Delays In Payment and Non-Payment
Just as the buyer follows up his orders, the seller keeps an eye on his customers' unpaid invoices.
When a customer fails to pay his debts on time, the seller sends him a reminder. If necessary, the reminder is followed by increasingly urgent collection letters (or: dunning letters).
Should the customer fail to respond to these letters, steps have to be taken to collect the account. This may be done by entrusting a collection agency or bank with the collection, or by bringing legal action against the debtor.
Collection agencies are commercial establishments specializing in the collection of bills. (Inquiry agencies usually are collection agencies at the same time.)
Collection through banks is effected, in most cases, by means of a sight draft. The creditor draws a sight draft on the debtor and hands it to his bank with instructions to pass it on to the debtor's bank for presentation for payment. Although the debtor cannot be forced to pay the sight draft, he will usually honour it if he is able to do so, as he knows that his refusal to pay will give the banker notice that he is in financial difficulties, with the result that the banker will demand repayment of outstanding loans and refuse to grant the debtor any new loans.
Reminders and Collection Letters
When an account becomes overdue, it is first assumed that it has been overlooked by the customer. Therefore the account is brought to the customer's attention by means of a copy of the invoice or statement, a printed notice, a letter, etc. These are called reminders. When sending invoice copies or statements as reminders, many firms add a rubber-stamped notation (Past due — please remit), a printed card, or a gummed label (collection sticker). The letters employed as reminders are usually form letters. Sometimes a reminder is included in an offer or sales letter sent to a customer (hidden reminder).
If the reminder does not produce any results, it is followed by two or more collection letters. In these letters various arguments and appeals are used to obtain payment or at least an explanation from the customer.
Terms and phrases
| a. Reminders | Письма напоминания |
| We wish to call your attention to our invoice of …, which is now … days overdue. | Мы бы хотели обратить Ваше внимание на наш счет от…(дата), который является теперь просроченным на … дней. |
| … which appears to have escaped your notice. | …, который Вы, видимо, не заметили. |
| Evidently our statement for the month of June has been overlooked by you. | Очевидно, наша выписка из счета за июнь была Вами пропущена. |
| May we remind you that the following invoices have not yet been paid: … | Мы хотели бы напоминать Вам, что следующие счета еще не были оплачены: … |
| In looking through our books (In going over our accounts; On going through our ledgers) we note that a balance of… is still open on your account. | При просмотре наших бухгалтерских книг (При просмотре наших счетов; При просмотре наших бухгалтерских книг) мы заметили, что остаток … на Вашем счете все еще открыт. |
| Please accept this as a friendly reminder that our invoice №. … is past due. | Пожалуйста, примите это как дружественное напоминание, что наш счет № … просрочен. |
| If your cheque is already in the mail, please accept our best thanks and disregard this letter. | Если Вы уже выслали чек, пожалуйста, примите нашу благодарность и не обращайте внимания на это письмо. |
| b. Requests for Payment | Платежные требования |
| We should appreciate an early settlement of our invoice. | Мы были бы благодарны за скорейшую оплату нашего счета. |
| We should be glad to receive your remittance within the next few days. | Мы были бы рады получить Ваш денежный перевод в течение следующих нескольких дней. |
| We must request you to let us have your payment without further delay. | Мы должны попросить Вас произвести платеж без промедления. |
| We are still without reply to our letter of … and no remittance has been received. | Мы все еще не получили ни ответа на наше письмо от … (дата) ни денежного перевода. |
| We are at a loss to understand the reason for your failure to answer our letter of … | Мы не можем понять причину отсутствия Вашего ответа на наше письмо от … (дата). |
| Although we have several times urgently requested payment of your long overdue account in the amount of …, we have not yet received a reply from you. | Хотя мы несколько раз просили Вас срочно оплатить Ваш давно просроченный счет на сумму …, мы до сих пор не получили ответа от Вас. |
| Evidently you are not interested in settling this matter amicably (out of court), since you have ignored our previous letters. | Очевидно, Вы не заинтересованы в урегулировании этого вопроса дружески (без судебного разбирательства), поскольку Вы проигнорировали наши предыдущие письма. |
| You have not accorded us the courtesy of a reply to our repeated request for payment. | Вы не были столь добры, чтобы ответить на наши повторяющиеся требования оплаты. |
| This is our final notice (final request) for payment. | Это наше последнее требование платежа. |
| We must insist on payment by … Otherwise we shall draw on you at sight for the amount due. | Мы должны настоять на произведении оплаты до…(дата). Иначе, мы привлечем Вас к штрафу равному сумме задолженности. |
| We regret to inform you we have no alternative but to hold up further shipments until your account has been balanced. | К сожалению, мы должны сообщить Вам, что у нас нет другой альтернативы, кроме как задержать дальнейшие отправки, пока Ваш счет не будет оплачен. |
| Unless payment is received by …, we shall reluctantly be compelled to take immediate steps to recover the amount due. | Если оплата не будет получена до…(дата), мы будем вынуждены предпринять срочные меры, чтобы взыскать сумму задолженности в судебном порядке. |
| … we shall have the amount collected through a collection agency. | … мы взыщем эту сумму через агентство по сбору платежей. |
| … we shall be forced to take legal steps (to recover the debt at law). | … мы будем вынуждены принять правовые меры (взыскать долг в судебном порядке). |
| Unless we receive your cheque within seven days, we shall have to place the matter in the hands of (to turn the matter over to) our solicitor (US: attorney). | Если мы не получим Ваш чек в течение семи дней, мы должны будем передать дело в руки (привлечь к вопросу) нашего юриста. |
| …we shall instruct our solicitor to institute legal proceedings (to start suit; to bring action in court; to take legal action). | … мы поручим нашему юристу начать судопроизводство (предъявить иск; предъявить обвинение; подать заявление в суд). |
| c. Debtor’s Reply- Requests for Extension | Ответ должника – просьба об отсрочке |
| We have received your letter of … and are sorry that it was necessary to remind us of the settlement of your invoice №… . | Мы получили Ваше письмо от …(дата) и сожалеем о том, что Вам пришлось нам напомнить об оплате Вашего счета №... . |
| Please accept our apologies for the delay, which is due to the fact that your invoice was misplaced. | Пожалуйста, примите наши извинения за задержку, которая произошла вследствие того, что Ваш счет был отправлен по неправильному адресу. |
| The sudden failure of a customer of ours has caused us considerable losses. | Внезапное банкротство одного из наших клиентов привело к нашим значительным потерям. |
| We have great difficulties in collecting our outstanding accounts. | Мы столкнулись с большими трудностями в сборе наших счетов, подлежащих оплате. |
| Business has been slow (slack; dull) during the past few months. | Дела шли медленно (вяло, неактивно) в течение прошлых нескольких месяцев. |
| The seasonal lull has caused us temporary financial embarrassment. | Сезонное затишье вызвало у нас временные финансовые затруднения. |
| We have every hope that we shall be able (We are confident of being able) to settle your invoice by 15th June. | У нас есть надежда на то, что мы будем в состоянии (Мы уверены в том, что будем способны) оплатить Ваш счет к 15-му июня. |
| Will you please draw a second 60day draft on us for … plus interest at … per cent. | Пожалуйста, выпишите второй 60-дневный переводный вексель на сумму … плюс проценты ... . |
| If you grant us this favour, you may rely on us to meet your draft at maturity. | Если Вы окажете нам эту услугу, Вы можете положиться на то, что мы оплатим Ваш вексель в срок. |
| We hope that you will understand the difficulty of our present situation. | Мы надеемся, что Вы поймете трудность нашей ситуации. |
| d. Granting and Refusing Extension | Предоставление отсрочки, отказ от предоставления отсрочки |
| As you have always paid your bills promptly, we are prepared to grant you the extension requested. | Поскольку Вы всегда оплачивали свои счета вовремя, мы готовы предоставить Вам требуемую отсрочку. |
| If you send us a cheque for half the amount of our invoice, we shall draw on you at 60 d/s (days’ sight) for the balance. | Если Вы пришлете нам чек на половину суммы нашего счета, то мы выпишем 60-дневный вексель на оставшуюся сумму. |
| After careful consideration of your letter of …, we agree to a prolongation of the bill by one month. | Обдумав Ваше письмо от … (дата), мы согласны на продление счета на один месяц. |
| As we shall have to meet considerable engagements shortly, we are unable to comply with your request for a renewal of the bill due on … | Поскольку мы вскоре должны будем выполнить важные обязательства, мы не можем удовлетворить Вашу просьбу о возобновлении счета, задолженного на … (дата). |
| Although we appreciate your difficulties, we cannot allow you postpone payment of this account any longer. | Хотя мы и понимаем Ваши трудности, мы не можем Вам больше позволить отложить оплату этого счета. |
| We think we have shown considerable patience and consideration, but we cannot wait any longer. | Мы думаем, что проявили значительное терпение и понимание, но ждать мы больше не можем. |
| We regret that we cannot see our way to accommodating you any further. | К сожалению, мы больше не можем идти Вам на уступки. |
Specimen letters
Hidden Reminder
Dear Sirs,
We have pleasure in sending you enclosed our price list and patterns of our new range of curtains. They are made from drip-dry cotton and come in a great variety of colours. Your customers will like them – and, as you will note, we offer them at very favourable prices. Please let us know your requirements soon.
May we take this opportunity to remind you that our invoice of the 26th January for € 211.53 is still unpaid. We shall be glad to receive your cheque for this amount within the next few days.
Yours faithfully,
Collection Letter
Dear Sirs,
We wrote you on 5th March asking for payment of the overdue balance of £ 161.38, but so far we have not received any reply from you.
If there is an error or any other reason why payment has not been made, please let us know, and we shall look into the matter at once.
Otherwise we must ask you to send us your cheque without further delay.
Yours faithfully,
Collection Letter
Dear Mr. Trent:
"How do they pay?"
That is the question we are called upon to answer many times. These inquiries come from the same sources through which we receive our information; therefore, we are obligated to answer - and answer truthfully.
When an account is past due and we know the reason, or if satisfactory arrangements have been made to take care of it, we are always glad to add an explanatory note. But - when we ourselves do not know - what can we add?
Won't you send your check promptly - please, so that in case we receive an inquiry about you tomorrow, we can report the account paid?
Very truly yours,
The P.F.Volland Co.