Debt collection can appear to be a difficult and frustrating process. While there are certainly difficult instances, the process itself is actually quite simple. It simply involves commitment to a simple consistent process.

Most of our day is spent attempting to contact debtors on behalf of our clients, in order to convince them to pay their bill, or to enter into a payment plan. We also research files for new contact information, or to find assets. The research aspect of our business is commonly called “skip tracing“.

Too often, I am asked by my clients to exact revenge on non-paying customers by “harassing” them, and “ruining their credit”. We can and will do neither.

We are not in the revenge business. We are in the recovery business. Harassing a customer is a violation of the FDCPA, a federal law which protects consumers from abusive debt collection practices. And as respects “ruining” anyone’s credit, reporting one debt is hardly going to do that.

British poet George Herbert said, “Living well is the best revenge”. When it comes to debt collection, getting paid is the best revenge.

Keep your focus on recovery. You have already suffered a loss when a customer does not pay you. I often hear from my clients, “I do not want them to get away with not paying me”. The sad truth is that if you are calling me, they already have gotten away with it, and we are in recovery mode. We are going to work hard to recover as much money as we can, but you are starting with zero. In this case, something is better than nothing. 

I get it. I know it stinks when you are not paid. But if you focus on the anger instead of on working with your collection agency to recover as much as you can, you are not going to make progress.