We receive most of our new cases in the mail and are pleased to begin your case quickly. The steps to have us start a collection action are as follows:

1. Providing the Case Information

To start a new case, we request the relevant documents that support your claim. For example, if the collection is on a promissory note, a copy of that note is required along with a past payment history. If the collection is for goods or services sold and unpaid, we request a copy of any contract or agreement and the statement or account information. If there is a credit application, engagement letter, purchase order or similar document, you should include that in the package. We frequently request copies of the invoices or billings and delivery receipts (if any for goods).

You should plan to send anything you believe would be relevant to the proof that the debtor has your money, goods, services, or otherwise owes you the money. We would also like to receive a brief statement of the circumstances. This can be a simple handwritten note or paragraph that describes the facts and explains the debt. Nothing formal is required but the best descriptions supplement and amplify the documents.

We would also like to receive any information available about the debtor. It is helpful to know where they are, who they are, any other names they use, current addresses and phone numbers, and social security numbers of individuals. For businesses, we would like details such as who the principals are, where they live, what the nature of the business is and if there are any disputes surrounding the debt.

Any past information, such as previous checks, correspondence, telephone logs, prior dealings, other vendors, etc. are helpful. We also need information about you, the client, so that we can properly identify you in any legal documents. Your correct full name, address, phone, fax and pertinent information about you are necessary. If you are a business, we will need the correct entity status (corporation and state of incorporation or if partnership, the state and general partners).

To begin your collection, we formulate a collection plan for each case and try to construct a profile of each debtor and identify their weaknesses. The information you provide and our investigation form the backbone of our collection plan and any assistance you can provide increases the speed and efficiency of handling your case. After we have accepted your case, we will call you and conduct a phone interview to determine the full facts and what other evidence, documents or witnesses are available to support your claim.

2. Selecting the Fee Method that Suits You Best

You may choose to retain our firm on a contingent fee or hourly fee basis. If you decide to select one of the contingent fee agreements, you may want to review the topic of "Costs" to familiarize yourself with the court costs that must be spent to pursue your collection. After you have selected your fee method, you may retrieve the appropriate fee agreement from the website at http://www.lossrecovery.com/Assignment_form.htm. We offer several types of collection alternatives.

If your case involves a collection, which has not yet begun against a California resident debtor, and you select a percentage of contingent fees, please review our "Contingent Fee Retainer Agreement-Post Judgment." Alternatively, you may wish to consider our "Hourly Fee Retainer Agreement." Hourly fees are rarely appropriate on Judgments that have not successfully collected in the past, as well as on smaller cases as discussed in the "Fees" section. For either fee type, you will also need to provide a "Substitution of Attorney" form, which we will need for the court clerk to issue enforcement documents in our favor. If your case involves a collection which has already been through the court system in another state, and a Judgment has been obtained which has not yet been collected against a California resident debtor (this is called a Sister State Judgment case), and you select a percentage or contingent fee, please review our "Contingent Fee Retainer Agreement-Sister State Judgment." Alternatively, you may wish to consider our "Hourly Fee Retainer Agreement." However, just as with in-state cases, hourly fees are rarely appropriate on Judgments that have not been successfully collected in the past, as well as smaller cases as discussed in the "Fees" section.

If you select hourly fees, you should use our "Hourly Fee Retainer Agreement." In that case, you should confirm the initial retainer requirement with Martin B. Greenbaum before sending any money or case materials.

3. The Cost and Expense Deposit

After accumulating all of the evidence and documents and selecting the fee method you feel most comfortable with, you should review the small cost deposit we request to begin a lawsuit on contingent fee matters. In general, the cost deposit takes creditors through all the steps typically necessary to obtain a judgment and in most cases are resolved by that time. The cost deposit covers the expenses of credit reports, database searching and asset verification, court filing fees, process servers' fees and related expenses. Review the topic "Costs" for an in-depth discussion.
The initial deposit for court costs are:

New cases under $10,000 $275
New cases over $10,000 $375
Sister State cases under $10,000 $275
Sister State cases over $10,000 $375
California Post Judgment cases $150

Remember, we get no fee on contingent fee matters unless there is a successful collection. These cost deposits are applicable only to direct out-of-pocket costs and expenses.

4. Sending Your Case to Us

When you have accumulated:
a. All of the documents and evidence; and
b. Selected one of our service agreements that you feel best serves your needs; and
c. Provided the Substitution of Attorney Form, if a Post Judgment case is involved; and
d. Provided for the cost deposit

Then, you should send all of these items to us by mail or overnight courier. You should hear from us within a week of our receipt of your documents.