HOW TO BEAT THE POSTAL STRIKES

Each day on average, over £2million of post is sent by small and medium sized businesses; and the strikes could cause cash flow problems or even the failure of a business if payments or invoices are delayed by even just a few days.

Over £2million of post is sent each day by businesses

In a study by the Federation of Small Businesses, results showed that 59% of businesses use the postal service to pay bills, and over half send 75% - 100 % of bills and invoices through the post. It is believed this is similarly true of larger corporate firms and utilities.

So from a debt collection perspective how can you beat postal strikes? The answer is simple encourage electronic transactions and processes that do not rely on post. For example you could offer incentives for BACS payments. Utilities do this when encouraging payments via direct debits. Remember cash flow isn’t just about the value of your invoices but more importantly the frequency of your payments. So it shouldn’t cause your business much damage if you promote BACS payments by offering discounts on the value of the invoice for example 2%. Encourage your credit controllers to take payments over the telephone with credit or debit cards. Ensure that your credit control letters offer flexible payment options including the ability to pay for invoices with cash at the bank. This is very useful for customers that do not have credit/debit cards or indeed access to a computer to make online payments.

Clients should be encouraged to make payments over the telephone or by BACS

More and more businesses are switching onto the on-line revolution. Indeed some car hire firms are entirely reliant on online payments. But there are security cynics that will insist on handing their card details over the telephone. So if you choose to offer online payments then make sure you back it up with human resource. Depending on your customer base and nature of business you may even find that debtors only have cash. So as above give them the opportunity to pay at a bank.

But what about sending invoices to customers, letters of claim and resolving disputes. As above encourage a paperless system by issuing invoices via e-mail or setting up online customer zones. Indeed part of Master Collections query management involves the Legal Manager signing off all letters with his e-mail address. As a result some queries are sent direct to him via e-mail and resolved without the need to post a letter.

With regard to issuing letters of claim prior to court action the Civil Procedure Rules indicate that e-mail service can only be relied upon if the debtor accepts such service. Usually this can be inferred if the debtor responds. Do not confuse this with the issue of claims online. All this does is allow you to forward court papers online. The court still serves the papers via post.

The general rule with service of court documents other than by post or personal service, i.e. fax and e-mail is that it is only permitted if the Defendant has given express consent in writing to such service. On balance if your claim is urgent and subject to the value of the same it is advised that you arrange for the court papers to be issued via personal service.

For more information on how to combat the threat of postal strikes contact Carlo Pegna on 01992 890391. Better still why not take advantage of this months special offer of a free no obligation consultancy session with the Institute of Credit Management 2007 Professional of the Year if you join Master Club in October. Click here for a Master Club order form.

To subscribe to our monthly emails, please click here.

© 2007 Master Collections Ltd