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Determining The Best Course Of Action Based On The Notice

Facing a notice from the SBA? Discover expert strategies to navigate legal, financial complexities to protect your business and resolve debts efficiently.

Have you ever received a notice and found yourself unsure about the best course of action to take? When dealing with legal and financial matters, especially those concerning government agencies like the Small Business Administration (SBA), it’s crucial to understand your options and make informed decisions.

Understanding the Notice

Receiving a notice from the SBA or other federal agencies can be daunting. These notices may concern issues such as administrative offset, federal salary offset, or other financial actions that could impact your business’s stability. Protect Law Group specializes in navigating these complexities, offering guidance and strategies to manage and potentially resolve these issues. They provide expertise in dealing with all aspects of SBA loans and federal debt.

Types of Notices You May Encounter

Understanding the types of notices you might receive is the first step in determining the appropriate response. These could include:

  • Administrative Offset Notice: This informs you of the government’s intention to collect debt by reducing payments from other federal payments you might be eligible to receive.
  • Federal Salary Offset Notice: This is issued when the intent is to collect a debt through deductions from your federal salary.
  • Treasury Offset Notice: This involves collection actions taken by the Treasury Department and usually occurs when a debt is transferred to them for collection.
  • SBA Notice of Default: This notice lets you know that you have defaulted on a loan, prompting the need for immediate attention to avoid severe consequences.

Each type of notice carries specific implications and requires different responses. Ensuring you understand the content and implications of these notices is vital.

The Role of Protect Law Group

When faced with these challenges, having a legal partner well-versed in these matters can be invaluable. Protect Law Group offers a suite of services designed to help you navigate the complexities of SBA loans and federal debt issues.

Core Services Offered

Protect Law Group’s services are tailored to provide you with multiple courses of action depending on the notice received. Key services include:

  • SBA Offer in Compromise (OIC): This service allows you to negotiate a settlement on your debt, potentially reducing the amount you owe. It’s especially beneficial if you’re unable to pay the full amount.
  • Structured Workout Agreements: For businesses that can’t pay in full, extending payments over time through a structured workout can alleviate immediate financial pressure.
  • Administrative Litigation Representation: If your matter requires litigation, their attorneys can represent you before the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals.
  • Negotiation Services: Skilled negotiators can advocate on your behalf to secure favorable terms with your creditors.

By leveraging these services, you can often find a path to resolving your debt issues that minimizes financial disruption.

Developing a Strategy to Respond

Once you’ve received a notice, it’s important to have a clear strategy in place. Protect Law Group assists by helping to develop and implement strategies that are tailored to your specific situation.

Immediate Actions to Consider

Here are some immediate actions to consider when you receive a notice:

  1. Review the Notice Carefully: Understand what the notice is about, its implications, and the timeline for responding. Look for any errors that could be contested.
  2. Consult a Professional: Engage with professionals like those at Protect Law Group who can guide you based on their expertise and experience.
  3. Gather Documentation: Collect all pertinent documents related to your debt and any relevant communications with the SBA or Treasury.
  4. Evaluate Financial Options: Assess your current financial situation to understand your capacity to address the debt. Determine if options like an Offer in Compromise are viable.
  5. Formulate a Response Plan: With professional guidance, develop a plan that outlines the steps you need to take to address the notice effectively.

The focus should always be on addressing the notice promptly to prevent any escalation of actions that could adversely affect your finances.

Legal Considerations

A significant part of determining the best course of action involves understanding the legal landscape. The Agency Practice Act authorizes Protect Law Group attorneys to represent federal debtors nationwide, ensuring that you have experienced legal assistance available.

Handling Legal Complexities

Legal complexities can arise when dealing with issues like cross-servicing disputes and procedural errors. Here is how Protect Law Group can assist:

  • Filing Appeals and Petitions: They can help you prepare appeals and petitions with the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, especially if there are factual or procedural errors.
  • Navigating Cross-Servicing Disputes: If your debt has been transferred for cross-servicing, their expertise can aid in effectively disputing the debt.
  • Legal Error Analysis: Identifying factual, procedural, and legal errors that may exist in the notices or in the way debts have been managed.

These legal avenues can sometimes provide leverage to negotiate more favorable terms or even reverse the effects of a notice.

Negotiation and Resolution

Negotiation is at the heart of many successful debt resolutions. Protect Law Group’s negotiators are skilled in working with the SBA and lenders to secure favorable agreements.

The Art of Negotiation

Negotiating a resolution can involve several strategies:

  • Leveraging Expert Negotiators: With their specialist knowledge, negotiators can present compelling arguments that may lead creditors to agree to more favorable terms.
  • Debt Restructuring: This might involve modifying the payment structure to make debts more manageable.
  • Exploring Alternative Solutions: Considering options like Offers in Compromise or debt settlements.

The ultimate goal of negotiation is to reach an agreement that minimizes financial harm while resolving the issue effectively.

Protecting Assets and Business Interests

Resolving debt issues effectively is not just about addressing the immediate notice but protecting your business assets and interests in the long term.

Strategies for Asset Protection

Here are steps you can take to protect your assets:

  • Avoiding Foreclosure and Bankruptcy: By resolving debts proactively through solutions such as structured workouts or settlements.
  • Minimizing Damage: Actions like correcting procedural errors early can prevent extensive damage to your credit and financial standing.
  • Securing Long-Term Financial Stability: Implementing strategies that align with your business’s operational capability and financial health.

By focusing on these protective measures, you can ensure that your business remains viable and your personal assets are protected from adverse actions.

Conclusion

Determining the best course of action when you receive a notice can be complex and overwhelming. Whether it’s a federal salary offset or an administrative notice, understanding the potential impact and knowing your options are crucial. Protect Law Group offers the expertise and strategic guidance necessary to navigate these challenges. With their support, you can focus on resolving debts effectively and maintaining your business and financial well-being. Making informed decisions and taking timely action are essential steps in ensuring that you handle notices in a manner that aligns with your financial goals and legal obligations.

Frequently Asked Questions

$154,000 SBA COVID-19 EIDL - AUDIT REPRESENTATION & RELEASE OF COLLATERAL

$154,000 SBA COVID-19 EIDL - AUDIT REPRESENTATION & RELEASE OF COLLATERAL

Our firm successfully assisted a client in closing an SBA Disaster Loan tied to a COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). The borrower obtained an EIDL loan of $153,800, but due to the prolonged economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the business was unable to recover and ultimately closed.

As part of the business closure review and audit, we worked closely with the SBA to negotiate a resolution. The borrower was required to pay only $1,625 to release the remaining collateral, effectively closing the matter without further financial liability for the owner/officer.

This case highlights the importance of strategic negotiations when dealing with SBA settlements, particularly for businesses that have shut down due to unforeseen economic challenges. If you or your business are struggling with SBA loan debt, we focus on SBA Offer in Compromise (SBA OIC) solutions to help settle outstanding obligations efficiently.

$150,000 SBA 7A LOAN - NEGOTIATED STRUCTURED WORKOUT AGREEMENT

$150,000 SBA 7A LOAN - NEGOTIATED STRUCTURED WORKOUT AGREEMENT

Client personally guaranteed SBA 7(a) loan for $150,000. COVID-19 caused the business to fail, and the loan went into default with a balance of $133,000. Client initially hired a non-attorney consultant to negotiate an OIC. The SBA summarily rejected the ineligible OIC and the debt was referred to Treasury’sBureau of Fiscal Service for enforced collection in the debt amount of $195,000. We were hired to intervene and initiated discovery for SBA and Fiscal Service records. We were able to recall the case from Fiscal Service back to the SBA. We then negotiated a structured workout with favorable terms that saves the client approximately $198,000 over the agreed-upon workout term by waiving contractual and statutory administrative fees, collection costs, penalties, and interest.

$310,000 SBA 7A LOAN - SBA OIC TERM WORKOUT

$310,000 SBA 7A LOAN - SBA OIC TERM WORKOUT

Client personally guaranteed an SBA 7(a) loan for $100,000 from the lender. The SBA loan went into early default in 2006 less than 12 months from disbursement. The SBA paid the 7(a) guaranty monies to the lender and subsequently acquired the deficiency balance of about $96,000, including the right to collect against the guarantor. However, the SBA sent the Official 60-Day Due Process Notice to the Client's defunct business address instead of his personal residence, which he never received. As a result, the debt was transferred to Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Service where substantial collection fees were assessed, including accrued interest per the promissory note. Treasury eventually referred the debt to a Private Collection Agency (PCA) - Pioneer Credit Recovery, Inc. Pioneer sent a demand letter claiming a debt balance of almost $310,000 - a shocking 223% increase from the original loan amount assigned to the SBA. Client's social security disability benefits were seized through the Treasury Offset Program (TOP). Client hired the Firm to represent him as the debt continued to snowball despite seizure of his social security benefits and federal tax refunds as the involuntary payments were first applied to Treasury's collection fees, then to accrued interest with minimal allocation to the SBA principal balance.

We initially submitted a Cross-Servicing Dispute (CSD) challenging the referral of the debt to Treasury based on the defective notice sent to the defunct business address. Despite overwhelming evidence proving a violation of the Client's Due Process rights, the SBA still rejected the CSD. As a result, an Appeals Petition was filed with the SBA Office of Hearings & Appeals (OHA) Court challenging the SBA decision and its certification the debt was legally enforceable in the amount claimed. After several months of litigation before the SBA OHA Court, our Firm Attorney successfully negotiated an Offer in Compromise (OIC) Term Workout with the SBA Supervising Trial Attorney for $82,000 spread over a term of 74 months at a significantly reduced interest rate saving the Client an estimated $241,000 in Treasury collection fees, accrued interest (contract interest rate and Current Value of Funds Rate (CVFR)), and the PCA contingency fee.

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