5 Reasons to Use an Experienced Debt Collection Agency

We all know that the cliché ‘Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity but cash is reality’ couldn’t be truer especially now during this unknown period of ‘Brexit, to be or not to be, that is the question’ period but do we have the time to chase our own late payers? Even those that are only slightly overdue? Shouldn’t customers just do their jobs properly and pay their obligations as and when they fall due so it doesn’t affect our job? This is where an experienced Debt Collection Agency will be able to help.

Some customers will do anything to avoid paying their debts and this domino effect has consequences throughout the whole supply chain. For this reason it pays to either employ your own internal credit controller which could be an additional unnecessary overhead or outsource this function to an Experienced Debt Collection Agency to compliment your internal processes.

I have listed my top 5 reasons to use an experienced debt collection agency when customers come up with the excuse ‘I haven’t received the invoice’ or ‘it’s on the payment run’ or ‘we have no signatories in the office until next week’ etc.

So, without further ado:

1. 3^rd Party Psychology – A letter or phone call from a Debt Collection Agency is sometimes enough to make your customers pay. The psychology that their details have been passed on to a debt collector, therefore their credit rating may be affected and combine that with letters escalating in severity is another reason for getting your debt paid back quickly. An experienced Debt Collection Agency will tailor their processes to suit your needs.
2. Multidimensional - An experienced Debt Collection Agency can provide you with a one stop shop. Depending on your needs they can provide: a) A soft Accounts Receivable approach whose purpose is to get your debt paid quickly and maintain your relationship with your customer b) conventional debt collection and mediation and ultimately if required c) legal services. No one wants to throw good money after bad and waste a load of their time by taking legal action. However this should be considered as a last resort. Therefore, by utilising a Debt Collection Agency you get alternative collection tactics to suit your circumstances.
3. Cool, Calm, Collective – When customers refuse or avoid paying for your products or services we can quite easily get angry and let the situation escalate, ultimately causing detriment to the desired outcome. Getting paid. We often find ourselves in a standoff situation. An experienced Debt Collection Agency will keep a neutral level-headed approach applying pressure whilst always remaining professional by dealing with the facts of the matter and leaving emotions aside.
4. Investigative services - if your debtor has gone away or if you would like to make enquiries prior to deciding whether to take further action, an experienced Debt Collection Agency has many tools at their disposal They should be able to provide you with the information you need to help you make that decision. From tracing absconding debtors to asset and equity checking. There’s no point in pursuing the matter if you won’t get the desired result. Getting Paid.
5. Agile – An experienced Debt Collection Agency should be like what the late Muhammed Ali once said; Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. If your customers owe you money then the likelihood is that they owe other creditors as well and therefore time is of the essence. An experienced Debt Collection Agency will quickly assess the situation and take the appropriate steps to get the desired result. Getting paid.

So, is your cash flow suffering? Do you have enough time to chase your late payers? Or do you think you may benefit from using an experienced Debt Collection Agency?

For a no obligation chat about how we can assist you, feel free to contact us on 0203 865 9319 or email me at andrewa@athenacollections.co.uk Why not visit our Services page to see what we can offer you.