It reminds me of when I worked in the classified advertising department of a newspaper publisher for a while. They put me in charge of collections, and I went through all $400K+ of unpaid advertising that was over 180 days past due to determine what could be collected, what should be referred out to a credit bureau, and what should be written off. I actually did a pretty bang up job.speedsix wrote:...I wouldn't doubt someone told him that to pressure him to pay up...thinking like some here...if he can afford a CHL, he can afford to pay up...I don't really blame them for telling him that...a healthy man can pick up $900 doing yard work or cleaning out garages...if he wants to...it's just gotten to be a "back-burner issue"...till it affects something we want...I got closets full of back-burner stuff!!!
Now, be aware that the delinquent customers were ALL attorneys. The company was a publisher of law journals (Los Angeles Daily Journal, San Francisco Daily Journal, California Lawyer Magazine, etc., etc.). The ads were mostly attorneys advertising their services in some form or other. They would buy a classified ad, run up a fairly small bill.....say $400-$500....and then just not pay it. The previous collections guy would just let it sit there unpaid until the next time they wanted to run an ad, then he made them pay for the old ad before he would allow the new one to run.
Me, I took all the ones that would not pay but could if they weren't moral cripples, and I sent them all out to the credit agencies. Then we wouldn't ever hear from them again until they wanted to refinance their house and they couldn't because there was a ding on their credit histories. They would call me, all kind of ticked off and just outraged that someone would be so harsh with them. My response would go something like this:
"Well sir, you ignored every attempt to collect, every letter that was sent to you. This was debt that you agreed to and signed for before we ever ran your ad. You never called and made arrangements to make payments. You just disappeared. I'm sorry, but I can't have the ding on your credit lifted until you pay the bill. No, not the original amount.....you've been charged 1.5%/month (18% per annum) interest ever since the bill went past 90 days old, and now it is 3 years old and the interest has compounded. What? You don't pay interest? With all due respect sir, that's not your decision to make. Sir, you made money off of our money for the past 3 years, and we don't allow that to happen interest free, and you agreed to our advertising terms by signature when you placed your ad. The full amount is due, and I can't lift the hold on your credit until it has been paid. You want to speak to the publisher? Sir, he's the one who personally told me how to handle these matters, but if you want try and argue with him about it, good luck. He's a Wharton MBA and his pencil is sharper than a #11 scalpel. What? You would like to pay half now, and half in 30 days, and you would like to start a new ad now? No, I can't do that, but what I can do is take your payment in full to bring your balance down to zero, and then you can make prepayments into your account's balance until you've got it up to where it will pay for new ad if you want.
"No? You can't afford that? Sir, what kind of car do you drive? A Lexus? Have you ever missed a payment on your car? No? Then I don't understand why you can't pay your $400 plus interest advertising bill. It's got to be less than a Lexus payment. No? You can't afford to both pay your debt to us and keep up your Lexus payments? Well sir, I wish I had your problems. I drive a 1981 Honda Civic. Please don't hesitate to call me back when your are ready to get that credit hold lifted so you can refinance. Have a good day sir."
I could go on. I've had dozens and dozens of conversations along those lines. I eventually got most of the debt paid down and we ended up writing off about $100K or so. The point is that we enter into covenants with one another and with society all the time. We agree to be bound by certain terms. If we cannot keep our end of the agreement, that doesn't void it. The other party has to agree to voiding it too before it can be considered void. If you default on your obligations under that agreement, that doesn't absolve you of the responsibility to hold up your end of things. You still owe. One of the reasons the economy is in the tank is because banks were forced to loan money on homes to people who could not afford to pay them back. Nobody forced those people to take those mortgages. The only people who were compelled in those transactions were the banks who were forced by Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and other financial charlatans to give out those loans. So when home buyers bought those mortgages, they basically swore on their sacred honor to repay them. Where is that honor now?
I understand that people have setbacks and get into financial trouble. That still doesn't automatically relieve them of their responsibilities to make good on their debt. If they make arrangements to pay in installments to get caught up, they are honor bound to meet that obligation.
