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Replying to requests for more time

There are three possible ways in which you might reply to a request from a customer for more time to settle his account: you may agree to his request, or refuse it, or suggest a compromise.

If you agree to the request, a short letter is all that is needed.

Thank you for your letter concerning the outstanding balance on your account. I sympathize with the problem you have had in clearing the balance and am willing to extend the credit for another six weeks. Would you please confirm that the credit will be settled then?

I was sorry to hear about the difficulties you have been experiencing in getting components to complete orders from other suppliers, and realize that without sales it is difficult to settle outstanding accounts. Therefore your account has been extended another month, but I will have to insist on payment by the end of July.

If you refuse the request, you will need to explain, politely, why you are refusing.

Thank you for your letter explaining why you cannot clear your January statement for £2,167.54.1 certainly appreciate your difficulty but we ourselves have to pay our own suppliers and therefore must insist on payment within the next ten days. We look forward to receiving your remittance.

With reference to your letter of 6 August in which you explained why the outstanding invoice, No. YR88190C, has not been cleared, we understand the problems you have been facing in the current recession. However, it was in consideration of the present economic climate that we allowed you a two-month period to settle, and while we would like to offer you more time to clear the balance, our own financial position makes this impossible. Therefore we must ask you to settle the account within the next fortnight.

An offer of a compromise (e.g. part payment) will also need an explanation.

Thank you for writing and letting us know why the May account is still outstanding. Unfortunately, we cannot extend the credit any longer as we allowed considerable discounts in lieu of a prompt payment. Nevertheless, in view of the difficulties you have been having with your two major customers in clearing their accounts, we are prepared to compromise and suggest that you clear half the outstanding balance immediately by sending a cheque for £4,871.71 and clear the remainder by the end of next month. We look forward to your remittance and confirmation that the balance of the account will be cleared in July.

I regret to hear about the strike which has held up production in your plant for the past few weeks and can understand why you need more time to clear your account with us. Nevertheless, when we allowed open account terms, we emphasized this was only on the condition that balances were cleared promptly on due dates as credit facilities put a strain on our own cash flow situation. Because of this we cannot extend the credit by another two months. However, because of your previous custom with us we are quite willing to allow you to clear half the balance, viz. £5,189 by sending us a sight draft, see enclosed B/E No. 898101, and clear the outstanding amount by accepting the enclosed draftB/ENo. 898108, drawn at 30 days. We look forward to receiving your acceptance and confirmation.



 

6.5

Requests for payment

 

6.5.1

First request

You should never immediately assume your customer has no intention of paying his account if the balance is overdue. There may be a number of reasons for this. He may not have received your statement. He may have sent a cheque which has been lost. He might have just overlooked the account. Therefore a first request is in the form of a polite enquiry. One of the ways of doing this is to make the letter as impersonal as possible. This can be done by using the definite article, e.g. this outstanding balance, instead of your outstanding balance. Use the passive voice, e.g. fo be cleared, instead of which you must clear; and modifying imperatives, e.g. should, instead of must. The first example will give you an idea of this style.

We are writing concerning the outstanding October account for £3,171.63, a copy of which is enclosed and which should have been cleared last month. Please let us know why the balance has not been paid.

With reference to your invoice, No. 8145316, for£1,710(seeattached copy) which we expected to be cleared three weeks ago, we still have not yet received your remittance. Would you please either let us ha ve your cheque, or an explanation of why the invoice is still outstanding?

We think you may have overlooked invoice No. 5A 1910 for £351.95 (see copy) which was due last month. Please could you let us have your cheque to clear the amount? If, however, you have a/ready sent a remittance, then please disregard this letter.

 

6.5.2

Second requests

If a customer intends to pay, he usually answers a first request immediately, offering an apology for having overlooked the account, or an explanation. But if he acknowledges your request but still does not pay, or does not answer your letter at all, then you can make a second request. As with first requests, you should include copies of the relevant invoices and statements, and mention your previous letter. This will save time. You should also refer to previous correspondence.

We wrote to you on 3 March concerning our January statement which is still outstanding. Enclosed you will find a copy of the statement and our letter.

This is the second letter I have sent you with regard to your March account which has not been cleared. My first letter dated 21 April; asked why the account had not been paid, and you will see from the enclosed that...

State that you have not received payment if this was promised in the reply, or that no reply has been received.

Since I wrote I have not received either a reply or remittance from you.

I would like to know why you have neither replied nor sent a cheque to clear the outstanding balance.

In your reply to my letter of 21 April you promised that the account would be cleared by the end of May, yet I have not received your remittance or an explanation.

Insist that you receive payment or an answer within a certain time.

We must now insist that you clear this account within the next seven days, or at least offer an explanation for not paying it.

As we have traded for some time, we have not pressed for payment. However, we must now insist that either you settle the account or offer a reasonable explanation for not doing so.

I would like your remittance by return of post, or failing that, your reasons for not clearing this account.

 

6.5.3


Date: 2016-01-03; view: 914


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