Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New York
Business Debt collection
I have information about a company that has unpaid monies to vendors that have not invoiced for the correct amounts. The sum is rather large (1Million +) and I was wondering if it was legal to contact the vendors and charge them a fee or to act as/ or start a credit collections agency to help then collect these overdue amounts. Many of the companies have been consolidated or bought, etc. and may have let these invoices slip through the cracks in their transitions.
Is it legal for me to contact these vendors and tell them that I have information regarding an outstanding debt, but to obtain that information I want a finders fee? Or can I tell them that I have the info and act as a collections agency and recover the monies and retain a certain percentage? Also, is there a time frame in that these monies become non-collectable. It have been almost a year that these invoices should have been billed and paid.
Thanks for all your help.
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1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Business Debt collection
What you propose is not, on its face, illegal
How you came about the information may involve
a breach of confidence on the part of some
party, who then could be subject to
sanctions