Collection letter
First request
• Never immediately assume your customers have no intention of paying their account if the balance is overdue. There may be a number of reasons for this: they may not have received your statement; they may have sent a cheque which has been lost; or they may have just overlooked the account. Therefore, a first request should take the form of a polite enquiry.
• Try to make the letter impersonal. You can do this by using the definite article, e.g. the outstanding balance instead of your outstanding balance; using the passive voice, e.g. to be cleared instead of which you must clear; and modifying imperatives.
Second request
• If a customer intends to pay, they usually answer a first request immediately, offering an apology for having overlooked the account, or an explanation. But if they acknowledge your request but still do not pay, or do not answer at all, you can make a second request. As with first requests, you should include copies of the relevant invoices and statements and mention any previous correspondence.
• State that you have not received payment, if this was promised I the reply, or that no reply has been received.
• Insist that you receive payment or an answer within a certain time.
Third request
• Review the situation from the time the account should have been paid.
• Explain that you have been patient.
• Let the customer know what you are going to do, but do not threaten legal action unless you intend to take it, as it will make you look weak and indecisive. In the two examples below legal action is not threatened.