In another life when I was a music tutor, I would always hear student’s excuses as to why they had not practised. My response would usually be, “I don’t care if your house burned down, your dog ate your trumpet or you were in space, you didn’t practise as you promised.” This same principle is surprisingly similar when dealing with debtors. The services were rendered, the goods delivered but payment was not made.
To avoid the need of debt collection, your debtor must have no reason to withhold payment. We need to move past the baseless excuses and deal with the facts of the matter.
Clear instructions.
The dog may have eaten the trumpet, but it is funny that the student doesn’t own a dog.
Your contracts, quotes and purchase orders are imperative to avoid the need of debt collection. Without the scope of work laid out and agreed upon, the result is hearsay. Although I would always suggest having contracts signed, even an SMS or email response from your client can mitigate issues.
I get it – sometimes that can be a lot of extra steps for a straightforward or smaller job. Another option would be to follow up on any consultation or verbal agreement with a written outline of the job at hand. Being able to show this to your debtor in the event of an excuse can turn the tables and retrieve payment before collections are needed.
Changes happen.
Most debts with an excuse will revolve around variations or last-minute changes with the PO. It’s usually that customer who asks for the world and adds on many extras who then will have issues with the extra time the changes took.
As with the previous point, I stress to confirm everything in writing! A good example of this is for QLD QBCC licensees using one of the QBCC variation forms. These forms have both parties agreeing to the changes to be made. These forms can be a longer process to be approved and don’t apply to other states or industries. We are working to create an online variation form to fill in this gap.
We are beginning to create an online form to be fully digital and able to be immediately sent to your client for verification. The whole process was a 2-minute ordeal. from starting to full signage. Think of hello-sign to DocuSign, but free for this type of matter.
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DIY.
Is it too late for a contract or variation form? There are still ways you can get your money back and avoid the need of debt collection. We suggest keeping any dispute resolution attempts simple. Keep emotion aside and stay to the point.
The majority of disputes can be resolved via sound reasoning. Although there are times when principle will trump reasoning, it is your best ammo to avoid the need of debt collection without going down a legal action route.
Lastly, you may need to look to settle for a lower amount. Have a look at the costs to take the matter further and find a new amount which may work to resolve the situation.
If all else fails, we are here!