When Do You Call in a Debt Collection Agency?

By siliconindia  |  Friday, 06 August 2021, 11:31:16 AM IST

When Do You Call in a Debt Collection Agency?

Do you struggle with customers who don't pay their bills? You are not the only one! Many self-employed people and entrepreneurs have to deal with it. Nowadays we have a lot of communication tools to reach non-paying customers. Nevertheless, sometimes an unpaid invoice is not a matter of forgetting, but deliberate evasion. This is, for example, because the customer is unable or unwilling to pay. Fortunately, you can hire a debt collection agency to collect your hard-earned money. But when is the right time to hire a collection agency? You can read more about it in this article!

Think and consider

Invoices that are not paid are a headache. Pursuing them costs you a lot of time and energy and above all a lot of frustration! In addition, funds that have not been obtained can inhibit the growth of your own company or even endanger its existence. After all, if the money is delayed, it is difficult to pay your own bills or invest.

Despite all the frustration, it is important to not send a formal reminder (Dutch: aanmaning) from a debt collection agency immediately one day after the payment term has expired. You thereby sharpen the relationships and this can put pressure on the relationship with your customer. If it turns out that it is only about oblivion, then intervention by a debt collection agency is a rather abrupt and less customer-friendly approach. Therefore, always think carefully about who the customer is. Has he

or she been a customer for a long time and how is the communication normally? Consider the situation and try contacting him or her first. Maybe he or she just forgot!

First step

Have you called and/or emailed the customer and there is still no answer? Then you can send a formal reminder. Here you ask the customer to proceed with payment. Sometimes a second reminder is required to be able to successfully collect the payment. If the payment is still not made after the reminder(s), you can call in a debt collection agency. Fortunately, there are debt collection agencies that act decisively and in the meantime are extremely customer-friendly, so that no customer relationships are at stake. Credifin debt collection agency (Dutch: Credifin incassobureau), for example, proves that communicating in a friendly and yet very clear way goes well together!

Take action!

Have you repeatedly called, e-mailed and sent reminders, but the payment keeps failing? Then it is really time to call in a debt collection agency. Do not wait too long with this, because outstanding claims can also become time-barred. If this happens, you can no longer claim your money. And then you are still in trouble... The legal payment term is five years, so keep that in mind!

We wish you every success in collecting your funds!

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