COLLECTING BY MAIL 
By W. B. Parker. 
Slow and bad accounts cause the average business or pro- 
fessional man much annoyance and loss, and are often the 
direct cause of bankruptcy. It, therefore, follows that any 
method of handling this class of accounts that shows a maxi- 
mum of efficiency with a minimum of effort, friction and ex- 
pense is worthy of serious consideration. ; 
This article outlines a system that is the result of over fifteen 
years’ experience of an attorney and credit man for several large 
business houses. It is adapted to either a large or small busi- 
ness, and equally well to accounts for professional services and 
has “made good” wherever adopted. 
The basic idea is that a business man can, in most instances, 
handle his own collections to better advantage than by turning 
them over to collection agencies or others, and that it is neither 
necessary or politic to use bluffing or intimidating methods. 
It has been found that the basic elements of a successful col-' 
lection system are persistency and courtesy, not bluffs and 
threats. A severe storm, or a series of them, will have small 
effect on stone, while a constant dropping of water on the same 
spot will wear it away. 
The plan here outlined consists of five letters and a legal 
postal card follow up system, and will keep after the slow 
debtor over forty-five days at a total postal cost of not ex- 
ceeding twenty cents. The forms given for the letters are to 
be written on the letter-heads of the person or firm using them 
and the card form on ordinary government postal cards. They 
will not be nearly as effective if printed and afterwards “filled 
ain” and they are so short that it is not at all necessary to do 
so, even where several hundred accounts are involved, as only 
twenty-five minutes of a typist’s time is required on any one 
account, even if it is necessary to continue the system to the 
very last card, which will very seldom happen. 
\Vhen intending to use this system on a certain number of 
accounts, it is best to make an alphabetical list of them on a 
long sheet of paper, noting the name, address, amount and date 
of the last item, leaving about an inch of blank space after 
each account in which to note the dates of mailing the form 
letters and cards. When an account is paid or satisfactory ar- 
rangements made, it should be crossed off the list, thus leav- 
ing a correct list for the next mailing. 
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