Common Excuses from Non-Payers

As debt collectors, we get many common excuses from non-payers regarding why we shouldn’t be involved. Whether it’s true or not, the fact remains that you have not been paid for your services. It’s our job to nut out the situation to find the best way to get you paid.

I Was Never Told

The first of the common excuses from non-payers is the client who plays unaware. This can range from a client who legitimately has never received an invoice or one who purposely has been evading. The next steps for these cases are simple; they have the invoice now, get it paid. This sometimes can take more effort for those debtors who reply with, “I thought I didn’t owe them because they stopped following me up.”

To avoid having these debtors, we advise that you:

• Collect as many contact points before beginning work.
• Make sure you contact your debtor on every point of contact (within reason) if no response is made.
• If you did work at their premises, you may want to drop by with good intentions. Hand the invoice to them directly to confirm they received it.
• If you can confirm that they received your invoice, be quick to act if invoices go overdue.
• Submitting a debt to a debt collector early will enhance your chances on a successful collection. Remember, if they have previously agreed to it, we may be able to add on our fees. Free debt collection!

I Told Them to be Patient

You told them to pay, they said to wait. Unfortunately, we have had a recent influx of these regarding solar panel installations and similar types of work. It is confusing to hear that a request for the install was made without any money to pay for it. Whether the client intentionally is playing the system or legitimately is having a hard time, there are ways to avoid the issue.

Pre-agreed processes like deposits, progress payments, certification on final payment and late fees can help avoid this type of situations. If financial hardship has come out from nowhere, we encourage our debtors to chip away at the matter with regular payments. Everyone should be able to pay something. A small payment may seem like a joke, but it confirms the debt being owed. It also resets the statute of limitations.

I Stubbed my Toe and Broke 2 Arms

I believe we have heard this one twice now. The problem with both of them is that they weren’t claiming they couldn’t work, they just emailed that they couldn’t access their bank account as they couldn’t move their fingers. Again, they emailed it.

To cover all the more weird reasons, the facts are still the same – money is still owed, they need to get it paid. Most debt collectors will have a multitude of ways which payments can be arranged for all situations. Sometimes being flexible can help, other times calling out a silly situation can result in payment.

I Am Angry So I Will Not Pay A Cent

Yes, but it is still legally owed – are you starting to see the trend? So many of the excuses require a calm voice to confirm they hear the issue before pushing payment. We find sometimes swallowing any pride towards the situation can result in payment, other times, escalating the matter to court. This could make your client realise the gravity of the situation. If not, you now have a legal judgement to show they have misunderstood their position.

Many times when we escalate to court in our debt recovery process, it’s for the reason that the client is misinformed on their position. All that is needed was payment to be made to fix the reason for their anger.

I Dispute The Debt So Take Me To Court.

As debt collectors, this can be a sign of a false debt or someone who has really been hurt by the system. It is in everyone’s best interest to avoid the time and money in preparing for court. We strive to get your debtors to open up about the issues so we can be more of a mediation service. If there is legitimately issues at hand, we work with you to find what is meaningfully owed to get the best outcome for the situation.

There are always ways to address any type of excuse. Sometimes it can be tricky to find the right way to address the situation. We hope that insights into the common excuses from non-payers we get and how we deal with them can help in your own business.