Outstanding invoices and debt can be a nuisance to any business. Sometimes no matter how hard you try to handle it yourself; the debt eventually turns into bad debt and you have no luck receiving it from the debtor.
When it may seem like all hope is lost, the best thing to do for your business is to hire a debt collector. Debt collectors have expertise in handling many types of debt collection situations within all kinds of industries.
However, many people may have concerns about what is means for their business to hire a debt collector. Many may believe it is too expensive, and it could make getting the debt returned irrelevant, from a financial point. While some expect that debt collectors could hurt their relationship with a customer because they picture someone who is way too harsh and rude with their approach. We are going to unravel these common misconceptions so that you can determine the truth about hiring debt collectors and how they can help your business recover debt.
They Are Nicer Than Expected
Firstly, many debt collectors are a lot nicer than is expected. Many have doubts about this, because they are picturing tough burly men at your door asking for your money. Which couldn’t be more wrong. One of the biggest mistakes a debt collector could make is asking for payments while being rude or disrespectful. A debtor is already in a stressful situation and the last thing they need is for someone to be shaming them for their situation. This is why the eCollect professional debt recovery team are polite, strategic and capable of addressing a complex and emotionally charged situation tactfully. Their professionalism and ability to address complex matters, is another great reason to hire a debt collector.
Very Heavily Regulated Industry
The debt collection industry is very highly regulated within Australia. While you may think it would be easy for a debt collection agency to use unethical or dishonest practices, it would actually be extremely difficult. Debt collectors need to have a lot of licences before they can operate, and they are subject to continuous checks and audits from the government bodies. They are bound by the National Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1998 (Commonwealth), to protect the debtors and your business’ information. Debt collection agencies also need to have ISO9001 compliance, which ensure that their operations meet a certain level of quality. Apart from this they also need, an Australian Credit Licence, Commercial Agent Licence and they may be a member of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority and have professional indemnity and fidelity insurance. The industry is definitely more regulated than people believe.
Not As Expensive As People Think
Lastly, contrary to popular belief, working with a debt collector is not as expensive as it may seem. Firstly, they will help you recover money that you thought you would never see again. Secondly, if you find the right debt collection agency, such as eCollect, they work under a “no collection, no charge” policy. This means that if your debt is deemed unrecoverable, you will not have to pay for the services of eCollect. However, not all debt collectors work within the model. Some will charge you for everything little thing, regardless of the debt being recovered. This is simply not the way eCollect runs, you will only have to pay for their efforts, time communication and correspondence if they successfully recover your debt.
After all of this, we can’t think of any reason why you wouldn’t want to hire the help of a debt collector to recover your business’ debts, especially using eCollect.