SAMPLE COLLECTION LETTERS

Dealing with delinquent customers has long been a necessary evil for a majority of commercial businesses. Although this is a difficult process, matching the best demand letter to each unique situation can make this job much easier and rewarding.

In commercial collections, you rarely need more than two collection letters - an early collection letter (see sample collection letter below) and a final demand letter (sample collection letter also below). The exceptions are:

Bad Check Collection Letter (call or email us for a complimentary sample collection letter)
Collecting Your Judgment Letter (call or email us for a complimentary sample collection letter)
The IRS Collection Letter (very aggressive - click IRS Advantage™ for more info)

GET THE IRS TO HELP YOU COLLECT FROM YOUR MOST DELINQUENT ACCOUNTS

A good collection letter will first get their attention and second motivate a response. The best collection letter goes out with an IRS Form W-9 requesting Tax ID information under penalty of federal law. The pre-formatted IRS collection letter uses a powerful combination of accounting principles and debtor psychology. Once your debtor realizes that the IRS could be examining their tax statement a little more closely, you will be surprised how quickly a check will arrive in the mail. Learn more >> The IRS Advantage™ Collection System

SAMPLE FIRST COLLECTION LETTER

The first collection letter is usually sent out between 15-30 days past-due. You need to collect the money that is owed to you, but appearing too aggressive at this early stage may sometimes hurt your company's image and possibly lead to a loss of business.

The first of our sample collection letters below has been used by corporate credit managers nationwide and has generated results 25-30% higher than standard "dunning" letters. There are two reasons for this. First, this sample collection letter below uses reverse psychology, in that it doesn't directly ask for the money. Rather, it gives the customer the benefit of the doubt and instead asks for the reason for non-payment. Finally, this sample collection letter strategically uses a finance charge element as leverage or to "set the table" for negotiations.

Download a complimentary copy of this sample collection letter below and also be sure to read the First Collection Letter tutorial at Collection Letters.

Download a complimentary copy of this sample collection letter here: PDF format | MS Word

SAMPLE FINAL DEMAND COLLECTION LETTER

The final demand collection letter is usually sent out between 60-90 days past-due. This is typically the last of the in-house collection letters and commonly the last step before seeking outside help.

This second sample collection letter below sells the need to pay and also fulfills legal requirements to show due diligence in regards to collection efforts implemented. This collection letter is sometimes required as a prerequisite for a smalls claims filing in certain states.

Download a complimentary copy of this sample collection letter below and also be sure to read the Final Demand Collection Letter tutorial at Collection Letters.

Download a complimentary copy of this sample collection letter here: PDF format | MS Word

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James O'Brien
Credit Manager
H.A. Metzger, Inc.
www.hametzger.com
"Just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know how successful your IRS collection technique has been for me. I have used this technique and have gotten positive responses 4 out of 5 times. I usually send a copy of a W-9 form and highlight the cancellation of debt portion in order to show the account that this is for real. It has been a real gem for me on some of those hard accounts that just refuse to pay, until they think that I am informing the IRS of some unreported income. Thanks again and keep up the good work."