Wednesday, March 12, 2014

The Value of Past Due Accounts


Did you know time is the safest refuge for any debtor?
 
 
 
The more time that is allowed to pass without payment being made the less likely the consumer will actually pay their account in full. Time is of the essence with past due receivables and the longer a creditor waits for payment, the more difficult the account can be to collect when finally assigned to collections. Don’t wait to assign your accounts to an outside collection agency. If effective collection efforts are not applied shortly after 90 days past due accounts rapidly become noncollectable. As illustrated in the graph below, after 90 days the value of the account drops drastically and unpaid balances should be referred to collections for immediate action.

 
Why does the value go down? Consumers have many reasons why they cannot pay their bills. Some of the main reasons accounts lose value include some of these factors:


ü  Loss of Income

ü  Marital Problems or Loss of Spouse

ü  Chronic Illness

ü  Lack of Health Insurance

ü  Relocates to another State

ü  Other Creditors moving more quickly

ü  Accident (disabled, litigation)
 
The sooner our agency can get started on collecting an account the sooner the account will be paid in full. The time it takes to collect an account balance is directly linked to the age of the account at the time of assignment. Don't wait too long - assign your unpaid accounts to collections today!