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JvH
The recovery process

From enquiry to settlement.

Seven phases. Indicative timing of three to twelve months from execution of the Claim Assignment and Recovery Agreement, depending on the counterparty's posture and the documentary complexity of the file. Where a counterparty engages in good faith the timeline compresses materially.

Phase 1
Day 0 – Day 5

Enquiry and initial fit.

You submit either the 5-minute Quick fit check or the 30-minute full intake. The firm responds within five business days with an initial fit assessment. If the file is a fit, we open a candidate matter and request the documentary record.

Operative documents produced
  • Intake submission (Quick or Full)
  • Initial fit assessment (written)
  • Document request schedule
Phase 2
Week 1 – Week 3

Documentary intake and reconciliation.

The merchant services agreement, schedules, side letters, statements, scheme passthrough data and dispute correspondence are received and indexed. A financial controller works the merchant-side record against the counterparty's ledger and isolates undocumented adjustment lines with precision.

Operative documents produced
  • Documentary index
  • Forensic reconciliation memorandum
  • Quantum working number — anchor position
Phase 3
Week 3 – Week 4

Assignment and notice.

The Claim Assignment and Recovery Agreement is executed via Scrive or DocuSign under eIDAS Regulation (EU) No 910/2014. The Complexity Threshold Assessment is completed within 30 calendar days of execution; the calibrated recovery split is communicated in writing. A separate counterparty-facing Notice of Assignment is served on the regulated PSP on the same operative date.

Operative documents produced
  • Executed Claim Assignment and Recovery Agreement
  • Complexity Threshold Assessment
  • Notice of Assignment (counterparty-served)
  • Calibrated recovery split (written)
Phase 4
Month 2 – Month 3

Formal demand.

A substantive demand letter is served on the counterparty's legal function, citing the executed contractual provisions, scheme correspondence and reconciliation evidence. The demand sets a defined production deadline and a defined response window. Pre-action correspondence proceeds where the counterparty engages constructively.

Operative documents produced
  • Letter of demand
  • Production schedule
  • Pre-action correspondence file
Phase 5
Month 3 onwards

Supervisory engagement (where required).

Where the counterparty does not engage within the response window, or where the response posture is unsupportable on the documentary record, supervisory engagement at competent-authority level is opened in the counterparty's home Member State. Calibrated as a credible reservation, not an opening move.

Operative documents produced
  • Supervisory authority engagement file
  • Regulatory framework analysis
Phase 6
Month 4 – Month 9

Proceedings preparation and settlement.

Where required, proceedings are prepared in the named forum. Counsel of record is engaged on a per-jurisdiction basis. Settlement is the preferred outcome on every file — commercial settlement on mutual release and mutual confidentiality, executed under a formal settlement deed.

Operative documents produced
  • Proceedings file (counsel-led)
  • Settlement deed (mutual release, mutual confidentiality)
  • Recovery distribution to merchant
Phase 7
Month 9 – Month 12

Closure and accounting.

On receipt of recovered amounts, Legal Costs and the calibrated split are applied. The merchant's share is distributed to the verified bank account of record. A closing memorandum records the Recovered Amount, the cost recovery applied, the calibrated split, and the matter is archived under the firm's retention schedule.

Operative documents produced
  • Recovery distribution (verified account)
  • Closing memorandum
  • Archive under retention schedule
Variable factors

Why the timeline varies.

Time-to-recovery is principally a function of three variables: the counterparty's engagement posture, the documentary completeness of the merchant-side record, and the supervisory and forum architecture in the counterparty's home Member State. Where the counterparty engages in good faith and the documentary record is high, settlement typically lands within three to six months. Where the counterparty resists and the regulatory architecture is split or multi-jurisdictional, the file proceeds toward proceedings and the timeline extends.

Begin

Begin an enquiry.

The fastest path to a view is the five-minute fit check. The full file submission supports a substantive assessment.