Debt Collection Non-Paying Clients

Debt Collection  Non-Paying Clients: Warning Signs to Look Out For

Debt Collection and Non-Paying Clients is at the heart of every business requirements. Late payment is an unfortunate fact of business life, and while these incidents are frustrating, it is worth remembering that they can usually be amicably resolved.

There are, however, occasions when the initial late payment is the sign of a client who has no intention or ability to pay. Spotting these risks can be invaluable in enabling you to save time, money and hassle. Here are five indicators that a client may be a non-payer.

Communication Problems

One of the most common warning signs is a lack of communication. Debt Collection and Payment Dispute. There may be valid reasons for the occasional delay in responding to messages, letters or emails, but a persistent pattern of poor or non-existent communication is a clear warning sign that they may have no intentions of paying.

Regular Excuses

Of course, it is normal that a client will have a reason for one-off late payment, and there is often no cause to doubt these explanations. But a repeating pattern of the same excuses should be a cause for concern, particularly if the following are regularly used:

• The client says they forgot to pay the outstanding amount
• The invoice has been lost
• The accounts team are out of the office

Regular Extension Requests

As with the previous point, it is not a huge cause for concern if your client asks for an extension to a payment period. But if the extension requests become regular or common, this can be a sign that the client is attempting to stall you yet has no real intention of paying. In these cases, it is important to ask more questions to try to establish whether the extension requests are the result of an ongoing financial difficulty, or an attempt to avoid paying altogether.

Disputing the Debt

It is relatively common for overdue payments to be queried, often due to details relating to the invoice or invoices. Yet if it is a recurring pattern for your client to query the debt, particularly if the query is over relatively minor details, you should consider the possibility that the client has no intention of paying what they owe.

Credit Rating Changes

It is often good business practice to check a client’s credit rating before doing business with them, but it is important to continue to monitor this in cases when a payment is overdue. Online credit rating agencies can enable you to monitor this automatically, providing updates when a client’s credit rating changes, and if the rating drops significantly, this could be a clear warning sign.

How to Pursue a Non-Payer

These are the warning signs to look out for, but what should you do if you find that your client is indeed avoiding paying a debt?

Doesn’t this mean taking expensive and time-consuming legal action in order to secure your debt collection?

One option is to turn to a professional debt recovery agency. They will be able to take the most effective measures to ensure that your debt is repaid, leaving you free to concentrate on building up your business. A reputable modern debt collection agency will represent your interests in a professional way throughout the debt collection process, maximising your chances of both securing the full debt and maintaining essential business relationships. If you have a client who is showing warning signs of non-payment, get in touch with us today and find out how we can help.

For more information please also check our article on debt collection and payment dispute

For more information on UK Debt Collection or International Debt Collection, please check our website. CLI is also a member of the Credit Services Association Ltd.