F.A.Q's
Q: How can you be sure you can help me?
A: We have helped so many businesses across the UK and in such varying trades, we are sure we can!
Q: What do you cost?
A: For B2C work we charge 22% and for B2B debts, over £1,000, it’s only 15%.
There IS a charge for assisting in the preparation of a Particulars of Claim, if the matter cannot be resolved by us, and you want to proceed with legal action. If the value of the action is under £10,000, it will be dealt with in the Small Claims Court. Solicitors fees are generally expensive and charged by the hour; our admin fee is a one off fee.
Q: When do I get what’s owed to me, after you’ve collected it?
A: Depending on the method of payment collected, this can range from same day to normal bank clearing procedures. In any event, we don’t hold your money for one minute longer than we have to.
Q: How will you collect the debt, when we haven’t been able to?
A: Each to his own! We have been specifically and professionally trained to recognise and anticipate most types of delinquent account situations. We know what to ask, when to ask – and how to ask. The answers we get, determine our next question. We couldn’t do your job as well as you – why would you expect to be able to do ours?
Q: What makes you better than your competition?
A: We don’t have a hidden agenda. If we ‘fail’ with our letters and telephone calls, we don’t just pass-it-over to our ‘sister’ litigation-company. Many debt-recovery companies are owned/connected with, (though separately run) by solicitor firms. If they fall at the first hurdle – no worries, they just pass-it-over to their colleagues… and the costs start to rise!
Most debt-recovery organisations are either National – and therefore have a ‘fixed-format’ procedure in place, or, they are ‘one-man-bands’ who are not specifically trained in anything! Debt recovery is no job for an amateur. Our approach is unique. We see ourselves as an extension of you – and put your best interests, first! National Companies have a ‘standard’ letter or telephone script that threatens court action if the debt remains un-paid. In our experience, threaten court action and you lose, full stop, one way or the other. In addition, letters take time and telephone calls mask truths. They ARE necessary – but they are not the ‘be all and end all’ of our work.
Q: Won’t employing you put our customers off from doing business with us again, in the future?
A: The truthful answer is this: would a good & valued customer pay promptly? Is a late paying & problematic customer the type of customer you want to keep? We are very much aware of the stigma attached to our business. For that very reason alone, we continually strive to ensure that your customers will never feel ‘threatened’ by our involvement. We build relationships. Much of our work to date has stemmed from people or businesses that we were originally employed to collect from.
Q: How big – or small – a debt are you prepared to recover?
A: If it’s important to you, it’s of interest to us.
Q: What about International Debt Collection?
A: Please contact us to discuss as our global debt collection partners have varying charges in different countries.
Q: Won’t I ruin my relationship?
A: Our professionalism can often improve a relationship. Have a read of the testimonial below and see how this was the case for one of our clients.
“I was recently booked to do 2 days of training for a company that I’d worked with previously a few years ago. Then with no prior warning the training delivery was halted with only 24 hours’ notice before the workshops were due to run! Calls and e mails to re-arrange were initially responded to but then became ignored.
“I knew Steve White of Thornbury Collections for a few years through networking and he’d been kind enough to listen to my case and suggest ideas I could use to get paid without needing to formally engage his help. Ultimately I did need to get him involved and it wasn’t until my customer received a Notice of Intent the communication re-opened.
“Steve’s approach took me from being unsure how to get payment, to being offered full payment for the cancelled training immediately PLUS 2 new dates which would be paid 7 days in advance of the training! This has meant the relationship with my customer is still intact with the prospect of us doing more business together AND on terms which work! The thing that has impressed me about Steve & his company is how quickly and efficiently their systems are followed – letters go when they are due, calls are made at the right time and their activity tracking system allows you to see what’s going on anytime you want. Fortunately not getting paid is not a frequent thing for me but if it ever happens again I’ll save myself a lot of stress and hand things over to Thornbury Collections – I expected they’d be able to recover the monies but I certainly didn’t expect further work opportunities to happen!”
– Martyn Sloman, Gold Dust Training
(Some Great Sales Tips by Martyn)
