Over €49m in bad debt judgments have been awarded against companies and consumers in the first five months of 2019. Although this figure is down on the same period in 2018 (€122m) it's still a sizeable sum and a reminder not to lose sight of the importance of the credit control and cash collection functions in your business.

While the total value of judgments between January and May months of this year are down 60% on the same period in 2018, the overall number has increased by 17.5% (1,135 v 966).

943 judgments have been awarded against consumers (up 26% on 2018 - 750) in the first five months of this year and these have a value of €45.6m - an average of €48,342 per judgment.

A further €3.7m in bad debts were registered against companies in 192 separate judgments (€19,250 per judgment).

While these figures reflect a drop in the value of bad debt judgments, €49m is still a substantial figure to be affecting Irish businesses, and the increase in overall numbers of judgments helps illustrate that there is still an ongoing need for continued risk assessment and client monitoring.

Vision-net lets you carry out risk assessment in a low cost and highly effective way, to minimise your exposure along the full credit life cycle, using the very latest data, to ensure you make the most informed credit and risk decisions.

Why not check a client on CRIF Vision-net.ie today. All of our accounts allow you to search judgments and analyse bad debt histories on consumers and corporate clients, as well as proactively alerting you if a new judgment is registered against someone you have an interest in - free of charge.

CRIF Vision-net also gives you access to the most comprehensive background checking tool on the market on consumers with our CCI report. This simple search compiles information, taken from 11 key data streams, into one user-friendly credit profile of directors or individuals.

To access reports on any business or individual you deal with today simply login to your account or contact our support team on Tel: +353 1 903 2660 or email helpdesk.vision-net@crif.com today.