I recently had a customer hold out on paying me as they were going through a tight spell with cash. This happens, especially in my game, and given my aim is to help clients out of these tight spots the last thing they need is me causing more problems. However this client stopped returning calls, stopped communicating and went under ground. Not on!
After 6 months of chasing, I finally had enough and wrote the client a letter. In the letter I undertook to do 2 things if they didn't make payment within 1 week of the letter date:
1) I would brief solicitors to commence legal proceedings
2) I would lodge a default with the credit bureau, Veda Advantage
After another week of silence I lodged the default. Well, within a couple of days this started working for me. The client was seeking some equipment finance for a new car, and moving offices and both of these processes ground to a hault, as the parties that my client were dealing with used the credit bureau to assess credit. Basically my client could not move until he resolved the difference with me. Brilliant!
To lodge a default you need to be a member of Veda Advantage firstly. Then there are a series of lose requirements re the need for a credit contract to be in place, with over a minimum amount being over due for a minimum period. But it was very easy to do.
Management of your debtors is a key process that banks look at when they are assessing your for credit. If you have a robust process, you will also have a healthy debtors ledger, which banks not only love, but in certain instances will also use as security. Next time you have a painful debtor, consider using Veda Advantage as a primary collection tool. It really worked well for me!
No comments:
Post a Comment