Every online entrepreneur has to deal with unpaid bills sooner or later. Since the end of 2014, new legal regulations have been in place that have changed the process of "collecting money". We will inform you about the possibilities to get your money and inform you about the legal framework!
How online shop operators get their money
Operator of online shops do not have it easy. Many customers use goods or services and simply do not pay the bills afterwards. Seemingly small amounts of money can accumulate into large sums over time, which is why the collection of outstanding debts makes absolute sense. Generally, customers do not need to be warned off. There is a misconception among many people that customers need to be warned three times. From a legal point of view, it is only important whether the customer is in default. If so, a reminder can be sent, a court order for payment can be applied for or a collection agency can be contacted. A customer is in default if the debt has not been paid despite the due date. Collection agencies and reminders are means of extrajudicial collection of outstanding debts. If this does not work, the second step is a judicial dunning procedure. Subsequently, a legal action and enforcement procedure can be carried out. Companies do not like to sue their customers - especially if there has been a long business relationship and further orders are expected in the future. Therefore, most people try to collect their claims out of court in order to maintain any business relations.
Principles of debt recovery
In general, the operators of online shops have three options to react to defaulting debtors. Either nothing can be done at all or a reminder can be issued. The third option is to commission a professional debt collection company. Doing nothing is not a good option for online shops. Those who do not collect outstanding debts can be threatened with insolvency. Those who dunn themselves can benefit from various advantages. After all, you know your customers better than an external service provider and can respond to their individual situation. On the other hand, external service providers convince through their objective and tough approach. As the owner of the receivables, you are in the clear. After all, the "dirty work" is done by someone else. Online shops should make sure to send reminders only after the cancellation period has expired - otherwise the customer could simply cancel. Before sending a reminder, you should first have recourse to a kindly formulated payment reminder. All reminders should be provided with a well thought-out, friendly formulation. Many customers have in fact simply forgotten to pay. However, the second or third reminder may well strike a harsher note.
What information must a reminder letter contain?
A reminder must be associated with different Data be provided. This includes the following information:
- Correct customer data
- Description of goods or services
- delivery advice
- Open invoice amount
- Invoice number and invoice date
- demand for payment with period of grace
- offer of consultation
- Threat of further steps (e.g. Schufa entry, debt collection company etc.)
- Address of own company
An effective dunning system is not guaranteed for small companies. Often the legal knowledge, the right software or simply the time is missing. If you cannot create reminders professionally, you should pass the receivables on to a debt collection company right from the start. When selecting the appropriate collection company, an institution should be chosen that reacts cautiously and seriously. However, if it is a one-off customer, a more aggressive tone of voice can be adopted. Debt collection companies that are members of the Federal Association of German Debt Collection Agencies are to be classified as serious. They are subject to voluntary commitments and must adhere to certain standards. The commissioning of a serious debt collection company is advantageous in many ways. Dubious debt collection companies damage the reputation of online shops. In addition, the debtor may not have to pay money if the legal regulations are not complied with.
Recommended procedures
Many customers are basically willing to pay the outstanding receivables, but cannot do so abruptly for financial reasons. Operators of online shops cannot understand this behaviour: Who orders goods and services even though they have no money? A wise approach is to offer payment by instalments and partial payments. In this way, customers can be permanently bound and seemingly lost money can be recovered.
By the way: Reminders can be sent by telephone, E-mail or letter. A legal form is not prescribed. Who wants to be on the safe side should send a letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
After all, the access of e-mails can hardly be proven. The same applies to telephone calls, although these are an excellent way of making the debtor aware of the urgency of the claims in a personal conversation. In November 2014, the legal regulations governing dunning procedures were changed: These can be found in the GguG (Law against Dubious Business Practices). The law prescribes a number of procedures and information which must be observed by debt collection companies and lawyers. In case of doubt, operators of online shops should play it safe and commission an external service provider through whom claims can be collected in a serious and professional manner. Without the right strategy in terms of debt collection, dunning & Co., online shops can run into serious problems.
A suitable strategy should be considered when establishing the online shop. Payment problems of customers are guaranteed to occur over time. If you have made provisions for such a case, you can get the finished payment reminders, reminders or contacts rolling and save time. Time is very rare in well-functioning online shops.
