It Can Be a Bad Idea to Give Your Debtor Too Much Time

As the owner of a business, it’s tempting to give your debtor more time after you’ve sent them many reminders of on phone, email, and letter, and they keep responding with requests for more extensions. After all, you don’t want to damage your relationship with them and feel empathetic towards their situation.

What’s more, you don’t want a reputation for harassing late-paying clients. But waiting too long to get paid can be ill-advised. At Summit A*R, we’ve been in the debt collection since 1996. As a professional debt collection agency with nearly 26 years of experience, we know that giving debtors more time can often prove to be counterproductive for the following reasons:

#1 They Must Just Be Stalling

With over two decades in the industry, at Summit A*R we have engaged with thousands of debtors. Most of them are good people who want to pay their debts but are unable to. However, a minority of debtors simply don’t want to pay. Usually, such debtors stall their creditors until they write off the debt. When managing a debtor that has a pattern of asking for extensions, watch out for the following signs:

• They were unnecessary argumentative, finding faults with your products and services that didn’t exist. While some disagreements are normal, sometimes customers deliberately find faults to ask for discounts or have an excuse not to pay.
• They miss meetings, claiming that they weren’t informed about them. Somehow, it’s always your fault.
• They were hesitant to sign a contract, agree to a credit check, share a photo ID, and provide references
• They have been pressuring you for discounts throughout the transaction

If you suspect that your debtor has been acting in bad faith, then call to speak with a live representative at Summit A*R immediately to develop your next course of action. Our staff is friendly, professional, and highly qualified. Your call is free, and we’ll never pressure you to do something you don’t want to. You can also send us an email or request a callback by filling out the form on our contact page and telling us a little about yourself.

#2 Debt Grows Harder to Recover with Time

Various statistics state that debt grows harder to recover with time. By giving your debtor more extensions, you’re reducing the likelihood of getting paid. You have fulfilled your end of the bargain and provided the products and services as agreed. You deserve to collect your revenue.

At Summit A*R, we’ve recovered some particularly difficult debts over the years that other collection agencies may have ignored. Even if a long time has passed, it’s never too late to get in touch with a reputable company like ours and take advantage of our credit collection services from our team of licensed and skilled professionals. We’re not just talk. Across a broad range of industries, our recovery rate is twice the national average.

#3 Your Debtor May Skip Town

The debt collecting process may grow harder if your debtor simply skips town. It happens to many businesses. After hearing promises to get paid, one day they pick up the phone, call their debtor, and there’s no answer. Sometimes, debtors under pressure will simply leave the state with their assets and start another life. They may change their phone number, email address, delete their social media pages, and minimize contact with their previous employer and friends and family to avoid being traced.

In this situation, it can be challenging for a creditor to contact a delinquent customer. To make matters more complicated, collections laws can vary between states. To avoid this situation, our debt collection services before your revenue becomes more challenging to recover.

If your customer has skipped town, you still have options with Summit A*R. Don’t write off the debt. Contact us for help. We have a powerful skip tracing department that can locate most debtors and their assets even if they’ve taken steps to make themselves less traceable.

Our skip tracing team is led by a licensed and skilled private investigator who knows how to get the job done. To support the investigator, we have a technologically advanced tools that give us an edge over other debt collection agencies. That’s why our find rate is higher than that of our competitors.

#4 Other Creditors May Reach Them First

It’s not unusual for a debtor to owe multiple businesses at the same time. While you’re giving your customer multiple extensions, other creditors may reach them before you and collect their revenue. If your debtor runs out of assets, then it can be more challenging for you to recover your payment.

Alternatively, if your debtor declares bankruptcy, then the recovery process can become more complicated. To improve your chances of recovering your debt, act fast by contacting Summit A*R.

#5 Recovering Older Debt Can Require More Resources

While this isn’t always the case, sometimes your best option to successfully recover your revenue is to pursue legal action. At Summit A*R, we’re proud to have an excellent legal department. However, we only use this option as a last resort after all other efforts from our collection programs have been completely exhausted.

We start by carrying out a financial investigation of the entity that owes you money. In the event of a bankruptcy or insolvency, further due diligence may be performed to determine the next steps. After completing a cost-benefit analysis, we present you with this option if it’s feasible to pursue legal action. 

This step is only taken after you have given us written authorization to move forward and have given us payment for upfront legal costs. Then, our affiliated attorney will file a lawsuit and resume the collection process until we encounter a successful resolution. When the litigation is successful, the debtor can be held responsible for our fee. You will typically be awarded the entire amount you are due.

While our full-service litigation program is an excellent and effective path when the situation demands, it can cost you more time and resources. To reduce your chances of being involved in legal action, it’s advisable to get in touch with our collection team early. If your debtor is taking too much time to clear their dues, then call us for advice.