Persistence and perseverance
There have been many occasions in our history when we have recovered payment from clients’ customers within just a few days of being instructed.
On other occasions, such are the financial circumstances our client’s customers find themselves in and the size of the debt, we have negotiated a payment plan whereby the customer pays a set amount each month until the debt is paid off.
While these payment plans can range from a few months to a few years, our team recently collected the final instalment from one debtor – almost eight YEARS after the first payment was made.
Why did it take so long to collect?
The debtor had a history of bad debt and was already paying £100 a month to clear an existing debt when we were instructed by a software solutions provider to recover their own invoice, which was worth £13,114.37 and already four years overdue.
Upon contacting the debtor, we were advised that they could only afford to pay £200 per month towards clearing the balance, increasing to £300 when the previous debt had been settled.
Our client was happy with this, preferring something realistic and affordable over a repayment plan that was unlikely to be kept to.
Although the first few instalments were received on time however, numerous subsequent payments were missed. So our team were regularly required to contact the debtor to recover these payments and ensure they continued to pay off the balance, liaising with our client throughout.
When further financial difficulties ensued, the monthly payment amount dropped to £150 – again, with the agreement of our client.
Seven years and nine months after the first instalment was made, the final payment was received to the delight of our client, who had all but written the debt off.
To discover how Hilton-Baird can recover any overdue invoices for your business, request a call back or get a debt collection quote.
