Debt Collectors Daily Blog

Okay today was a tough one, it wasn’t so much the debtor whom we sent a please pay letter to screaming at me on the other end of the phone about sending this kind of rubbish  it was more the fact that she then told me she couldn’t afford to pay the bill and that they were eating roadkill for dinner……. after working in this job for the past four years that was a new one.

Trust me I have heard almost every excuse in the book when it comes to non payment or missed payment or not the amount they agreed to the first time you spoke payment,  and there are ways around this kind of repetitive behaviour, when you are dealing with a debtor try the three strikes and your out method.

1. Contact the debtor and organise payment in full or part payment, give a deadline usually end of the month – if they don’t make payment follow step 2
2. Contact the debtor the day payment doesn’t come through, put it on your outlook as a reminder if you don’t have something in place, find out why payment not made, if they forgot…ask for credit card info as a back up and get the initial agreement reestablished,do not reduce the payment amount and tighten the time frame, give them one week from when you spoke.
3. No payment again, ring the debtor find out why if they forgot ask about getting a payment today through the credit card (if you got the details) and then get into the official arrangement. ask the questions are they having financial problems? Can we set up a payment arrangement?, (if a company debt try to get extra security like a personal guarantee) advise them that if it doesn’t happen this time you cant help them any longer and company policy dictates three strike method and that they have already had two…..this should get something happening…..

If nothing, send it to your agency that week, they miss that payment they are not going to be making one the next day or next week send out the debt letter and get it off your ledger you can at least you can say your being proactive instead of reactive.