1. The slow-pay squeeze
Net 30 becomes 45, then 60, then "it is in the next check run." Nothing is disputed; nothing is paid. The customer is using your receivable as a free loan. Counter: a written demand with a date the first time terms are missed, and placement when the second promised date passes. The age of the debt is the biggest single factor in whether it gets collected.
2. The late dispute
Goods accepted, services used, no complaint for months. The defect, the shortage, or the quality problem appears the week the invoice goes past due. Counter: delivery and acceptance records, and a third party. Disputed balances are part of our core work, and a dispute that only surfaces after the due date rarely survives the paperwork.
3. The short-pay
The invoice is paid minus deductions for shortages, damage, allowances, or penalties, with no backup and no prior agreement. Each one is small; together they are your margin. Counter: reconcile every deduction, reject the unauthorized ones in writing, and place the balance. Our negotiators lock payment on the accounts that can pay.
4. The accounting runaround
"Send it to our bookkeeper." "That needs the owner's approval." "We never received the invoice." "Can you resend it as a PDF?" Every loop restarts their clock. Counter: stop looping. One demand, one date, then a third party that calls daily.
5. The chargeback
A card payment is reversed weeks after the work was done, with a one-line reason. The processor sides with the cardholder unless you answer with the signed order, delivery proof, and the terms. Counter: respond to the processor with that packet, and treat a reversed payment as what it is: an unpaid balance that can be placed.
6. The bounced or stopped check
The check written on the day is returned a week later, or the customer stops payment once the goods are in hand. Counter: a bounced check does not have to be a write-off. We locate the check writer, negotiate, and recover the funds.
7. The new-name trick
The company that owes you closes. The same people, at the same address, with the same customers, open under a new name and tell you the old company is gone. Counter: skip tracing and an attorney. Who the new company really is, what assets moved, and whether anyone signed personally decide whether the debt follows them, and that is exactly what our attorney network reviews.
8. The pay-when-paid pass-through
"We will pay you when our customer pays us." You never agreed to finance their receivables. Whether a pay-when-paid clause lets them hold your money depends on the wording and on state law; without a clause, it is just a stall. Counter: a demand based on your terms, not theirs, and placement.
9. The who-owes-it shell game
"That was the old LLC." "I signed as the company, not personally." "The person who ordered it was not authorized." Counter: credit applications and personal guarantees up front, and a legal review of what was actually signed when it goes bad.
10. The vanishing debtor
New phone number, new address, the email bounces. The customer is counting on you not being able to find them. Counter: skip tracing. We locate the debtor's current contact information plus any assets, bank accounts, and property they control.
What all ten have in common
They work on businesses that wait. Industry surveys put the chance of collecting a past-due account at roughly 7 in 10 after three months, about 1 in 2 after six, and a small fraction once it passes a year. Documentation up front, one firm demand, and early placement beat every play on this list. Placing an account costs nothing up front: no recovery, no fee.
Common follow-up questions
Is this fraud, or just a customer who will not pay?
Most non-payment is a civil debt, not a crime, and whether a given case crosses into fraud is a legal determination. Either way the balance is collectible, and the facts that make it look like fraud are the same facts that make a demand from an attorney effective.
Can you go after the owner personally?
Only where a personal guarantee, a personal signature, or state law allows it. Send what was signed; our attorney network reviews what it permits before any recommendation.
What if the customer already closed the business?
Place it anyway. Skip tracing finds where the people and the assets went, and a closed company that reopened under a new name is a fact pattern we see constantly. Early placement also puts you first in line if the business is actually insolvent.
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.