These Tools Help Us Collect Difficult Debt

Some businesses try to collect debts on their own before deciding to partner with a debt collection agency like Summit A*R. They may resend invoices or issue reminders on email, phone, or registered mail. If promises continue to be broken, they may lose their friendly tone, issue threats, or badger the customer.

As a reputable debt collection agency with years of experience, we know that this rarely works. Delinquent customers who are badgered by their creditors don’t respond kindly to aggressive tactics, especially if they feel wronged by a business. Their resolve only strengthens because they know that many companies write off debts after enough time passes.

While it’s not a bad idea to cooperate with a late-paying customer that’s in temporary financial strife but has a good history with your company, it’s important to be wary of accounts that have thrown up a few red flags.

For example, a customer that has been unnecessary argumentative, found flaws with your products and services that didn’t exist, missed meetings, was hesitant to sign a contract, didn’t agree to credit or reference checks, or has been disruptive throughout the transaction, may simply be stalling. If their account has a history of delinquency with you or other customers, then you should be prepared for a difficult-to-recover debt.

Even if they’ve had a good relationship with your company and always paid on time, but have suddenly stopped placing orders, are losing employees and stock value, are suffering from low company morale, or have outstanding debt with other vendors as well, then you should also be prepared for a difficult-to-recover-debt.

It’s important to act swiftly. Studies show that debt becomes more difficult to recover with each passing day. That’s why many businesses hand over their entire A/R cycle to Summit A*R. Aside from our excellent credit collection services we also offer businesses pre-collection help. We can do all in-house collections for them, including billing, telephone follow-ups, and more.

We’re honored by the faith placed in us by such clients. We repay this faith by representing them with the utmost professionalism. We use an approach called the “P.H.D. Philosophy” (Preserve Human Dignity). We don’t use robot calls, threats or other aggressive tactics. Aside from being good for karma, our approach is also highly effective. Our recovery rate is twice the national average. That’s because most debtors are good people who want to pay their debts. With our skilled negotiation tactics, we help them find a way.

Our P.H.D. Philosophy also helps us comply with the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This Federal law protects debtors from the threats, harassment, and other shady tactics that a minority of debt collectors use. Any company that uses such methods can get heavily fined or blacklisted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Not only is our diplomatic approach good for a business’s bottom line, but it helps us protect their reputation and preserve the valuable relationships that they’ve carefully cultivated.

Some of the specialized services we offer include commercial tenant collections, veterinary collections, wireless chargeback collections and self-storage collections. Every industry we work with understands the value of beginning the collections process early and not wasting time.

It’s also more cost-effective to work with us. Most companies don’t have enough difficult-to-recover accounts to justify training a full-time in-house collections team that has the skills and aptitude to collect debt from stubborn debtors.

Although we advise all businesses to not waste time with past-due accounts, we also have the tools to recover revenue from all sorts of debtors, whether they’re consumers or businesses. One of the reasons why we’re the best commercial debt collection management agency in the United States is because we have a record of recovering some particularly difficult debts. We have cleared accounts that others may have given up on.

Usually, we start the collections process with a campaign of phone calls and demand letters. We take a friendly but stern approach where the debtor is treated with humanity but understands the seriousness of the situation. Often, this campaign is enough to yield results. Most customers clear their dues when a reputable agency like Summit A*R is involved. If our letters and phone calls aren’t enough to convince a debtor, then we move on to the next phase of the collection process.

Unlike your in-house collections team, we can report consumers and businesses to the credit bureaus. Most debtors are willing to pay their dues when they realize that their credit rating could be affected. A bad credit report can affect a consumer’s ability to lease a car, rent a house, purchase a phone, or partake in other financial transactions.

Businesses also value their credit scores. A bad credit report can negatively affect their operations. Companies that need to secure a loan from a traditional lender such as a bank to pay for rent, salaries, maintenance, repair, inventory or to finance an expansion will find it challenging if their credit report reveals that they’re a delinquent customer.

For debtors who skipped town, we have a powerful skip tracing department. This skip tracing team is led by a licensed private detective and has an array of resources. At Summit A*R, we have a better find-rate than our competitors because of our world-class skip tracing department.

Companies whose debtors have crossed state lines shouldn’t lose hope. At Summit A*R, we know the nuances of every state’s collection laws. Businesses can visit the State Resource Centre page on our website to learn more about each state’s rules. In certain states, it’s important to act faster because of the shorter statute of limitations on debts.

In the unlikely event that none of our measures prove effective, we can pursue legal action through our full-scale litigation department with the assistance of a licensed attorney. First, we conduct a financial analysis of the entity in question. If we feel that legal action would be feasible after conducting this cost-benefit analysis, we ask our clients for written permission to pursue legal action before trying to recover this difficult debt through the courts.

Regardless of the age of the debt, Summit A*R can prove to be an effective debt collection partner for any business. Act now and don’t get don’t get caught off guard if your debtor starts stalling. Contact the friendly, licensed, and experienced debt collection team at Summit A*R today.