If you are not getting your money when it is due, ask for it.

I mean call for it, don’t just put a statement in the mail or have your student or bookkeeper call, call for it in person. If this is not possible and you must telephone, do not open the conversation with chit-chat about the weather and as an afterthought say, “I hope you don’t mind, but do you think you can tell your bookkeeper, if it isn’t too much trouble and she finds the time, to look up my account and maybe, send me a check?” Sounds wimpy? It sure is. But, that is how most first-time entrepreneurs act when dealing with large firms. Such companies will sometimes take advantage of new, smallish suppliers. ...

Experian, a global information services company, Tuesday announced the results of its monthly Business Benchmark Report. Findings from the July report show that the national average number of days that businesses paid their bills beyond contracted terms increased by 2% in July compared with June.

When compared with six months ago, the average payment beyond contracted terms has increased by 3. 3%. The July report also showed that the national average dollars delinquent and dollars severely delinquent (91 or more days) are up (6% and 13%, respectively) when compared with six months ago. ...

The banking industry’s loan losses could stay elevated for years, recent federal data suggests, even after appearing to peak in late 2009.

Banks’ chargeoffs narrowed for the second quarter in a row in the April-June period, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Federal Reserve. That bolsters a view among many analysts and investors that losses may have stopped rising permanently in the fourth quarter.

But no one is celebrating that positive development just yet. ...

A Missouri creditor is being sued for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act after one of its collectors refused to contact a debtor’s attorney.

The debtor, Sarah Darnell, filed suit against Client Services Inc. on Aug. 27 in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division.

Darnell states she started receiving calls from one of Client Services’s agents in regard to an alleged debt owed to Sears in April. ...

Q: We loaned a startup corporation $25,000 in the form of a promissory note two years ago. It has not been able to repay the business loan and it does not look as though it has the potential to do so.

The note could have been converted to stock upon repayment at a reduced price, so in essence, it is just a loan that for now they are carrying as a debt owed by them to us.

There are no funds to pursue in this company, so litigation is not really an option. How can I write off the loss in my personal taxes? They are willing to provide any paperwork or forms needed — but we don’t know what they are. ...

A firm called The debt collectors Ltd has taken its name a bit too literally, notching up a collection of 14 county court judgements coming to more than £17,000.

This lot promised: “The most professional way to have your business or personal debts collected. ”

Cris Osborne paid them £500 to get £2,700 owed to his vehicle repair business in St Austell, Cornwall. ...

Defaults on U. S. credit cards touched a 15-month low while late payments improved further last month, according to the latest Credit Card Index results from Fitch Ratings. The results were broadly driven with all of the major card issuers exhibiting month-over-month improvements.

“The trends are encouraging, but card defaults are still elevated historically and are expected to remain so,” said Managing Director Michael Dean. ...

Minnesotans struggling with debt have their bank accounts and pay seized with no judicial oversight.

After two weeks without a decent meal, Van Tran looked tired and agitated as he walked into the Ramsey County courtroom for a hearing in May.

Tran, 55, a janitor and security guard from St. Paul, had waited for this chance to explain why a collections firm made a serious mistake when it seized $8,016 from his bank accounts — three years worth of savings — to collect an alleged Discover credit card debt. Tran held a police report showing he was a victim of identity theft. ...

When the phone rang a few weeks ago at the McColl household in Carpentersville, the family got an unwelcome surprise: a debt collector on the other end of the line.
“They’re like, ‘OK, you owe this money, we’ll sell it for this (amount),’ not even making sure it was even our debt,” Tom McColl recalled.
The debt collector said there was an outstanding $1,400 balance on an 11-year-old credit card account in Mrs. McColl’s maiden name. But the couple was certain the account never existed. ...

To increase your odds of getting paid, act quickly. Maintaining a credit policy can help you avoid getting into the situation, experts say.

The warning signs of a customer’s cash-flow woes are easy to detect. Reduced orders, slowing payments, a change in phone number or business name, and a reluctance to get on the phone are all signs that trouble is brewing. Requests for duplicate invoice documentation or claims that “the check is in the mail” are also obvious stalling techniques. ...