Home > Letters and Writing > All Categories > All Topics > Collection Letters		Get sample collection letters Write letters with the words writers agree work the best. Download the software. Only $19.99.
Easy Letters includes letters for: Acceptances Acknowledgments Advice Announcements Apology Applications Appointments Appreciation Approvals Authorizations Cancellations Claims Collections Complaints Compliments Condolences Confirmations Congratulations Cover Letters Credit Delegation Directives Disagreements Discipline Dismissals Encouragement Endorsements Errors Farewells Follow Up Fundraising Get Well Gifts Goodwill Government Holidays Inform/Notify Inquiries Introductions Invitations Job Offers Love Orders Persuasion Recommendations References Referrals Refusals Reprimands Requests Reservations Resignations Responses Sales Social Events Suggestions Sympathy Terminations Thank You Transmittals Welcome Broad Categories: Employment Goodbye All Categories All Topics	Collection Letters Having trouble balancing customer loyalty with how you ask for payment? Get help with collection letters ranging from pleasant to threatening. With WriteExpress software you get example collection letters to help you find the perfect words to say, plus choice phrases and sentences recommended by professionals. How to write collection letters: Consider offering a discount for early payment on products or services. In this type of letter, you can remind or notify a customer that if you receive payment within a certain period, you will give him or her a discount on the purchase. Be specific about the conditions for the discount. Gather all the facts about your customer's account, and encourage your customer to pay the money owed. To avoid future misunderstandings, always be specific about how much the customer owes and about when the money was due. Offer assistance to a customer having difficulty paying an overdue bill. In fact, it is often the only way to collect payment. Use a sincere tone, and gently persuade the customer to contact you to talk about the problem. When discussing new terms, be sure that any new arrangement is one which the customer can handle and which you can feel comfortable about. Take a firmer stand in your next letter if after writing one or more collection letters you have received no response from the customer (even after suggesting an alternative payment plan or other options). Unlike earlier letters, this one should carry a demanding rather than a requesting tone. Although this letter is less friendly than other letters, it should still make it easy for the customer to respond. In your final collection letter let the customer know exactly what the penalty will be unless he or she responds immediately with the payment. Don't make an empty threat, and don't send another letter asking for payment. You must be prepared to follow through with your claim. If you must cancel or withdraw a customer's credit account, explain clearly your reasons for doing so. Be sure to use a courteous tone when writing this letter, as you may want to maintain this customer's business, even if you must ask for cash payments from now on. To balance customer loyalty with how you ask for payment, our writers created 78 collection letters to help get your money. Choose from a variety of prewritten collection letters ranging from pleasant to threatening. Copy your letter directly into Microsoft Word or your favorite word processor. Or let our software guide you step-by-step through the writing process, suggesting sample phrases and sentences for each writing step. In minutes, you can write an effective collection letter. Print your collection letter and send it! For each topic you get several collection letters already written for you: Collection Letters Set 1: Remind a customer that payment is past due Collection Letters Set 2: Remind a customer that payment is past due Collection Letters Set 3: Appeal to a customer's personal interests to pay an overdue bill Collection Letters Set 4: Offer assistance to a customer having difficulty paying an overdue bill Collection Letters Set 5: Demand payment on a delinquent account Collection Letters Set 6: Announce your intention to take aggressive action against a customer for failing to make payment Write a collection letter Plus, you get letters for each of these related topics and more: Acknowledge payment of an overdue balance Apologize for sending a collection letter by mistake Cancel or withdraw a customer's credit account Inform a customer that the check you received was not signed or the payment was not in the envelope Notify an insurance policyholder of a pending cancellation of the policy Offer a discount for early payment on products or services Promise a delayed payment to a creditor Remind an organization member to pay a fee, duty, or pledge Request additional money or information before you can fill an order Request payment of a personal loan Suggest an alternative plan or schedule for payments

Which letter-writing software for best for me?
Own the #1 choice for ready-to-use letters. Professional writing that works Quality letters written by experts Years of research working for you Trusted by more than 100,000 satisfied customers
	Easy Letters	3,001 Business & Sales Letters	4,001 Business, Sales & Personal Letters
	Good	Better	Best
Number of letters	2,200+	3,001+	4,001+
Number of letter-writing topics (situations)	500+	560+	1206
Learn from must-know tips and writing steps
Find inspiration with handpicked sentences
Springboard creativity with helpful phrases
BONUS! Create benefit statements with 450 power action verbs
Increase sales with 900 new sales letters
BONUS! Capture attention with 165 power words and phrases
FREE! Find rhymes fast with our rhyming dictionary—a $19.99 Value!
FREE! Find words by their sounds with our phonetic dictionary (Windows)
NEW! Raise money with 100 new fundraising letters
NEW! Express your feelings with 687 new love letters
No-risk, 30-day satisfaction guarantee
	Learn more	Learn more	Learn more
Downloading? It's easy...and you can call us for help! Plus, you can redownload anytime...free!	$19.99 Windows	$29.99 Windows	$34.99 Windows
	Macintosh	Macintosh	Macintosh
	$24.99 Windows & Macintosh CD	$34.99 Windows & Macintosh CD	$39.99 Windows & Macintosh CD

How to write the perfect collection letter

In this article, you will learn about the various kinds of collection letters. You will also learn what actions you can take before turning an overdue account over to a collection agency.

Do not suggest in any collection letter that the customer might be dissatisfied with the product or service he/she purchased from you.

The point of the collection letter is always to collect the money that is owed. A new type of collection letter is sent each time you escalate your demand for payment. Below are examples of several types of collection letters that may help you to collect your money.

The Reminder Collection Letter

The first collection letter should only be a friendly reminder. Assume that the customer has forgotten to pay and courteously invite him/her to pay promptly. Most people will make a payment after a couple of reminders. If there is no response to these reminders, you should assume that the customer is not paying because of financial, medical, or other personal difficulties.

Suggestions for a typical format:

• Send a copy of the original bill.
• Stamp on it Reminder or Past Due and highlight the amount past due.
• Include a short statement indicating the amount due, the due date, late charges (if any), and the account number.
• Make sure the address where the customer should send payment is plainly indicated. Including a pre-addressed envelope for payment (with or without postage) is also helpful.

If the customer has not even made a partial payment after a couple of gentle Reminder Collection Letters, you can send a final reminder collection letter to ask why the customer is not paying. A final reminder letter should explain that there will be consequences for continued nonpayment. If no payment on the amount owed is received, then you will need to take a more aggressive approach in follow-up collection letters.

The Inquiry Collection Letter

Before you employ any harsher means, try to discover if the customer has extraordinary circumstances that are preventing him/her from making any payment. You can help maintain a good relationship with the customer and go a long way toward collecting your debt if you are sensitive to any potential problems. The Inquiry Collection Letter demonstrates your willingness to help the customer solve his/her current financial difficulty by offering new terms. If you are willing to accept a partial payment now with regular payments after that, most people in financial difficulty will be grateful for this option and agree.

Remember, it is better to collect your money through a series of payments than not to collect it at all. It is also better to work with your customers than to alienate them, because their present difficulties may resolve and they may prove to be more reliable in the future.

Tip for the first inquiry letter: Make a request for prompt payment, and add your willingness to help the customer by offering new terms for repayment.

Tip for the second inquiry letter: Use positive wording, but state firmly that the customer will pay a penalty for continued nonpayment, such as a late fee, a collection fee, or interest on the amount owed.

The Appeal Collection Letter

If the customer fails to respond to any of the Reminder Collection Letters or to the Inquiry Collection Letters, you must take a more aggressive approach. Because the customer has not responded to date, you should assume that he/she will probably not respond to any further demands for payment. This is why many organizations at this point turn their debtors over to a collection agency. If you do choose to continue the collection process yourself, you can take two basic approaches:

• Positive appeal approach: Try to appeal to the customer's sense of fairness, personal pride, or his/her desire to maintain a good credit standing and its connected privileges.
• Negative appeal approach: If the positive approach is ignored, inform the customer that continued nonpayment could result in various penalties:
  • the loss of his/her good credit standing and its connected privileges
  • the initiation of legal action to reclaim any purchased goods; any services will be discontinued
  • he/she may incur additional debt through collection fees and/or interest on the amount owed

The Ultimatum Collection Letter

If the customer does not answer any of your collection letters, you can give him/her a final chance to pay. The Ultimatum Collection Letter needs to state the specific action you will take if the customer does not send payment by a certain date. Your statements should be fair, reasonable, and logical. In your last letter:

• First review the history of the account: what the customer purchased, your repeated efforts to collect, etc.
• Give a deadline for payment or for the customer to commit to a repayment agreement—otherwise you will take legal action to reclaim the purchased goods and/or turn the account over to a collection agency.
• Be careful not to use name-calling or to make accusations, which are both illegal. Always be careful with what you put in print! Simply state the facts and explain why his/her inaction is causing you to take action.

If the Ultimatum Collection Letter fails to bring results, be sure to follow through with your stated action.

Note: Debt collection is not an enjoyable pastime, but if you follow these logical steps in preparing your collection letters, you will succeed in collecting payment on many of your delinquent accounts.

Home | About Us | Affiliates | Awards | Contact Us | Español | FAQ | Jobs | Products | Sample Business Letters | Site Map | Support

© 1996-2009 WriteExpress Corporation. All rights reserved.
WriteExpress® and Unblocking Writers' Block® are registered trademarks of WriteExpress Corporation.