One of the worst parts of running a business is chasing down unpaid invoices. You do the hard work and deliver on time, only to receive silence when the bill arrives.

We know how frustrating it feels to send polite reminders whilst your bookkeeping affects your cash flow. You shouldn’t have to act like a private investigator just to get paid.

You need a solid backup plan. So, we looked for the best debt collection agencies in New Zealand to resolve overdue accounts without disrupting your daily operations.

Let’s dive in and see which firm is right for you!

Fee Type / Debt Size	Typical Cost
Debt Loading / Set-up Fee	$39 + GST
Debtor Admin Fee	$49 + GST
Commission: $1.00 to $3,000	23% to 30%
Commission: $3,000 to $10,000	23% to 25%
Commission: Over $25,000	7.5% to 17.5%
Field Agent Visit	$250 to $350 + GST
Court Enforcement Fees	$69 to $345

1. London Guardian Credit Services

Website: https://www.guardiancredit.co.nz/

Address: P.O. Box 47321, Ponsonby

Contact: 0800 862 655 | [email protected]

Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Operating since 1995, London Guardian Credit Services stands out for assigning an expert for your debt collection from the start. They ensure you have someone who knows your business and situation, rather than dumping you in a general queue.

Everything’s smooth here, as their online platform makes uploading and tracking multiple debts incredibly fast.

Since they’re part of the TCM Group (an international debt collection firm), they have the backing of an extensive international network. They can provide seamless recovery across borders so you won’t drown in different legal jurisdictions.

It’s fantastic that you only pay them a 23% commission if they successfully recover the money. But a $39 plus GST setup fee applies to every debt and must be paid upfront, which is non-refundable if you withdraw the debt more than 24 hours after.

Guardian Credit has been the best by far

We’ve worked with a number of debt collection agencies over the years, and Guardian Credit has been the best by far. Their back-end platform for managing debt and tracking updates is the most user-friendly system we’ve used  –  clear, simple, and easy to navigate. The team has been consistently responsive, professional, and a pleasure to deal with. We’ve had no issues whatsoever and couldn’t be happier with the service.

• Ashley Deighton | Google Review

The account was settled within a day

I have previously just written off bad debts but this time decided to try a debt service for the first time. After 6 months of trying to get payment myself using Guardian Credit Services the account was settled within a day. Thrilled and highly recommend. The process to create my account with them and load the debt was easy to follow. I have already recommended them to a friend who is going into business for the first time.

• Laurette Longmann | Google Review

2. DebtManagers

Website: https://www.debtmanagers.co.nz/

Address: Private Bag 92027, Victoria Street West

Contact: 0800 683 738 | [email protected]

Hours: Monday – Friday, 7:00 AM – 8:00 PM

DebtManagers flips the traditional model upside down by buying your qualifying bad debt. You receive an immediate lump-sum payment, completely transferring the non-payment risk to them.

This approach works wonders for companies looking for instant cash realisation instead of waiting on individual recoveries. They also handle the follow-up using employee community agents rather than third-party contractors.

Security stands out as a massive priority here. They hold International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 27001 certification and maintain strict internal compliance teams.

We appreciate their flexible, customer-driven repayment plans without piling on excessive fees, making it far more likely that you’ll recover the full amount owed.

Just keep in mind that they primarily purchase large, historic debt books. If you need help for one invoice, you’ll need to look elsewhere.

Kind, compassionate and incredibly helpful

I spoke with Malcolm Larsen a couple of weeks ago regarding a debt following a family member passing. It was a sensitive and difficult time.

Malcolm was kind, compassionate and incredibly helpful throughout the process. He listened with understanding and provided a solution quickly and efficiently making a difficult situation much easier to navigate.

Thank you Malcolm for your time, professionalism and care.

Your support and assistance was greatly appreciated by our whānau.

• Inge-Lize Heta | Google Review

Makes you feel like a human

Spoke to a representative named Sagar and he was very easy to deal with over the phone. Very clear and precise when dealing with your debt. He was very welcoming and makes you feel like a human and not a loser who’s in debt. If at anytime you’re afraid to call upon your debts, never be afraid to ask for Sagar especially if you’re nervous and anxious dealing with debt like me. He gave me tips on my debts and repayments to avoid any future downfalls.

• Riakanga | Google Review

3. Secure Collections – Debt Recovery Specialists.

Website: https://www.securecollections.co.nz/

Address: P.O. Box 99967, Newmarket

Contact: 09 972 0034 | [email protected]

Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Secure Collections takes a more direct approach by using actual in-person visits. An assigned officer will personally track down your debtor rather than relying purely on phone calls.

Since they’re also an investigation agency, they use licensed private investigators across New Zealand to handle the tough cases. This gives you a powerful advantage when dealing with elusive or uncooperative individuals.

You can even lodge your debts easily online to jump-start the process. They usually start within three days, even aiming for a physical visit within about a week.

Their services include managing process serving, commercial re-entry, and legal judgment enforcement, giving you a complete legal strategy to recover unpaid funds when informal demands fail.

Just remember that they don’t collect debts under $3,000. A non-refundable loading fee also applies when you lodge a debt, even if nothing is recovered.

Achieved a full recovery

Jan 2026

I highly recommend Thomas at Secure Collections & Investigations. He successfully recovered a $20,000 debt that I had been trying to collect for some time from a debtor with a well-known reputation for non-payment. Thomas took a very firm, strategic, and entirely legal approach, and achieved a full recovery. Excellent outcome and highly effective service.

• JIAYI ZHANG | Google Review

The experience was seamless from start to finish

We recently engaged Thomas to recover an outstanding debt, and the experience was seamless from start to finish. He was easy to work with, communicated promptly, and delivered exactly what we needed — our money back. Highly recommend his services.

• Edward Bridgman | Google Review

4. Aorangi Debt Collection

Website: https://www.aorangi-debt.co.nz/

Address: Unit 4/31 Tyne Street, Riccarton, Christchurch

Contact: 0508 343 9988 | Fax: 03 343 0050 | [email protected]

Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Aorangi Debt Collection smooths out the process by offering standard debt recovery with a dedicated in-house legal service. As a result, you can escalate unpaid accounts to formal legal action without having to hire an outside law firm.

Their legal executive manages High Court matters, bankruptcy, and liquidation proceedings seamlessly. 

They also offer Centrix-backed credit reporting and document serving with sworn affidavits. This ensures that every step of the recovery process is fully verifiable and court-ready.

They run a fantastic real-time portal where you can monitor payment notes constantly. If you have a massive ledger, their bulk CSV (comma-separated values) loading feature saves hours of tedious data entry.

But their no-recovery, no-commission setup only applies to the final percentage. You still have to pay a loading fee per account regardless of recovery and cover any approved extra expenses for field visits or skip tracing.

Found their service excellent and straight forward

We were recommended to try Aorangi Debt Collection and found their service excellent and straight forward. There aren’t pages of forms to fill out, just one online form which makes things quick and easy. Thank you again for assisting us.

• Janet Dean | Google Review

Got the results we couldn’t

Fantastic service. Our company has used Aoramgi Debt collection when it became Very difficult to get some businesses to pay their invoices. They were super professional and got the results we couldn’t. Highly recommend them!

• Judi Hutchinson | Google Review

5. Marshall Freeman Collections

Website: https://www.marshallfreeman.co.nz/

Areas Served: New Zealand and Australia

Contact: 09 580 2444 | [email protected]

Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM; Online service, 24/7

Marshall Freeman has a brilliant two-step slow-payer system. You can send official reminder letters before formally lodging the debt, allowing you to collect early payments without paying full commission fees.

If the customer pays during this early phase, you owe zero commission. For accounts that ignore the warning, their formal recovery process operates on a no-collection, no-commission basis.

They handle everything from $100 micro-debts to massive $100,000 invoices, making their services equally accessible to small businesses and enterprise clients.

We love that their 24/7 client portal gives you total control over the process at any hour. This includes fantastic templates for trading terms and personal guarantees to secure your future contracts.

Just note that once a debt is officially lodged, the agency collects its commission. This remains true even if the evasive debtor eventually pays the money directly to you.

High success rate of debt recovery

I have been working with Marshall Freeman debt collection agency for a few years, the process is easy, and user friendly, customer service is always helpful. High success rate of debt recovery, I would recommend this service.

• alexa mills | Google Review

Courteous, understanding and very respectful

Marshall Freeman Collections staff are so awesome to deal with. I owed a small debt (which I completely forgot about).

The staff are nothing but courteous, understanding and very respectful.

I believe in treating others as you want to be treated, and the staff definitely treat their customers with respect.

Well done Marshall Freeman staff. Keep up the awesome work 😊

• Rena Ngatoko | Google Review