Commercial debt collection agency of choice

Commercial debt collection agency of choice

We don’t want to brag, but Direct Route offers the most comprehensive commercial debt recovery services around. 

And our customers think so too! 

Working with various businesses and various business debts, we help you reclaim your commercial costs quickly and effectively. 

With many years of combined experience between all of our debt collectors, we have helped many businesses and business owners recover outstanding debts of any volume and any value. 

We understand that businesses are often faced with the ongoing challenge of late payment. 

If you’ve exhausted all of your standard credit management processes and still not got the results you want, or if you’re struggling to recover overdue debts, make sure to contact our team today. 

Late payments and commercial debts 

Not getting paid promptly or even not at all can have a serious negative impact on your business. 

Getting paid is essential to any business’s survival.  Ultimately you have provided the goods or services and should therefore be paid for your role in the transaction. 

Trust us. You can only continue to operate for so long without invoices being paid. 

If you’re looking to recover unpaid invoices, claim interest on the late repayment of commercial debts, then our recovery services are here to meet your needs. 

Helping to recover the full cost of your unpaid invoices, we can also help recover your claim for interest and any additional internal or external costs the late payment has incurred. 

Fill in our contact account form today and let us take care of the rest. 

What we do 

We carry out corporate debt recovery, effectively recovering commercial monies owed. 

Most businesses use a specialist business debt collection agency: 

  • When invoices are being ignored. 
  • The commercial debtor in question is simply refusing to pay and has excuse after excuse lined up every time your team calls to request payment.  
  • If you find out that the debtor has moved and is no longer operating from the trading address. 

Whatever situation you find your invoicing department in, our team is experienced and trained to handle it all. 

What’s more, outsourcing your commercial debt is cost-effective as you no longer spend time and money chasing bad payers. 

Working with Direct Route, we ensure competitive fees, which can be added as late payment charges (as well as interest) to help you recoup the costs., 

To discuss your business debt recovery requirements, contact us 0330 229 1991

Commercial debt recovery 

We’re dedicated to providing cost-effective, successful commercial debt recovery services throughout the UK. 

Whether you’re owed money from a sole trader, an SME, or a large multinational corporation, we’re here to help. 

We have built our services for businesses looking to outsource several of their debts; operating as an extension to your existing teams, we work with you on agreed Service Level Agreements, procedures, and processes. 

We put our specialist skills to the test, so your balance sheet continues to look healthy. 

Whether you need us for a one-off debt collection service or require ongoing support with invoice collections, speak to a member of our friendly team today. 

Benefits of using commercial debt collectors 

  • Able to collect from a wide range of commercial companies. 
  • Have specialist knowledge surrounding the world of B2B. 
  • Commercial collectors help to remove the burden and the stress of recovering outstanding invoices and chasing late payments, so you and your team can focus on the job at hand. 
  • You can achieve a tailored debt collection activity. 
  • A good debt collection agency will work hard to maintain customer relationships as well as work harder to recover those outstanding debts. 
  • You can have constant visibility on all accounts and payments received to date.  Providing you with clear and updated debtor data. 
  • You can escalate recovery much faster and have a much higher chance at success when using a professional commercial collection agency. 

Fees 

At Direct Route, we work on two distinct fee solutions. 

  1. Zero commission commercial debt recovery.  This is one of the most preferred options for B2B customers because late payment charges and interest can be added to the original debt and be used to cover our recovery costs. This means you get 100% of your debt back paid in full, and there is zero additional cost to you, the client, in working with Direct Route for recovery. 
  2. 10% commission on recovery.  In this instance, no late payment charges or accrued interest is charged to the debtor, and instead, we charge our client a 10% commission when we have successfully recovered the debt. 

Your questions answered 

You have a statutory right to be paid within 30 days of delivery of a product or service.  If you do not get paid, you are legally entitled to instruct a third party to assist in recovering the debt. 

You can collect unpaid invoices as soon as the agreed credit period is over. 

You’re not legally obliged to inform your debtor that you are engaging Direct Route’s services.  However, you may find that informing them encourages them to pay a little faster. 

There is often no additional expense to you when using a debt collection agency as most agencies will claim their costs from the debtor through the late payment charges directive. 

If you’ve sent emails, made phone calls, wrote letters, and to still no avail, maybe now is the time to instruct us to help you collect. 

As one of the best commercial collection agencies around, we specialise in unpaid B2B invoices.  We know how businesses work, and we know how businesses in financial difficulties operate. 

That’s why we take care of the entire process; with a high success rate, all we need from you is the account referral and the overdue invoices. 

Why choose Direct Route as your collection agency? 

We know that commercial debt recovery is not everyone’s area of expertise. 

We also understand that for most businesses, chasing outstanding payments is frustrating and time-consuming and affects your bottom line. 

That’s why we work effectively and efficiently, offering you robust collection processes tailored to your needs. 

With dedicated account managers, competitive pricing structures, extensive knowledge and advice provided, and a commitment to work as an extended arm to your finance team, we bring professionalism to commercial debt recovery.   

We help to maintain relationships with your clients and establish leaner work processes and payment systems. 

We’re also open, upfront, and honest.  There are no hidden costs with Direct Route.  Our payment structure and fees will always be made clear before any work is undertaken, providing you with regular communication and updates on all work. 

Bringing a sense of authority to proceedings, we use our expertise and fail-safe collection methods to achieve high success rates across all our collections. 

Find out how we can add value to your business.

Who we work with? 

We work with B2B businesses of all shapes and sizes, delivering customised corporate debt recovery services to a range of B2B organisations.  For example, 

  • Banks 
  • Accountancy firms 
  • Department stores 
  • Manufacturers 
  • Trade Suppliers 
  • Printing  Companies 
  • Building Merchants 
  • Plant/Access Hire 
  • Wholesalers 
  • And so much more! 

Tailoring our debt collection services, our teams work closely with you to deliver what you need. 

We’re here to meet your requirements. 

Commercial debt recovery services checklist 

If you are thinking about outsourcing your outstanding commercial debts to a commercial collection agency, you first need to consider these checklist questions: 

  • Have you supplied the goods/services to the debtor? 
  • Your debtor has bought these goods/services for business purposes. 
  • You do not have a Consumer Credit Agreement between you. 
  • Your commercial contract does not contain a provision for interest. 
  • The invoice is beyond terms and is now overdue  

If your unpaid invoices meet all of these criteria, our specialist collection agents can get to work recovering your debts. 

We follow stringent commercial debt collection regulations under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which regulates all UK debt collectors.  And we’re also part of the Credit Services Association, the awarding body for the debt collection sector. 

 

Frequently asked question

Question #1:

What is commercial debt collection?

Answer:

Also known as business to business (B2B) debt collection, commercial debt collection is a financially viable solution provided by professional agencies to support businesses recovering and collecting unpaid invoices and outstanding debts.

Commercial debt is any amount of outstanding money (debt) owed to a business by another commercial business.

Commercial debt is not uncommon and is often used to finance initial and ongoing business expenses, material purchases, improvements, and more.

Commercial debt collection includes working with small to large scale businesses, across a wide variety of sectors, with a third party carrying out such services on behalf of the business.

Question #2

How does commercial debt recovery work?

Answer:

When invoices become overdue (past their due date), and attempts at collecting them in-house have failed, it is not uncommon for businesses to outsource to a third-party professional collection agency.

In these instances, the debt collection agency has the right to collect on your behalf. (Note: You must agree on fees and terms before entering into any recovery solution.)

Once the debt has been outsourced, debt collection agencies will use tried and tested methods and strategies to collect, contacting the debtor via phone or email.

Check out how Direct Route works to ensure successful collections for our clients.

Question #3

When should we use commercial debt collectors?

Answer:

Ideally, as soon as an invoice becomes overdue, you should look to instruct a professional collection agency, providing you with a greater chance of successful collection.

Commercial debt collectors should be used when reminders for unpaid invoices have been ignored, no contact with the debtor can be made, you keep getting excuses, the customer is disputing the invoice, the invoice is considerably overdue, all in-house efforts have failed, you simply don’t have the time, resources or experience to collect in-house.

Note: Businesses can charge late payment fees and interest on all outstanding commercial debts.

Question #4

What does a commercial debt collector do?

Answer:

All professional agencies will take a diligent approach when collecting commercial debt, following a robust, well-thought-out collection strategy tailored to different situations and all eventualities.

A commercial debt collector sends letters, makes phone calls, keeps and maintains vital up-to-date records and accounts of all communications, abides by industry regulations/standards, sends emails, and, in some instances, makes use of SMS text messaging.

The aim is to engage the debtor to secure successful payment and collection.

On some occasions, debt collectors may visit debtors to determine if enforcement action is required for potentially more evasive debtors.

Question #5

How much does commercial debt collection agency service cost?

Answer:

Depending on the debt recovery service you require, the volume of debts outsourced, value, location of the debtor, and age of the debt, will all impact the cost, and success rate.

Most agencies are transparent with their service charges, operating on a fee upon successful collection.

Direct Route, for example, operates on a zero-cost commission basis.

Pre-agreed commission rates are vital when entering any negotiations.

Remember, most often, the cheapest solution isn’t always the best solution.