Collecting a debt from a business is a challenge that can keep you awake at night. You keep hoping to see that check in the mail or the digital payment, but nothing arrives. If this describes your situation, try not to get frustrated but focus instead on a solution. Here are a few suggestions for ways that you can achieve a resolution:
- Avoid harassing business owners who are delinquent with their payment.
- Write follow-up letters reminding a business that their payment is overdue.
- Get a collection agency to write demand letters.
- Keep all phone calls polite and short.
- Ask whether the business can make a partial payment.
- Offer to settle for less money than is due.
- Hire a collection agency to more aggressively pursue payment.
- Take the matter to small claims court.
- Hire an attorney and file a lawsuit.
If a debt from a business is only recently overdue, then making a phone call or writing a letter would be a good first step. If, however, a debt has been on the books for a few months and the business has showed no signs of payment or cooperation despite your polite calls and letters, then it is likely time to take more aggressive action. Acting quickly and staying focused on collections is key to being successful.
It’s also important to distinguish whether the business in question is a good client with a long history of paying on time but has recently encountered some financial difficulties. You might want to work with this business owner or offer additional flexibility if it appears the business will soon be back on strong financial footing. If, on the other hand, the business in question is one that has always been late with payments and eventually refuses to pay at all, then it’s probably time to get tough.
Attorney Andrew Weisblatt is highly experienced in business law and can advise you about your legal options. He can file a lawsuit on your behalf against a delinquent business debtor to seek financial compensation. To find out more about how Mr. Weisblatt can help, call us at 713-666-1981.
How to Collect Bad Debt from a Business
Don’t harass a business owner who owes you money. Keep things professional. Remember that you may encounter this owner in other organizations and in the community, so you want to be polite and maintain your reputation for professionalism.
Write follow-up letters asking for payment. You don’t have to wait for your 30-day billing cycle to write additional requests for payment. Write one a week if necessary. This creates a paper trail documenting your attempts to collect a debt.
Keep phone calls polite and short. If you follow up with phone calls to accounts payable clerks or to the business owner, keep the conversations short and polite. There’s no need to go into great detail about the ways the business has failed to pay and how tiring it is for you to have to chase them down. Simply request payment.
Ask a collection agency to write demand letters. If you’re tired of following up on delinquent debts in house, you can hire an outside collection agency to write demand letters and handle communications for you.
Ask whether the business can make a partial payment. Collecting a partial payment on a debt can at least provide some money to you. In some cases, partial payments can make the debtor feel better and cause them to be willing to discuss a future date when the balance of the debt can be paid.
Offer to settle for less money than is due. Similar to the suggestion above, you can negotiate an amount of money that is less than the debt owed but is better than receiving nothing. Sometimes this is the most effective way to collect debt from a business that is struggling.
Hire a collection agency to aggressively pursue payment. If you have to collect bad debt from a business that is belligerent or non-responsive, hiring a collection agency to aggressively pursue payment may be your best bet. They will make repeated phone calls, mail several letters, and inform debtors of the consequences to their credit score as well as legal ramifications of non-payment.
Take the matter to small claims court. If you have the time and energy, you can take the matter to small claims court and ask a judge to order a business to make payment on a bad debt.
Hire an attorney and file a lawsuit. This is your best bet if you’re wanting to collect a bad debt from a business that refuses to pay. The advantages of hiring an attorney include lifting the collections and legal burdens off your shoulders, allowing you to focus on your core business, and increasing your chances of collecting a financial award.
If you’re ready to hire an attorney to collect a bad debt from a business, contact attorney Andrew Weisblatt today. He can begin legal action right away. Call today at 713-666-1981.
Contact Attorney Andrew Weisblatt Today
You may wish you didn’t have to file a lawsuit to collect a bad debt from a business, but sometimes that’s the best way to get your money and put the matter to rest. Some businesses simply won’t listen to reason and refuse to pay the debts they owe. It’s not right, but it happens. Rather than worrying about the bad debt or tying up any more of your staff’s time making phone calls and writing letters to a delinquent business, turn the matter over to a skilled and experienced attorney like Andrew Weisblatt. Mr. Weisblatt has years of success representing clients in debt collection cases, and he has a record of success. He knows how to build a convincing case that a judge, jury or others involved are likely to respond positively to. What do you have to lose? Call Mr. Weisblatt today at 713-666-1981 for a free initial consultation about your situation.
Attorney Andrew Weisblatt
Mr. Weisblatt has practiced continuously since becoming licensed in 1992 and has represented businesses ranging in size from one person start-up ventures to multi-national corporations employing hundreds of people in multiple countries. From 2005 through 2009 Mr. Weisblatt was in-house counsel and chief operating officer of a multi-national corporation in the steel products industry. That in-house position provided valuable insight into how businesses work and what they actually need from their lawyers – both in-house and outside counsel. Attorney Bio
