Find out Why You Need Attorney-Assisted Collections for B2B Commercial Debt Collection
Considering the sensitive nature of collecting on commercial business debt is the very heart of our attorney-assisted collections services. The Akron Beacon Journal reported on a gentleman who was being harassed with multiple phone calls every day over a debt that did not belong to him. This poor man worked a second shift so the constant phone calls during the day interrupted his much-needed sleep, all the while the collector refused to identify the person he was looking for, or the debt he was trying to collect on. The article noted the following:
Typical Debt Collectors are not checking to see if phone numbers or addresses they have are actually the people who currently have the phone number or address, Sherry said. “The point of contact is some commissioned sales person. Of course, they’re going to try their best to get some money,” she said. Debt collectors often will use a technique called ”skip tracing,” a method to try to find any connection to a debtor — which can include finding neighbors, former employers or relatives.
“Skip tracers make huge leaps of faith. They may be looking for a Fletcher and see another Fletcher in northern California and start pestering that other Fletcher,” Sherry said.
The article does an excellent job of describing a problem you can run into when you rely on a collection agency that uses unsophisticated, uneducated, and frankly, under-qualified, individuals to collect on your accounts.
Attorney-Assisted Collections Take into Account Sensitive Nature of B2B Collections
That is one reason why we (Ben Ricci and Stevens & Ricci Inc.) use the attorney-collector team model in our collection effort. Our attorneys are not going to be making random phone calls to your debtor in a “leap of faith” to find someone to talk about the overdue account. As the cost of our attorney-assisted collections service is comparable to a “run-of-the-mill” collection experience, entrust your overdue accounts to professionals who understand the sensitive nature of business-to-business collections.
When it comes to larger balances over $5,000 there is an even more important reason to use an attorney-assisted collections process. It’s more effective by at least a 2 to1 margin. Over the years, debtors have become very familiar with the tactics used by the collection industry, and quite good at stonewalling around them. Like any industry, the commercial debt collection business has had to innovative to keep up and maintain current levels and profit margins.
The best way to maximize your recoveries is to select a collection firm with the correct mix of people and process for the market we’re in right now. If you take one of the most experienced commercial collectors who works with an elite group of about 75 collection attorneys across the U.S. you have a hybrid approach. This works for our clients and our company–we collect more and thus earn more, and our clients are receiving more than twice as much back in otherwise written off accounts receivable.