Unlocking Old Ledgers

Even debts that our clients have written off, and we often succeed in making a satisfactory recovery. How?

Well, there is some magic behind what we do but it isn’t difficult magic to understand. There are three things that we do, that our clients usually do not.

First; we are skilled at skip-tracing. This is looking for where people have gone. Often, when people fail to pay a debt to you, they have also failed to pay many others as well. They then go to ground, drop off social media, and keep a low profile.

The problem is, it is hard to get completely ‘off the grid’. Even the most low-profile individual will leave bread-crumbs if you now where to look, and at Tempest we have spent years knowing where to look. We don’t have access to any secret records, but we do have experienced investigators who know what rocks to look under.

Often, finding the person is all it takes. Once we get the debtor on the phone a resolution comes quickly.

Second, it is all about that phone call. Calling a person who owes you money is not easy. They would rather you didn’t call and, let’s be honest, most of us do not like making that call. Sometimes it is easier to write the debt off than endure the unpleasantness of having a difficult conversation.

But, with practice, these get easier. We understand, and we are very good, at making the debtor feel at ease, in letting them know we are not interested in going over the past, but in working out a solution. We also invest heavily in training. Our staff learn what works, and what will cause the debtor to dis-engage.

Every call with a debtor is a sales call; either they will make a sale and get off the phone without making a commitment to pay, or we will make the sale and get a result. This is a skill. It takes time to develop. These soft skills are valuable.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, we bring a credibility to the process.

If the debtor fails to engage, we can escalate through litigation. This knowledge gives our collectors the confidence to push for a resolution, to not take ‘no’ for an answer, and to refer the debtor our legal team for enforcement if no progress is made.

Gravity works with a number of clients, from the very large to small contractors. If you would like to talk to us about unlocking some of the value in your old ledgers, give us a call. on 0800 GRAVITY or email us at [email protected].