At some point each business has to deal with the issue of customers who are unwilling to make payments and who rebuffs any attempts to settle. If you’re a new company, it could it be your first experience that you are confronted with the issue of late payment and been forced to think about using a debt collection agency to recover monies. Even if you are an established business the issue of late payments will likely be a problem that occurs so frequently that you’re unsure of the best approach to resolve the issue and recuperate the debt.
Late payment or bad debt?
It is important to recognize that there is an explanation for that you haven’t been paid. If the amount due is not disputable, the reason is likely to be due to the fact that your client is experiencing financial hardship. If they are incapable of paying you, they’ll not be able to pay their suppliers, and some might also consider the possibility of pursuing debt collection actions. It is essential to act swiftly and the longer you are wasting on the process of sending emails, letters and phone calls the less chance you have of recouping the payments. If the initial letter didn’t work then the second letter won’t be successful while a different provider could have contacted another third party to be paid.
You’ll have an established credit control procedure and procedure you adhere to and you have to ensure that you know the time when a late payment is debt. This must be based on historical information about payments as well as industry-specific information. In certain industries and fields, the payment can be made after 60 or 90 days is common in the construction industry for instance. It is recommended to enforce a rule of drawing lines in the sand. It could may be 30 days past the due date or 45 days past the terms however you determine the point at which late payments become debt and you must immediately forward the account to an unidentified third party for collection.
Debt collection solicitors
An email from an attorney usually enough to convince the debtor to act in the event that they are threatened with court actions. The issue with solicitors is that they are expensive they charge, and you must be willing to pay a percentage of as high as 20% of any money which are recovered. There are solicitors who provide a letter-before-action service that costs as low as PS2.00 However, the letters will not have any impact and rarely will result in a the payment you need, leaving the sole option of suing legal proceedings and paying solicitors’ fees to represent you in Court. Also, it is worth considering the possibility of getting paid once you have obtained the Judgment of Court. The solicitors don’t thoroughly look into the debtor’s financial situation and capacity to pay. Your judgment could be one of the 40 percent of CCJ’s which never get paid. You could save the money you’ve spent on legal costs.
Debt collection agencies
Before you decide to commence legal proceedings , it’s worth the option of contacting a debt collection company. Many agencies offer the no-cost no-cost service, therefore there’s no chance of avoiding this option prior to engaging in legal proceedings. Contact from a third-party debt collection professional whether it’s a solicitor who is paid or an agency operating on a no-success fee basis, is usually enough to convince those who people who don’t want to settle debts to make payments. This may not be enough to get payment from companies or businesses struggling and cannot pay, but that is another reason to hire an agency for debt collection. Inquiries by the agency of the debtor’s fiscal situation as well as future prospects for trading and their ability to pay the debt could be a basis for recommending to discharge the debt and seek tax relief instead of having to pay Court and solicitors’ fees if there is no possibility of ever receiving the money.
Frontline Collections – (Manchester Debt Collection Office)
Wilsons Business Park Centre, Initial Business centre 7, Manchester M40 8WN
0333 043 4426
frontline-collections.com
