reasonable to be bound by this clause.

15.0 Right to Vary

15.1 The Company may amend, update, or replace these Terms from time to time to reflect changes in its business, legal or regulatory requirements, or fees.

15.2 The current version of these Terms will be published at https://www.commcoll.co.nz/terms-and-conditions.

15.3 Each new instruction the Client gives the Company is governed by the version of these Terms published at the time the Company receives it.

15.4 For an instruction already received, the Company will give the Client notice of any variation. The Client may withdraw that instruction within 30 days of the notice without paying the Representation Fee in clause 6.5. If the Client does not, the varied Terms apply to that instruction from the end of that period.

16.0 Severability

16.1 If any provision of these Terms is or becomes invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, that provision is to be read down to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable; and if it cannot be, it is severed from these Terms. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision does not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining provisions, which continue in full force and effect.