Myths about debt recovery

Much gossip and hearsay does the rounds about our sector,debt recovery,debt collection. Aggressive staff with little if any idea at all of the predicament of the person hanging on the other end of the line or who appears in their place.Credit controllersare often thought of as cowboys, mavericks, not giving a damn about the rules. A sector led by characters such as Ebenezer Scrooge, since we are talking fiction. So, to dwell a while longer in the Yuletide afterglow of recent weeks, let us now openA Christmas Carolonce again, on the page where Scrooge is visited by a Christmas Spirit, under whose cloak cower two wretched children who glory in the names of Ignorance and Want. Charles Dickens made a point of presenting poverty with the face of children, artfully plucking the heartstrings of his otherwise hardnosed Victorian contemporaries and opening their eyes to the problems of little people with big financial problems. Apparently, that was necessary.   Credit controllers working indebt recovery companiesusually receive extensive training in their pursuit ofdebtors. In the normal way of things they will never be lacking in sympathy, walking a mile in the other man’s shoes. Regardless of the situation of (urgent) need. With endless patience and, not least, a sense of satisfaction once a file is seen through to a successful completion to the satisfaction of both parties. The individual person in this (for once true-to-life) story always takes centre stage, a decent, human approach attests as much.Ignorance is blissis not the way any self-respecting credit controller would ever do business. The eyes are opened wide through confrontation with the situations of flesh and blood private individuals. That is the way to arrive at aright solution,tailored to creditor and debtorin equal measure. No useful purpose could ever be served by insisting on an arrangement that simply cannot be honoured. Both parties then stand to gain nothing, they simply lose precious time.   That said, the critic may well often see that ignorance will serve his purpose. Populist flak onthis articlemay well count on resonance:“there’s nothing they can do to you, they just want to scare you into paying, only a bailiff can demand anything. Don’t open the door to any debt recovery agent and don’t sign anything, whatever you do.”Or:“debt recovery companies have no legal authority, they cannot make any demand”. The purpose of adebt recovery companyis somehow to bring both sides to anamicable settlement; so, admittedly, it has no legal force during that amicable phase. Nor, for that matter, does abailiffhave, once he accepts an amicable assignment. The point of the exercise, therefore, is to contain the costs for creditor and debtor alike and to do what needs to be done so that the file is not presented for settlement by a court of law. Seen thus, thedebt recovery companymay be regarded as the last chance saloon where further debts/costs may skilfully be avoided. So, it is best for all concerned to pull together and find a feasible, realistic solution for both sides.   To be honest, we are in the business to make money, let us not deny it. The same applies for any other business. So, why should as much not also be the case for thedebt recovery sector? Is it not rather hasty to suspect that an entire sector works in dark and devious ways just so because 1 player is sent off the field? The article says that approveddebt recovery companiesmust be registered with FPS Economy. Then there is also theABR-BVI, the official coordinating body for debt recovery companies in Belgium that ensures that its members comply with the relevantlegal rulesand honour theprofessional ethics. We would therefore advise anyone harbouring doubts regarding the recovery operations with which he/she may be confronted, as first control, to check whether the agency in question is in fact a member of the supervisory coordinating body. In the general way of things, not responding to a payment order is usually never a good idea.  TCM Belgiumis affiliated to the controlling professional association ABR-BVI. If you have any questions you may call us at any time on 016 72 54 00 or e-mail us atinfo@tcm.be.

Les mythes du recouvrement de créances

Much gossip and hearsay does the rounds about our sector,debt recovery,debt collection. Aggressive staff with little if any idea at all of the predicament of the person hanging on the other end of the line or who appears in their place.Credit controllersare often thought of as cowboys, mavericks, not giving a damn about the rules. A sector led by characters such as Ebenezer Scrooge, since we are talking fiction. So, to dwell a while longer in the Yuletide afterglow of recent weeks, let us now openA Christmas Carolonce again, on the page where Scrooge is visited by a Christmas Spirit, under whose cloak cower two wretched children who glory in the names of Ignorance and Want. Charles Dickens made a point of presenting poverty with the face of children, artfully plucking the heartstrings of his otherwise hardnosed Victorian contemporaries and opening their eyes to the problems of little people with big financial problems. Apparently, that was necessary.   Credit controllers working indebt recovery companiesusually receive extensive training in their pursuit ofdebtors. In the normal way of things they will never be lacking in sympathy, walking a mile in the other man’s shoes. Regardless of the situation of (urgent) need. With endless patience and, not least, a sense of satisfaction once a file is seen through to a successful completion to the satisfaction of both parties. The individual person in this (for once true-to-life) story always takes centre stage, a decent, human approach attests as much.Ignorance is blissis not the way any self-respecting credit controller would ever do business. The eyes are opened wide through confrontation with the situations of flesh and blood private individuals. That is the way to arrive at aright solution,tailored to creditor and debtorin equal measure. No useful purpose could ever be served by insisting on an arrangement that simply cannot be honoured. Both parties then stand to gain nothing, they simply lose precious time.   That said, the critic may well often see that ignorance will serve his purpose. Populist flak onthis articlemay well count on resonance:“there’s nothing they can do to you, they just want to scare you into paying, only a bailiff can demand anything. Don’t open the door to any debt recovery agent and don’t sign anything, whatever you do.”Or:“debt recovery companies have no legal authority, they cannot make any demand”. The purpose of adebt recovery companyis somehow to bring both sides to anamicable settlement; so, admittedly, it has no legal force during that amicable phase. Nor, for that matter, does abailiffhave, once he accepts an amicable assignment. The point of the exercise, therefore, is to contain the costs for creditor and debtor alike and to do what needs to be done so that the file is not presented for settlement by a court of law. Seen thus, thedebt recovery companymay be regarded as the last chance saloon where further debts/costs may skilfully be avoided. So, it is best for all concerned to pull together and find a feasible, realistic solution for both sides.   To be honest, we are in the business to make money, let us not deny it. The same applies for any other business. So, why should as much not also be the case for thedebt recovery sector? Is it not rather hasty to suspect that an entire sector works in dark and devious ways just so because 1 player is sent off the field? The article says that approveddebt recovery companiesmust be registered with FPS Economy. Then there is also theABR-BVI, the official coordinating body for debt recovery companies in Belgium that ensures that its members comply with the relevantlegal rulesand honour theprofessional ethics. We would therefore advise anyone harbouring doubts regarding the recovery operations with which he/she may be confronted, as first control, to check whether the agency in question is in fact a member of the supervisory coordinating body. In the general way of things, not responding to a payment order is usually never a good idea.  TCM Belgiumis affiliated to the controlling professional association ABR-BVI. If you have any questions you may call us at any time on 016 72 54 00 or e-mail us atinfo@tcm.be.