Terms of business

Terms of Business 2027, version 1.4. Published 31 October 2026.

• Joining feeNone
• Monthly feeNone
• AssessmentFree, no obligation

When these terms apply. They apply to new clients from 11 October 2026. If you already have files with us, they apply to files you lodge from 1 January 2027; files lodged before then stay on the terms they were lodged under (clause 25).

1. 1. Definitions

   1. "We", "us" and "NZDRL" mean NZ Debt Recoveries Limited. "You" means the client named in the proposal or lodgement, and anyone instructing us for it.
   2. "Debt" means the amount you lodge with us, together with any interest, fees, charges and recovery costs that are recoverable from the debtor, whether under your terms of trade, a court or tribunal order, or by agreement.
   3. "Recovered" means any money, goods, services, credit or set-off received by you, by us, or by anyone for you, in reduction of the Debt, from the date you lodge it.
   4. "Rate Card" means the commission schedule in the proposal you accepted, or the schedule in force on the date a file is lodged.
   5. "Remittance Day" means the 4th and the 20th of each month, or the next working day.
   6. "Funded Reserve" means money you pay us in advance to meet legal or other disbursements on a file.

2. 2. Acceptance

   1. You accept these terms when you sign our proposal, tick acceptance on our online lodgement form, or instruct us on a file, whichever happens first.
   2. These terms apply to every file you lodge while they are in force, unless we agree otherwise in writing.
   3. Each Debt you lodge is subject to our review. We may decline a Debt by written notice within 2 working days of lodgement. A declined Debt is not a file, and no commission or fees apply to it.

3. 3. Appointment and authority

   1. You appoint us as your agent to recover each Debt you lodge. You authorise us to contact the debtor and anyone liable for the Debt, carry out searches, issue demands, negotiate and receive payments into our trust account.
   2. We will not start court or tribunal proceedings, issue a statutory demand, or take enforcement action without your instructions for that step.
   3. You will not deal with the debtor about the Debt while a file is open, and will refer any contact from the debtor to us.

4. 4. Commission

   1. There is no charge for our initial assessment. On Debts of $1,000 or more there is no joining fee, no monthly fee and no upfront fee: you pay commission only on what is Recovered.
   2. We charge commission at the rate shown in the Rate Card, set by the amount lodged and fixed at the date of lodgement. Commission is never less than the commission payable at the top of the band below.
   3. For a Debt under $1,000 we charge a fixed fee of $300 + GST, payable when the Debt is lodged, instead of commission. It covers a letter of demand and up to six contacts with the debtor. You receive 100% of anything Recovered on that Debt. If you are on the October 2026 card, we may instead accept an occasional Debt under $1,000 at our discretion, case by case, at 30% commission on amounts Recovered, with no upfront fee.
   4. The October 2026 card applies to clients who had a file with us before 11 October 2026, and to any other client we invite onto it in writing. The Standard card applies to everyone else. The card in force when a file is lodged applies to that file for its whole life.

   Rate Card (new clients from 11 October 2026; existing clients' files lodged from 1 January 2027)

   Debt lodged	Standard	October 2026
   Under $1,000	$300 + GST fixed fee, upfront	30% of amount Recovered, case by case
   $1,000–$4,999	22.5%	20%
   $5,000–$9,999	17.5%	15%
   $10,000–$19,999	15%	12.5%
   $20,000–$49,999	10%	10%
   $50,000–$99,999	8%	8%
   $100,000 and over	By arrangement	By arrangement

   Commission is charged on everything Recovered (clause 4.3), plus GST, and never falls below the top of the band below.

   1. Commission is charged on everything Recovered, including interest, fees and costs, and on the GST-inclusive amount.
   2. No commission is payable on a file where nothing is Recovered, except as set out in clause 5.
   3. Commission is earned when an amount is Recovered and is deducted before we remit to you.

5. 5. Direct payments, offsets and withdrawal

   1. If the debtor pays you directly, or you accept goods, services, a credit or a set-off in reduction of the Debt, commission is payable on that amount as if we had received it. You must tell us within 48 hours.
   2. If you withdraw a file, commission remains payable on anything Recovered from the debtor within 60 days after the withdrawal, whoever receives it, without us having to show that it resulted from our work. You must tell us of any such payment under clause 13.2, and clauses 13.4 and 13.5 apply to it.
   3. If a settlement was proposed or negotiated through us before you withdrew the file, commission is payable on the settlement amount if a settlement on those or similar terms is agreed within 60 days of the withdrawal. Commission is then payable on every payment made under that settlement, including instalments paid after the 60 days. The same applies to any settlement or payment arrangement already agreed through us before the withdrawal: commission is payable on every payment under it, for its full term.
   4. If you withdraw a file and nothing is Recovered within the 60 days in clause 5.2, you pay our disbursements and our time on the file at $150 + GST an hour.
   5. Otherwise, commission remains payable on any amount Recovered within 12 months after a file closes or these terms end, where the payment results from our work.

6. 6. Collection costs recovered from the debtor

   1. Where your terms of trade, a court order or an agreement allow collection costs to be recovered from the debtor, you authorise us to claim our commission and recovery costs from the debtor as part of the Debt.
   2. Collection costs we recover from the debtor are applied first to our commission and costs on that file. Any balance is remitted to you.

7. 7. Remittance and statements

   1. We remit cleared funds held for you on each Remittance Day, after deducting commission, disbursements and any of our invoices then due.
   2. Each remittance comes with a statement showing amounts Recovered, deductions and the net paid.
   3. Balances under $20 may be carried to the next Remittance Day.
   4. If you ask for an earlier remittance, we may charge $15 + GST.

8. 8. Set-off

   1. You authorise us, at each remittance, to pay any of our invoices then due to us from money we hold for you, on any file. The statement will show each amount applied.

9. 9. Disbursements and legal costs

   1. Disbursements are charged as set out in the schedule in the proposal, as updated from time to time. They include search, tracing, filing, service, credit reporting and counsel fees.
   2. We will give you an estimate and get your approval before incurring court fees or counsel fees on a file.
   3. GST is added to disbursements where it applies.
   4. Where we attend a court or registry in person to have an affidavit or court document sworn, witnessed, filed or sealed, we charge an attendance fee of $25 + GST per document. This is a fee for our time and travel, in addition to any court fees.

10. 10. Funded Reserve

    1. Before we take a legal step, we may ask you for a Funded Reserve to cover the expected disbursements.
    2. The Funded Reserve is held in a separate client reserve account and applied only to disbursements on that file.
    3. Any unused balance is refunded to you when the step is complete or the file closes. It may first be applied to any of our invoices then due under clause 8.

11. 11. Litigation

    1. Proceedings are brought in your name, through counsel we arrange, once you have approved the costs.
    2. You will give us and counsel the documents, information and sworn evidence needed, and attend a hearing if required.
    3. You are responsible for court and counsel costs, whether or not they are awarded against the debtor or recovered.

12. 12. Settlement

    1. We will not agree a settlement for less than the full Debt without your approval.
    2. At a statutory demand, after judgment, at enforcement, or under a settlement agreement, you may give us written authority on a file to settle on the best terms available. That includes agreeing catch-up payments, instalment changes and concessions on interest or costs, without first asking you.
    3. We will report every settlement made under that authority to you promptly.

13. 13. Your obligations

    1. When you lodge a Debt, you will give us the invoices, statements, your terms of trade (or tell us there are none), and any correspondence or acknowledgement of the Debt.
    2. While a file is open, and for 12 months after it closes, you must tell us within 48 hours of any payment, goods, credit, set-off or other value that you, or anyone for you, receives from the debtor. You must not deal with the debtor about the Debt while the file is open.
    3. You will reply to our requests for instructions, information or documents within 14 days.
    4. If we ask, you will give us, within 14 days, a statement of the debtor's account from your own records, confirmed as true by you, showing every payment and credit since the Debt was lodged.
    5. If you do not give us that statement within 14 days of a second written request, you are taken to have received the full Debt on the date of that second request, and commission is payable on it under clause 5.1, unless you later show us from your account records that it was not received.
    6. If you do not reply within 14 days of a second request under clause 13.3, we may close the file. Clauses 5.2 to 5.4 then apply as if you had withdrawn it.
    7. A failure to meet this clause is a breach of these terms. Repeated failures, on one file or across files, entitle us to end these terms under clause 24 and to recover our costs under clause 15.
    8. You will not refer the Debt to another agency or lawyer while our file is open.
    9. We may close a file and stop acting by written notice if the Debt is disputed, unsubstantiated, uneconomic to pursue, or we have a conflict. Clauses 5.2 to 5.4 do not apply to a file we close under this clause.

14. 14. Your warranties

    1. You confirm that each Debt you lodge is genuinely owed and accurately stated, has not been assigned or paid, and is not statute-barred.
    2. You will tell us when you lodge it about any dispute, defence, counterclaim or payment arrangement you know of.
    3. Where the Debt arises from consumer credit, you confirm that you complied with the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003.

15. 15. Cost recovery

    1. If you breach clause 13 or 14, you will pay for the additional time we spend because of it at $150 + GST an hour, plus any disbursements incurred, in addition to any commission payable.
    2. If a file closes or cannot proceed because of your breach of clause 13 or 14, you will also pay for the time already spent on that file at the same rate.
    3. This clause does not apply where the only reason a Debt is not recovered is that the debtor cannot or will not pay.
    4. Where commission is payable on a file under clause 5.2 or 13.5, we will not also charge for time under this clause for the same failure on that file. Disbursements remain payable.

16. 16. Our invoices and default

    1. Our invoices are payable within 14 days.
    2. If an invoice is overdue, we may suspend work on your files, charge interest at 5% a year above the Official Cash Rate, and recover our collection costs from you on a full indemnity basis.

17. 17. Personal liability

    1. If you instruct us for a company or other entity, you, as the person instructing us, are jointly and severally liable with it for amounts payable to us under these terms.

18. 18. Lien

    1. We may hold documents and money of yours until all amounts due to us are paid.

19. 19. Privacy and credit reporting

    1. We collect, use and hold personal information under the Privacy Act 2020 and the Credit Reporting Privacy Code.
    2. You consent to us obtaining a credit report on you to assess your account with us.
    3. You authorise us to obtain credit reports on debtors and, where the law and the Debt allow, to list defaults with credit reporting agencies.

20. 20. Our service

    1. We will act with reasonable care and skill, keep you informed at the key steps of each file, and answer your enquiries within a reasonable time.
    2. We do not guarantee that any Debt will be recovered.

21. 21. Liability

    1. Our total liability to you on any file is limited to the commission and fees we have earned on that file.
    2. We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, including lost profit, or for delay or failure caused by events outside our reasonable control.
    3. Where our services are instructed on behalf of, or carried out for, a business, or the recovery is of a business or commercial debt, you are acquiring our services for the purposes of a business and the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 does not apply.

22. 22. Time limit for claims

    1. Any claim against us must be made in writing within 12 months of the event it relates to.

23. 23. Indemnity

    1. You indemnify us against any claim, loss or cost arising from information you gave us that was wrong, or from a Debt that was not genuinely owed.

24. 24. Term and termination

    1. These terms continue until either of us ends them by written notice.
    2. Ending these terms does not affect files already lodged, commission under clauses 5.2, 5.3 and 5.5, clauses 8 and 18, or our obligations about your information.

25. 25. Changes to these terms

    1. We may change these terms, the Rate Card or our own fees in the disbursement schedule by written notice to you by email. Court and Ministry of Justice fees, and other fees set by third parties, are charged at cost and change when those bodies change them. No notice is needed for those changes.
    2. A change takes effect two months after the notice is sent. During those two months you may object by written notice. If you object, the change does not apply to you, and either of us may end these terms under clause 24.
    3. A change applies only to files lodged on or after the date it takes effect. Files already lodged continue under the terms in force when they were lodged.
    4. Lodging a file after a change takes effect is acceptance of the terms then in force.
    5. If you have not lodged a file with us for 12 months, any new file is lodged on the Terms and Rate Card then in force for new clients.

26. 26. Disputes

    1. If a dispute arises, we will first try to resolve it by discussion within 30 days. If that fails, either of us may refer it to mediation before going to court.

27. 27. General

    1. We keep file records for seven years, then destroy them securely.
    2. Notices may be given by email to the address each of us last provided.
    3. These terms are governed by New Zealand law.
    4. If any part of these terms is unenforceable, the rest still applies.
    5. A failure or delay in exercising a right is not a waiver of it.
    6. These terms, the proposal and the Rate Card are the whole agreement between us about our services.
    7. Each of us will keep the other's confidential business information confidential and use it only for our dealings under these terms, except where the law requires disclosure or the information is already public.

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