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From the Brig

Launch of

Watchdog

ISSA’s legal representative, Bruce Hailey, talks

about ISSA’s new Watchdog service

T
hose present at the highly successful ISSA Convention of ship suppliers, so that owners, managers and caterers who
in Singapore in April heard about the launch of routinely fail to comply with their payment obligations will be

‘Watchdog’. This new service is launched with the quickly identiied.
backing of ISSA in response to repeated requests by the ISSA The reports will be short, and offer an opinion on the risks

membership for assistance in the crucial areas of credit risk of doing business. Reports will be issued within 24 hours of a
assessment and debt collection.request, between Monday and Friday. Weekend requests may

Watchdog seeks to address this demand with services that take longer for response.
are visible and easily accessible to ISSA members, by providing When payments are delayed and assistance is required

information and assistance which is tailored to the speciic with collections then Watchdog can also assist with this,
needs of ship suppliers. Watchdog’s services are only available where necessary engaging the assistance of Salvus Law on the

to ISSA members.Watchdog member’s behalf. Watchdog’s debt collection service
charges on a no-cure, no-fee basis for pre-litigation collections,
Watchdog will be managed by Bruce Hailey and Sam Jones,
known to many within the ISSA community through their work with the percentage commission variable according to the

at Salvus Law (and several law irms before that, including size of the debt and with a maximum fee of 7.5% of the sum
most recently DRG Solicitors). Watchdog will provide broadly recovered. There is a minimum fee of $250 and a maximum fee

similar services to those already provided by Salvus Law, but of $3,750 (payable only in the event of a recovery).
packaged in a way that it is hoped will make those services A 2% discount will be granted for collections from companies

more accessible and competitively priced.for whom a positive credit report was issued by Watchdog.
Watchdog is a fee paying service, with fees set at rates Where formal legal action is required (for example a ship

which, it is considered, offer very good value for money. arrest) then costs would be discussed and negotiated on a case
Individual credit assessment reports are priced at $50, or by case basis, according to the actual requirements. Generally,

GBP or Euro equivalent. The reports are invoiced in arrears, those legal costs would be recovered from the debtor.
at convenient periods to minimise administration and Watchdog also offers some additional beneits and services

banking transactions.to its members. Members are invited, free of charge, to copy

Reports will be vessel speciic, rather than company Watchdog to their payment reminder messages. This may
speciic, though they will of course comment on the relevant give the messages added impact, and also gives Watchdog

owner/manager. Reports will draw upon information heldthe possibility of alerting members of serious problems with a
by Salvus Law and Watchdog in connection with particular debtor earlier than might otherwise be possible.

their collection activities, as well as informationWatchdog will also review an aged debtor list, to identify
drawn from databases, press coverage and customers who ought to be of concern (priced on request),

public information. The reports will thereforeand will provide a review of member’s contractual documents
beneit from the current to identify any weaknesses in the way that its members may

collectionoperate (ixed fee of $250).
experiencesIt is often said that a dog is a man’s best friend. Watchdog

aims to be the ISSA member’s best friend. Look out for news in

the next few weeks of the launch of the Watchdog website. u

The SHIP Supplier Issue 65 2015 45