Everything You Need to Know About Hiring an International Debt Collection Agency
Have you been looking to hire a debt collection agency but don’t know where to start? If your business has transactions outside your country, then you have a greater risk of non-payment from foreign customers.
It can be difficult to extract your dues from delinquent clients as the laws, regulations, time zones, and language may be different. All these factors can make it difficult for you to carry out your collection efforts. At the same time, you also know that putting away your collection task to another time can impact your cash flow and make it more complicated to get back your money.
So now is a good time as any to get started. The best way to recoup your business losses in another country is to hire an International Debt Collection Agency that understands the law in that country. Moreover, it is not your job to engage your valuable resources in extracting payments from non-paying clients when they can be doing business expansion work for you.
If you are looking to work with a debt collection agency, you can use the following steps to hire the perfect one for the job.
Have one on the standby
Don’t wait for these problems to sneak up on you. Instead, have an agency on standby long before you have a payment problem. By doing that, you will be able to avoid wasting precious time in finding the right agency just when you need one. Your debt collector will be able to spring into action as soon as there is a delay in payment. It will help you stay current on your invoices and avoid bad debts in your books.
Hire an agency in the debtor’s country
Collection agencies that work in the local environment are equipped with necessary knowledge to carry out the collection efforts within the purview of the law. At the same time, if you are hiring someone internationally, make sure they speak the local language.
Check their licenses
Before you hire an agency, make sure you have thoroughly checked the legitimacy of the service provider. They should have the license to operate as a debt collection agency. You can either request them for that information or check out the country’s respective trade websites. All debt collection agencies must have the license before they can operate as one. When you work with a licensed service provider, you can rest assured that your recovered money is safe. At the same time, if you are unhappy with their services, you will be able to raise your grievances with the government or trade bodies.
Act swiftly
In debt collection, time is of essence. As a matter of fact, the longer you wait, the fewer are your odds to succeed. If you are legally allowed to collect on a one-month delinquent account, do it immediately. That is why it is necessary to have a collection agency on standby.
Compare quotes
Most collection agencies take contingency fee. More often than not, these companies will only make money on the amounts that have been successfully recovered. So you can be sure that they will leave no stone unturned in getting your money back.
However, you must not hire a debt collection agency simply on the basis of the money they ask from you in return for their services. There are many factors that influence the quote provided by your service provider. Things like age of the debt, country of debtor, industry, value of debt, agency etc. will have an impact on the final billing.
Work with only those service providers who give you transparent quotes that makes it easier for you to compare. Did you know that this exercise can save you up to 50% on collection fees? So, don’t rush into the process and take your time to study those quotes carefully.
Check the agency online
You can perform an easy and quick background check online. Any debt collection agency worth its salt will have an online presence that makes it easier for their customers to do a due diligence. You can look up reviews about them, study their website to assess its legitimacy, look for contact information, office address etc. These things give you a fair idea that the agency is a legitimate entity.
Ask about service offerings
The most important thing your collector needs to offer to is a customer portal that you can access to check the status of your debt collection. It should also allow you to download reports for your evaluation and tax-filing purposes.
Keep all these tips in mind when you are looking for a debt collection agency, especially in a different country. It will help you save a lot of time and money by following the right steps.