Chapter 9
Overcoming Disputes, Real or Phony
In This Chapter
Talking debtors into admitting what they owe
Separating real disputes from stall tactics
Breaking down and resolving actual disputes
Negotiating to achieve good collection results
When you’re putting pressure on your customer to pay money owed to your business and your customer denies owing part or all of the money, you have what’s called a debtor dispute on your hands. Whether the disputed amount relates to the entire account balance or just a portion of it, you want to resolve the dispute as quickly as possible.
To do that, you first need to determine whether the dispute is legitimate or whether the debtor is using stall tactics, and then you need to take steps that lead to payment on the account. This chapter shows you how to see through stall tactics, identify and address legitimate disputes, and achieve a resolution that ends with you collecting what’s due to you.
Getting and Using Admissions from Your Debtors
An admission is a statement from the debtor conceding that he owes you money. An admission may be full (“I owe you all of the money you claim”) or partial (“I owe you some of the money, but dispute the balance.”) The admission can come in a number of forms, including an oral statement (for example, during a meeting or phone call), in writing (such as by letter or e-mail, or in a repayment agreement you negotiate), or may be implied by the debtor’s actions (such as sending you partial payment on your bill). ...
