How to Write 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