Legal service for foreign clients
Debt Collection — Bounced Cheques, Enforcement, Seizure in Thailand
Compliant collection under Debt-Collection Act, Cheque Act, and full enforcement.
Quick answer
Collections must comply with the Debt Collection Act 2015 (calls 08:00–20:00, no threats, no disclosure to third parties). Bounced cheques are both civil and criminal (Cheque Act — up to THB 60k fine or 1 yr jail). We do legal demand, litigation, and post-judgment enforcement (seizure + garnishment). Fees from THB 15k or 15–25% success fee.
From THB 15,000 — THB 15k or 15–25% success fee · Small claims 3–6 mo / general 8–14 mo
Who this is for
- Companies with overdue receivables
- Lenders whose loans weren't repaid
- Holders of bounced cheques
- Judgment creditors
What you receive
- Statutory demand letters
- Cheque Act cases (civil + criminal)
- General civil enforcement suits
- Asset tracing + seizure of land / vehicles / shares
- Salary and bank-account garnishment
Documents to prepare
- Loan / invoice / debt records
- Original cheque + return slip
- Debtor's ID (if available)
How it works
5-step process
- 1
Verify debt + prescription
Check 2/5/10-year prescription by debt type.
- 2
Formal demand
Send legal-compliant demand.
- 3
File suit
File civil / cheque / small-claim suit.
- 4
Post-judgment enforcement
Appoint execution officer to seize/garnish.
- 5
Auction + creditor payout
Public auction, remit proceeds.
In depth
Debt Collection — Bounced Cheques, Enforcement, Seizure: what foreign clients need to know
Recovery that actually produces money starts with what the debtor owns, not with whether a claim exists. A judgment won against a debtor with nothing to seize is spend without return. We therefore check the asset base and the limitation period before deciding between demand letters, a restructuring negotiation, or full litigation.
Limitation is the first thing to check, not the last
Different debts carry different limitation periods, and the clock does not necessarily start on the contract date — usually it starts on default or when the claim fell due. Many creditors lose the right simply by waiting years for voluntary payment, so we begin by fixing the legally relevant dates from the documents on hand.
Where limitation is close, the safe move is to trigger a statutory interruption — a written acknowledgement of the debt from the debtor, or filing to preserve the claim and then negotiating inside the case. That keeps leverage on the creditor's side.
Demanding payment effectively without breaching debt-collection law
Thai debt-collection law fixes clear limits on timing, frequency and who may be contacted. Threatening calls, exposure at the debtor's workplace, or pressure through relatives immediately weaken the creditor in court and can create liability of its own. A demand that carries weight states the balance, its basis, a payment deadline and the consequence of non-payment — served in a way that proves receipt.
In practice a large share of debts resolve at negotiation, because a debtor with income usually prefers a schedule they can meet to having assets seized. We therefore structure settlements with security or an enforceable footing — such as a judgment by consent — so the creditor need not start again if default recurs.
From judgment to money received: the enforcement stage people overlook
Once judgment is in hand, the creditor obtains a writ and takes the execution officer to seize or attach the assets located. Enforceable property comes in layers: deposits, the attachable portion of salary, sums owed to the debtor by third parties, then land and shares. The order in which those are touched drives how fast money arrives.
Enforcement is itself time-limited: a creditor who merely holds a judgment can eventually lose the power to enforce it. We therefore plan enforcement before filing, tracing assets in parallel with the case, so that on the day the judgment becomes final there are already targets to seize.
Cost structure: government fees vs professional fees
| Item | Official fee | Professional fee | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demand letters and pre-litigation negotiation | Registered-post charges at actual rates | THB 6,000–20,000 per debtor | Best value where the debtor is contactable and has regular income |
| Filing a recovery claim in the court of first instance | Filing fees on the claim value, plus service costs by distance | THB 35,000–120,000 | Small-claim and consumer-case tracks are shorter and cheaper |
| Asset tracing and enforcement of the judgment | Seizure and attachment fees plus auction costs under the regulations | THB 25,000–80,000 per asset set | These costs are often recoverable from the sale proceeds |
A trade debt carried over a year with a supplier still trading
Situation: The creditor held complete purchase orders and delivery notes, but payment had been deferred for fourteen months
What we did: We issued a demand itemising every invoice and offered an instalment schedule backed by post-dated cheques with a clear default clause
Outcome: The first instalment arrived within three weeks and the balance closed on schedule in seven months
A debtor who moved and closed every account
Situation: The creditor had held a judgment for two years without finding any asset
What we did: We traced ownership registries and income routes, found land held jointly with another, and enforced against the debtor's proportionate share
Outcome: The co-owner, wanting to keep the land, paid before the auction stage
When to act, and when waiting is fine
The debt is over six months old and the debtor has gone quiet
Move to a formal demand now; the longer you wait the further back you sit behind other creditors
You learn the debtor is moving assets out of their own name
Take advice quickly; provisional protective measures before judgment may still be available
The balance is clearly below the cost of suing
Negotiate, or bundle several debtors into one exercise; a single small suit does not pay for itself
The debtor has entered bankruptcy or rehabilitation
Switch to filing a proof of claim in that process within its deadline instead of pursuing a parallel civil suit
Documents in detail
| Document | Issued by | Certification / translation | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| The underlying obligation — loan agreement, purchase order, or a delivery note the debtor signed | The parties that created the obligation | A recipient signature matters; without one, lean on email trails and part-payments | Governed by the date the debt arose, read together with the prescription period for that debt type |
| Invoices and a running account showing the current outstanding balance | The creditor's accounting team | Have an authorised person certify the balance at the foot of the account | Update the figure right before each filing |
| Evidence of the debtor's part-payments | The bank or the creditor's payment system | Transfer slips naming the payer help prove acknowledgement of the debt, which restarts the prescription clock | The more recent the entry, the more filing time it buys |
| The demand notice already sent, with its delivery receipt | The creditor or its appointed counsel | Serve to the registered household or office address, not the informal contact address | Must go out before suit and before prescription closes |
| Whatever is known about the debtor's assets | Compiled by the creditor and expanded by our searches of public registers | No certification, but it must come from sources you can disclose at the enforcement stage | Re-check immediately before opening a seizure file |
Timeline and who does what
| Stage | Owner | Duration | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade the debtor and score the chance of recovery | Handled by our team | 2–4 working days | We separate debtors who still earn, those who hold assets but stall, and those with nothing to take, so no money is spent chasing the last group. |
| Formal demand and an opening negotiation | Handled by our team | 15–30 days | A letter goes out under our firm's name with a deadline and an instalment route the creditor can live with; more than half of files close here without a courtroom. |
| File suit, or ask the court to record the settlement reached | Handled by our team | 7–10 working days once the call is made | Where talks succeed, we document the compromise and have the court record it, so a default is enforceable at once with no fresh lawsuit. |
| Court proceedings | Depends on the agency | Around 4–12 months depending on the case type and the court | Well-documented debts often end quickly in court-annexed mediation, while a dispute over the amount adds evidence hearings. |
| Enforcement and tracking the money in | Handled by our team | Six months and up once the judgment is final | We attach salary or bank accounts, or seize and auction property, and report recovered amounts to the creditor monthly. |
Common pitfalls
Collecting in ways the debt-collection law forbids, such as calling beyond the permitted frequency or telling third parties
Let the firm collect within the permitted format and hours, logging every contact
Negotiating so long that the two-year prescription on trade debts has already lapsed
Set an internal deadline early and have us compute the last day to sue when the file first arrives
Winning a judgment and then letting more than ten years pass, losing the right to enforce
Start asset tracing the moment judgment is final and diarise the enforcement deadline
Seizing property nominally held by someone else, drawing a third-party claim and losing more time
Check the ownership register and the transfer dates before every seizure application
Doing it yourself vs working with us
| Aspect | On your own | With our team |
|---|---|---|
| Recovery rate | In-house chasing gets ignored because the debtor senses no legal step behind it | A letter from a law firm carries weight and usually draws a reply inside the first fortnight |
| The creditor's own legal exposure | Collecting the wrong way can turn the creditor into the party being complained about | Every step stays inside the legal frame and is documented |
| Cost | Saves fees but burns staff time and often ends in a write-off | Charged by stage with a success element available, so cost tracks what is actually recovered |
| Reporting | Information scatters across several staff inboxes | A monthly per-debtor status report you can use for accounts and doubtful-debt provisions |
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Debt collection via LINE — legal?
Allowed within the legal hours — never disclose to third parties in a group.
How much salary can be garnished?
Up to 30%, except child-support cases.
Bounced cheque — criminal case?
Yes — within 3 months of dishonor.
Debtor has no assets?
Petition for bankruptcy / official receiver.
Cheque prescription?
Civil 1 yr / criminal complaint within 3 months.
Can we sue without a written contract?
Yes, if other evidence shows the debt: purchase orders, delivery notes, transfer records, or messages acknowledging the balance.
How much salary can be attached?
Only the portion above the statutory protected threshold, and only through the execution officer — not by contacting the employer yourself.
What default interest can be claimed?
At the contractual rate up to the statutory ceiling; where none was agreed, the statutory rate applies from the date of default.
Are legal costs recoverable from the debtor?
Courts may award costs to the winner under the statutory table, usually below actual professional fees, so budget realistically.
Written by: Thai Law & Accounting Services — attorneys and licensed accountants
Reviewed by: Reviewed by a Notarial Services Attorney registered with the Lawyers Council of Thailand.
Last updated: 2026-08
Information as of August 2026. Government fees and processing times change — verify with the relevant agency before acting, or let our team verify for you.