Who owes manufacturers money
Distributors and dealers who took the product and stopped paying. Retailers whose chargeback programs turn every invoice into a negotiation. Contract customers who walked away from a custom run after you bought the material and booked the machine time. Customers overseas who assume you will not follow them.
How manufacturers and wholesalers get stiffed
- The short-pay. The customer pays the invoice minus deductions for alleged shortages, damage, promotional allowances, or compliance penalties, often with no backup and no prior agreement. Each one is small. Across a year they are a margin.
- The late quality dispute. The goods were received, used, or resold without complaint. The defect is discovered the week the invoice goes past due.
- The pay-when-paid pass-through. "We will pay you when our customer pays us." You never agreed to finance their receivables, but you are.
- The unauthorized PO. The order came from someone at the customer who, it turns out, was not authorized to place it. The goods were still delivered and still used.
- The distributor that goes dark. Inventory moves, calls stop, and the next thing you see is a new company name at the same address with the same people.
- The cancelled custom order. Tooling bought, material cut, run started, order cancelled. The contract says who eats that; the customer hopes you will not read it.
Warning signs
- Deductions grow in size and frequency without backup.
- Orders continue while the past-due balance climbs.
- Requests to ship to a different entity or a new location.
- Credit references stop returning calls.
What to do before you place the account
Assemble the purchase orders, order acknowledgments, invoices, packing lists, proof of delivery, the customer's credit application and any personal guarantee, the contract or terms and conditions, and the correspondence on each deduction or dispute. Reconcile the account so every credit you did authorize is applied and every deduction you did not is listed. Send a final written demand. Stop shipping. Place it.
How we collect for manufacturers
We investigate the debtor company, understand how its business runs, and apply pressure on every front until the matter is resolved. Customers who paid part of the invoice and disputed the rest are a specialty: our negotiators resolve contested claims and lock payment on the accounts that can pay. Distributors and dealers who took the product and stopped paying are pursued without you burning the channel yourself.
If the customer has gone quiet, skip tracing finds them and the assets. If direct collection stalls, the account goes to an attorney in or near the debtor's area. Where a personal guarantee exists, the attorney reviews what it allows. Early placement matters here more than in most industries: it puts you first in line if a distributor ever becomes insolvent. Customers overseas go through our international recovery network under local law.
Common follow-up questions
What if they short-paid or dispute the order?
Disputed balances are part of our core work. Our negotiators resolve disputed and contested claims without the cost of private mediation, and lock payment on the accounts that can pay.
The customer closed and reopened under a new name. Is the debt gone?
Not necessarily. Our skip tracers and attorney network look at who the new company really is, what assets moved, and whether anyone signed personally. Whether the new entity can be held responsible depends on the facts and on state law, which is exactly what Phase 2 reviews.
Will placing the account cost me the customer?
You choose which accounts we place and which we leave alone, and we collect firmly, professionally, and by the book. Most of our clients keep the customer once the balance is resolved.
Talk to us
Tell us about the accounts and we put together a free assessment, usually within one business day. Request a free consultation, contact us, or call 321-710-3530. Ready now? Place a claim and we go to work today. No recovery, no fee.