Apologize For Sending a Collection Letter By Mistake • Example Letters, Guides and Samples

Guides

If you have sent a collection letter by mistake, you should apologize for your error and acknowledge any inconvenience you may have caused. You should also state the current condition of the customer's account.

How to write this collection letter:

  1. Thank the customer for informing you of the error and for his or her patience and understanding.
  2. Apologize for sending the customer a collection letter.
  3. Inform the customer of the correct status of his or her account.

Example Letter #1

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Thank you for your phone call regarding your account. We sincerely apologize for our error in the letter we sent you. We do have a record of your June 1 payment, which cleared your account. We value you as a customer and appreciate your courtesy in this matter.

Example Letter #2

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We appreciate your calling our attention to our billing mistake and apologize for the inconvenience we no doubt caused you. You have been most patient in accommodating us. Your account balance is currently $43.67 and your next payment is due in July.

Example Letter #3

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Thank you for bringing the error on your account to our attention. We have corrected the error and apologize for any problem we may have caused. Enclosed is a new account statement reflecting the correct balance.

Example Letter #4

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Please accept our sincere apologies for the collection letter that we mailed to you by mistake. It must have come as quite a surprise, since your payments have always been on time. Your new statement should reflect your most recent payment and will show that the late charges have been removed from your account. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you and appreciate your continued business as one of our valued customers.

Example Letter #5

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Thank you for calling our attention to our billing error. It is never pleasant to receive a request for money you have already paid, and we do apologize for the inconvenience this caused you. You are perfectly correct; your account has been paid in full and our records now reflect this.

You are a valued customer and we look forward to serving you again.

Write Your Letter Step-by-Step

1 Thank the customer for informing you of the error and for his or her patience and understanding.

Sample Sentences for Step 1
  • Thank you for calling to inform us that we had made a mistake with your account.
  • We appreciate your kind letter informing us that our calculations of your outstanding balance were wrong.
  • Thank you for reminding us that you made your payment in person two weeks ago.
  • We want to thank you for reminding us that our agreement states that you will pay six monthly installations for your last purchase rather than a lump sum payment.
  • Thank you for your patience with our recent error.
  • Thank you for the courteous manner in which you explained our error. You are right, your last billing statement does not reflect the payment you made earlier that month.
Sample Phrases for Step 1
  • appreciate your understanding
  • appreciate your alertness
  • appreciate your kind letter
  • correction concerning the amount
  • for your note regarding
  • for your letter concerning
  • for the copy of your receipt
  • for sending us a copy of
  • for calling us about
  • gracious of you to point out
  • grateful you were not upset
  • last billing statement does not reflect
  • please accept our appreciation
  • please accept our thanks
  • please accept our apologies
  • thank you for reminding us
  • thank you for calling our attention to
  • thank you for your letter regarding
  • thank you for understanding
  • thank you for your courtesy
  • thank you for guiding our attention to
  • thank you for directing our attention to
  • thank you for calling
  • that our calculations were wrong
  • that we had made a mistake with your account
  • your patience has been commendable
  • your patience is appreciated

2 Apologize for sending the customer a collection letter.

Sample Sentences for Step 2
  • We apologize for our error and appreciate your understanding.
  • We apologize for the mistake.
  • I accept responsibility for the error and have corrected the problem.
  • I am sorry for any inconvenience this billing error may have caused your firm.
  • We are sorry for the mistake and hope it hasn't inconvenienced you.
  • Please accept our sincere apology.
  • I am sorry if our error inconvenienced you in any way.
  • I hope you will accept my apology for this unfortunate misunderstanding.
Sample Phrases for Step 2
  • accept responsibility for
  • accept my apology for this unfortunate misunderstanding
  • actually have an excellent payment record
  • am somewhat embarrassed
  • apologize for the mistake
  • apologize for sending
  • appreciate your understanding
  • are one of our most valued customers
  • assure you that we will take every precaution
  • collection notice you received
  • every effort will be made
  • have corrected the problem
  • hope you will accept my apology
  • hope it has not caused you
  • just a note of apology for
  • please accept our warmest apology
  • please accept my apologies
  • sorry that you have been inconvenienced
  • was obviously an error

3 Inform the customer of the correct status of his or her account.

Sample Sentences for Step 3
  • Your account now shows a 0.00 balance.
  • You were right. Your account balance did not include the payment you made just two days before I sent the letter.
  • Your account, of course, was paid in full on the date you indicated.
  • Our records show that your account has a zero balance.
  • We had computer problems and mistakenly sent a collection letter. We assure you that your account is up to date.
  • Your correct account balance is $15.28, and this amount is not due until April 15.
  • I have gone through your files thoroughly and have found the missing payment. That check for $678.99 brings your account balance to $250.55. The latter amount is due, as usual, at the end of the month.
Sample Phrases for Step 3
  • account is up to date
  • account is in good order
  • all mistakes have been corrected
  • at the end of the month
  • brings your account balance to
  • corrected invoice will be sent to you
  • files are now current
  • have gone through your files thoroughly
  • have nothing more to worry about
  • our records now indicate
  • records do show your payment of
  • was a simple billing error
  • the error has been corrected
  • this amount is not due until
  • to offset any inconvenience
  • was paid in full
  • will not happen again
  • will expect the next payment by
  • will be sent to you shortly
  • your account balance did not include
  • your account has a zero balance
  • your account has been adjusted