---
name: debt-recovery-platform
description: "Blueprint for the Debt Recovery Experts (DRE) portal — intake, notarization, certified mail, AI claim scoring, legal review, and payment disbursement workflow."
version: 1.0.0
author: Hermes Agent
license: MIT
platforms: [web]
tags: [debt-recovery, portal, docusign, notary, certified-mail, stripe-connect]
---

# Debt Recovery Platform

The DRE platform is a standalone debt recovery portal for contractors/owner-operators to submit unpaid debt claims. The workflow is designed to be zero-touch from the DRE team's side, with full visibility at every step.

## Full Workflow

```
Contractor signs up & uploads docs
        ↓
AI claim analysis (internal score + case comparison)
        ↓
Legal review (paralegal/attorney) → "Viable in Texas?"
        ↓
LPOA sent to customer → Notarized online via Proof (RON)
        ↓
Debtor served → Certified letter via LetterStream
        ↓
Debt collected via ACH → Stripe Connect holds funds
        ↓
DRE fee deducted → Balance paid to contractor
        ↓
Customer tracks everything in portal
```

## Key Integrations

### Online Notary — Proof (formerly Notarize)
- **Cost:** $25/notarization (in-house) or $10-25 (on-demand network)
- **API:** REST with webhooks (Premium tier required)
- **Texas compliant:** ✅ HB 3496 & SB 1624
- **Flow:** Customer initiates notary session from within portal → signs LPOA → notarized in same session

### Certified Mail — LetterStream
- **Cost:** ~$8.34 per certified letter
- **API:** REST, no monthly minimums
- **Delivery:** They print, fold, stuff, and mail via USPS
- **Proof:** Return receipt / certificate of mailing

### Payments — ACH (preferred) via Stripe Connect
- **Stripe ACH:** 0.8% capped at $5 (vs 2.9% + $0.30 for cards)
- **Flow:** Debtor pays via ACH → Stripe holds → DRE deducts fee → disburses to customer
- **Pass-through fees:** Processing costs can be included in what the debtor pays

### Digital Signatures — DocuSeal (self-hosted recommendation)
- **Why:** Lightweight (227 MB Docker image), SQLite (no PostgreSQL), free embedding SDKs
- **Covers:** Service agreements, disbursement authorizations, internal approvals
- **Not for:** LPOA (that requires RON with Proof)

## AI Claim Analysis

A high-end vision+reasoning model (Claude Opus 4.7 or GPT-4o) scores each claim internally:

| Factor | What it evaluates |
|---|---|
| Documentation quality | Completeness of contract, invoice, correspondence |
| Debtor profile | Company type, solvency indicators, responsiveness |
| Legal standing (TX) | Is the contract valid? Proper jurisdiction? Statute of limitations? |
| Amount reasonableness | Does the claim amount match the scope of work? |

**Case comparison:** The AI also searches public civil case records for similar disputes — average recovery rate, median resolution time, and how the new claim compares.

The analysis is visible ONLY to the DRE internal team (not the customer).

## Per-Claim Cost Estimate

| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Notarization (LPOA) | ~$25-35 |
| Identity verification | ~$4 |
| Certified mail (debtor) | ~$8.34 |
| ACH processing | ~$5 max |
| **Total per claim** | **~$42-52** |

These costs are passed to the debtor as part of the recovery, not borne by DRE.

## Portal Pages

See `/root/portal-mockup/debt-recovery.html` (customer intake) and `/root/portal-mockup/dre-dashboard.html` (internal dashboard with AI analysis).

## Status: Planning Phase

Integrations identified but not yet deployed:
- Proof (RON) — needs account setup
- LetterStream — needs account setup  
- Stripe Connect — needs account setup
- DocuSeal — can deploy on Core Docker immediately
