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DEBT COLLECTING Q & A
– Issue 14
By Jim Finucan
© Tiare Publications Group
Q) Jim – We're having real problems in collecting from a
couple of
our larger accounts and are therefore considering turning
the job
over to a collections agency. However, I'm wondering it the
next step in this process should be to call in a lawyer.
What do you think?
Robert Brunns,
Youngstown, OH
Dear Robert: There are attorneys specialize in collections
and their
methods could work for you – simply because the letters
they send to
debtors have the imprimatur of a law firm. But, on the
average,
lawyers are not particularly skilled in the collections
field.
A collections agency should be called on only as a last
resort. It's
much cheaper if your firm can do its own collections, even
if you run
into some particularly rough customers from time to time. An
agency
is more likely to know how to go about getting an
involuntary payment out of a debtor once a judgment has been
issued. For instance, an agency has a skip tracing
department that has contracts in such places as banks, phone
companies and other information sources and can also use
information from a credit file to affect a wage garnishment.
Or they can find out from the bank how much money is in a
checking or saving account because, once a judgment has been
issued by the court, anything over $1,000 in such an account
can simply be garnisheed.
If you decide to turn those extra difficult accounts over to
an
agency, don't wait too long to do so. The older an account
gets the
harder it is to collect. People move on, change employers or
another
collector gets to the debtor first leaving you with the
leftovers.
Steps should be taken about a delinquency within 90 days of
it
reaching that stage.
(End)
Jim Finucan is top gun collections pro whose debt collecting
manual "Past Due" can help you double your debt
collection dollars.
To order or for more information please visit:
http://www.tiare.com/pastdue.htm
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