Beginner's Guide to Payment Reminders

How do you craft effective payment reminders?

When you follow up with your newly delinquent customers, you want to grab their attention. Common techniques for creating urgency include:

• Interest and penalties: Consistent with your credit agreement and state laws, add interest, late fees, or both. Give your debtor the unambiguous message that the consequence of dragging out payment is that they’ll end up having to pay more money.
• Attention-getting words and “big red letters:” It’s corny, but it works. Send notices more often with notations like “urgent” and “past due” on them in red ink. (If you’re dealing with consumer debtors, keep any red ink that suggests the communications for debt collection inside the envelope. You can mark the envelope “urgent,” but save words like “past due” for the printed invoice that you put inside.)
• Frequent reminders: Use a series of collection letters. For pointers on this, check out our guide to writing demand letters.
• Multiple modes of contact: Use different forms of communication to keep your reminders in front of your debtor: email, overnight delivery, telegram, hand delivery, fax, text messages, and even social networking websites – whatever works.
• Making a phone call: If collection letters and similar contacts don’t result in payment, sometimes a phone call will bring in the money.

Learn more in our latest article.

Michigan Collection Services You Can Rely On

If you’re tired of trying to get ahold of your debtor and you’re looking for reliable collection services in Michigan, you’re in the right place. To get in touch with a collection firm that prioritizes you and your money, call (248) 645-2440 or submit a contact form here.

Dealing with Problem Checks, Part 2

How do you do business with a customer whose check has bounced?

If your customer admits the check isn’t going to clear, even if you deposit it a second time, tell them to send a cashier's check or drop off cash. They can contact an overnight courier (such as UPS or FedEx) and instruct it to pick up the cash or cashier’s check at the appointed time. When you employ a courier, a cashier’s check is preferable to cash.

Don’t forget to tell your staff about the change in the customer’s credit status: anybody who interacts with the offending customer, both at the sales desk and in the credit department, must know that the customer is on cash or its equivalent only.

When a customer makes good on a bad check, you may choose to be forgiving, but only the first time. A repeat offender should be notified that their checks will no longer be accepted. Restrict repeat offenders to cash, money orders, or cashier’s checks.

Read more in our latest article.

Customer refusing to pay? Get help from a Michigan collection service!

If you’re fed up with a customer refusing to pay, the Mullers can help. Our collection services are based in Michigan, but we can help you no matter where you are in the U.S. We can even help internationally! For more information, call (248) 645-2440 or submit a contact form here.

Dealing with Problem Checks, Part 1

What do you do if a customer’s check bounces?

Although you’re filled with joy (and maybe a tiny bit of skepticism) when you hear “the check is in the mail,” you know that checks don’t always clear the bank. You must be diligent and monitor the flow of checks through your business. Everybody receives a bad check now and then, but how you handle it can make a big difference in your cash flow and bottom line.

Receiving a bad check isn’t a small infraction. It’s a major breakdown of the financial relationship and in your ability to trust your customer. Because the extension of credit is based on trust, bouncing a check goes to the core of the business relationship.

Communicate with your customer immediately upon receipt of a bounced check. 

Express in no uncertain terms that the check must be replaced with real money within 24 hours, or you’ll take further action.

Read more in our latest article.

Customer refusing to pay? Get help from a Michigan collection service!

If you’re fed up with a customer refusing to pay, the Mullers can help. Our collection services are based in Michigan, but we can help you no matter where you are in the U.S. We can even help internationally! For more information, call (248) 645-2440 or submit a contact form here.

Writing a Demand Letter

How do you craft a demand letter to your debtor?

It may vary depending on the situation, but here are a few pointers you can always count on:

Demand letters should be personal; that is, they should be directed to a specific person and personally signed. Whenever possible, identify a person in the debtor’s company who has the authority to pay you, and send your letter directly to that person; sending letters to the wrong people doesn’t get you anywhere. If your demand letter looks like a form letter or isn’t directed to a real person, it will be treated like a form letter (thrown in the garbage). “To whom it may concern”? If your debtor doesn’t want to pay, nobody’s concerned (except you).

Read more in our latest article.

Take Care of Debtor Communication with Michigan Debt Collection Services

When you use our Michigan-based debt collection services, you don’t have to worry about doing all the communication yourself. We take care of it for you! To get started or ask questions, call (248) 645-2440 or submit a contact form here. We look forward to hearing from you!

Intro to Communicating with Debtors

How do you remind a debtor to pay without making them angry?

Effective communication with debtors is hard work. It involves both the art of persuasion and a creative imagination. Think about it: who really wants to pay a debt? Obstinate debtors are a tough audience, yet your job is to persuade them to pay up. So how do you draw your debtor’s attention to your past-due bill and create the desired sense of urgency?

Your demand letter should convey in the clearest possible way that the bill must be paid. The initial demand letter should come across as a friendly reminder so you maintain customer goodwill, and at the same time help you get paid. Remember to make it easy for your debtor to reach you. Include the name and phone number or email address of a contact person at your company so any questions or comments can be easily raised by the debtor and quickly addressed by your company.

Read more in our latest article.

Take Care of Debtor Communication with Michigan Debt Collection Services

When you use our Michigan-based debt collection services, you don’t have to worry about doing all the communication yourself. We take care of it for you! To get started or ask questions, call (248) 645-2440 or submit a contact form here. We look forward to hearing from you!

The Standard Behavior of Debt Collectors

Is it hard to find an ethical debt collector?

The answer is no, it’s actually not hard to find an ethical, responsible debt collector. Consumer laws such as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act arose from the misconduct of a few irresponsible, abusive debt collectors, not the majority. These consumer laws have cut back abuses. Scrupulously following these laws, even when they don’t apply, can help ensure professionalism and avoid misunderstandings and other problems. 

Unless you negotiate specific file handling procedures, your collections professional operates in accordance with their own standards. When you desire a more restrictive standard of conduct, don’t hesitate to instruct your collector to follow your standards. For example, you may limit the number of demands that they make to a debtor before filing collection litigation.

You should be comfortable that your outside collectors are well-trained and professional, and will handle your customers (debtors) with dignity. None of those hallmarks of professionalism are incompatible with aggressive debt collection. The bottom line is that you want your collection professionals to follow a standard of ethics that’s as similar as possible to the ethical standards of your own business.

Read more about this in our latest article.

Have Confidence with Michigan Collection Companies

Are you in Michigan and anxious about hiring collection companies?

You don’t have to worry about unethical or unprofessional behavior occurring with the Muller Law Firm. If you need a second opinion, check out reviews from our happy clients. To get started or ask a question, call (248) 645-2440 or submit a contact form here. We look forward to hearing from you!

Working with a Collector: How Your Business is Responsible

Did you know that when you work with a collector, your business takes responsibility for their
behavior?

When you hire collection professionals and include them on your collection team, you assume responsibility for the professionals to be, indeed, professional and ethical in their services. But at the same time, you give up some of your control—perhaps a lot of your control—over the collection.

Beyond the possibility that your collector’s misdeeds may frustrate your ability to collect a debt or trigger a counterclaim, their actions are being taken in your name. The type of service you use to collect your debts will reflect on your business, and every time you place a claim with an outside collector, you put the reputation of your company on the line.

By nature, the collections business is adversarial. Debtors don’t like to pay debts, and nobody likes to be confronted with aggressive collection efforts. Not all collectors act ethically or legally, and those problem solver-type news segments love to showcase abusive collection tactics. Your company doesn’t want to find itself at the center of adverse publicity as a result of debt collection gone haywire.

Read more about this in our latest article.

Have Confidence with Michigan Collection Companies

Are you in Michigan and anxious about hiring collection companies?

You don’t have to worry about unethical or unprofessional behavior occurring with the Muller Law Firm. If you need a second opinion, check out reviews from our happy clients. To get started or ask a question, call (248) 645-2440 or submit a contact form here. We look forward to hearing from you!