by Vince Williams, Bonded Adjustment Company
Hello my name is Vince Williams. I met Val and Chad of the Huckleberry Press at a West Plains Chamber of Commerce After Hours networking event. I am an Account Representative for Bonded Adjustment Company. We are a locally owned and operated Full-Service Third-Party Collection Agency that has been serving Spokane and the Pacific Northwest since 1916 in helping Businesses recover on their delinquent accounts. There are No set up FEES, No up-front charges to your business. We only get paid when we recover monies owed to you.
Our affiliate company Bonded Data Research allows Employers and Residential Mangers to run credit, criminal and verification checks.
I have been with Bonded Adjustment Company for just a short time. I am still learning the ins and outs. I have never worked in the Collection Industry and I am NOT a Lawyer giving legal advice. I am a very customer service-oriented person and like to keep my Clients informed with information that can improve their business dealings.
I would recommend that if you are going to start a business then one of the first things you should do is consult with a business attorney. I am very surprised by how many established businesses are conducting transactions without a work order or a signed receipt. Granted every business is a little different concerning their product or service offered. You need to know what you are going to sell, who is going to buy it and most importantly how are you going to record your transaction for your business? What happens when that customer doesn’t pay for your services? What are you going to do to recover monies owed for your goods or services? How many non-paying customers does it take to put you out of business?
In my time here I have already met numerous businesses conducting their transactions without the proper documentation to support the product or service sold. As a Business owner did you know that without a properly signed receipt for your work you may be giving it away for free? Work completed without a signature on the receipt has half the time available to be recovered, if it is legally recoverable at all.
EVERY business Transaction should have proper documentation to record your business transactions. You should have a printed form receipt and with the changing times an electronic form receipt for business the is conducted by email or text.
I always suggest getting a copy of their I.D. You need to know who you are talking to, is that person authorized to sign for the product or service? Customers full name, address and phone number. You need a work order, an estimate, itemized statement. This should contain the date of service, what work was done, payments made, credits, fees any other charges with a signature from the Customer authorizing the work.
Helpful information also includes place of employment, name of bank, other phone numbers, social security number and date of birth.
Why so much information you may say? “I’ve never had a problem.” “This will never happen to me.” “I feel uncomfortable asking for all this information from my customer.” If the customer does not want to fill out the information, then perhaps that is a customer that you did not really need. Conduct every transaction the same no matter how big or small the sale maybe. It is your Business, your Time, your Money.
Things happen to everyone. It is not always controllable or foreseeable. The longer you are in business the higher the possibility of having an unpaid account can happen. Having the proper signed documents with the right information that can be used in locating the customer and the recovery of your money, if the customer decides not to pay their bill is very important.
On the flip side if you owe a debt be proactive, make a call, setup payment arrangements. Be nice! It is your bad debt. We are just trying to help you get the debt resolved with your Creditor and helping you to improve your credit for future needs.
If you would like more information or to schedule a time and day for me to come by and talk about your business needs feel free to contact me. Check our web site www.bondedadjustmentco.com.
Vince Williams, [email protected], Cell: 509-216-4454, Office 509-624-5181
