The customer has moved. The debt remains.

A new address is only part of the recovery problem

A commercial cleaner learns that a customer has vacated its premises. Mail is returned and the usual accounts contact has left. The unpaid invoices are clear, but the owner has only an old street address and a mobile number. The next step is to establish reliable contact details and the correct debtor identity before paying for formal recovery.

Confirm who moved

Check the contracting name and identifiers against the order and credit application. Determine whether the business relocated, changed operators or ceased trading. A new tenant at the old premises is not automatically responsible for the former tenant's debt.

For a company, the ACN helps distinguish it from another similarly named business. Use reliable register information and record when it was checked. Avoid treating a social-media profile or an informal comment as a confirmed legal address.

Source: Australian Company Number — ASIC

Use proportionate tracing

Start with established contact channels and information lawfully available to you. Keep records of returned mail and failed contact attempts. If specialist tracing is proposed, ask what it involves, what it costs and what evidence you will receive.

Do not contact unrelated neighbours, family members or employees to embarrass the debtor into payment. Finding an appropriate contact is different from publicising a private debt. Keep enquiries limited to what is necessary and appropriate.

Check formal service separately

A current trading location may help ordinary communication, but service of legal documents has its own requirements. Ask the adviser responsible for a demand or proceeding how the relevant document must be served and what proof is needed.

If normal service cannot be achieved, obtain advice on available procedures rather than improvising. Sending a message to an unverified social account should not be treated as completing a formal legal step simply because the account appears active.

Decide whether recovery remains proportionate

Compare the debt, tracing cost and available evidence of the debtor's position. A successful address search does not establish that money is available. Decide how much further expense is justified before authorising open-ended work.

Meanwhile preserve the invoice file and check any relevant claim timing. Waiting for an address should not become an unnoticed delay. Assign a review date so the business makes a decision when reliable information arrives, or records why further pursuit is being held.

Confirm the debtor and service route

Confirm the debtor's identity and record known contact details.

Use lawful, proportionate enquiries to establish a current contact.

Have service requirements and claim timing checked before formal action.

Call CRP today about organising recovery when a debtor can no longer be reached.