Commercial Collections Blog

Blog > Collection Tips > Collecting Past Due Accounts

Collecting Past Due Accounts

From The Desk of Jerry Curtis

Dear Customer:

Time is of the essence when it comes to collecting past due accounts. The longer an account remains unpaid, the harder it becomes to collect. Burt & Associates is able to assist you with the management of your accounts receivables so that you can focus on running your business. Contact us today – the clock is ticking.

With warmest regards,

Jerry Curtis
President & CEO

Educational Tidbits For Today’s Credit Executive
Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations concerns the amount of time within which a legal remedy may be brought. In the case of the collection of a debt, many statutes of limitations are set by individual states and may vary considerably based on the type of contract. For example, the limitation on a judgment may be longer than one involving open or revolving accounts. It should be noted that the statute of limitations can often be revived with either a partial payment or a written promise to pay.

A debt collector isn’t bound by a statue of limitations when requesting payment on a debt. However, the debt collector may violate provisions of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when threatening to take legal action when the debt has gone beyond the statutory time limit. Some consumer lawyers have been argued that attempting to collect on a debt after the statue of limitations has expired is a misrepresentation of the legal status of the debt, and, as a result, is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

The Credit Manager’s Q&A Corner

QUESTION: Explain what is meant by a “significant-risk” company, or by a customer in poor financial condition.

ANSWER: A significant-risk company is one that has known or suspected financial weaknesses such as ongoing losses, a working-capital deficit that is considered higher than normal, a negative and worsening tangible net worth and other history of judgments against it as well as consistently very slow payment habits.