Successful Debt Collection Strategies During Hard Times

by Debra
(Los Angeles)

The first step to successful debt collection is to establish trust with the person in debt. This trust is established by creating an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding.

You, the debt collector are looking for one thing: the money. The debtor, on the other hand is looking to maintain his or her dignity, self respect, hopefully their good reputation and credit.

It is most important to be understanding of various financial situations, and to make payment arrangements that ensure the bulk of the money is repaid, while allowing the debtor an opportunity to preserve their credit status.

There was a lady that I will call "Ms. L." She owed a dental bill for $2,350.00. After numerous attempts to establish payment arrangements with her, I finally changed my approach. I realized that in order to be successful at debt collection, I needed to make repayment of this debt a priority for the debtor.

I needed to ensure her that I was willing to work with her, and encourage her in her efforts to repay the loan and maintain her credit. Whenever she made a payment on time, I called her to congratulate her for her financial responsibility and assured her that the loan would soon be paid off.

Ms. L. paid off her loan, and later thanked me for allowing her to maintain her self respect, and not treating her like a "criminal", as she said other debt collectors had done. This is my new strategy for successful debt collections.