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29 March 2024

Collectors don’t be the reason a customer is terminated…

Theda Muller

Published

Collectors, before you step into an employee’s place of employment, or direct demanding emails to the CEO and/or their Head of Human Capital of their organization or company, due to their delinquency, then understand that somewhere along the line, there is a valid reason why most debtors are unable to pay their EMI’s (Equated Monthly Installments).

How many times have I said to stop painting all debtors with the same brush? So, let me correct your very limited experience about human life and the obstacles they face, at inopportune moments, when they least expect, situations that are most times not self-inflicted, but just realizing that it simply presented itself in their reality, where it is out of their control. Not every individual is able to ‘save for a rainy day’, or ‘accumulate emergency funds’, because these days life in general is tough for most people, regardless of where they are in the world, it’s realism, get accustomed to it as soon as you can.

When your vocation requires you to deal with people daily, then try to treat them like humans, even if it’s a very hard task for you. Somewhere deep inside of you there must be some form of humanity that resonates with you. However, if you really find it very hard to do, then simply put yourself in someone else’s shoes, who was terminated from their employment at short notice, who has no emergency funds, has all kinds of family commitments and has no money to pay their EMI’s, until they can secure a new job.

Many of you have demanded that the customer borrow money from friends and family, please understand that this capability is not open to everyone, where sometimes they won’t cross that line when they know that it is virtually impossible to repay the money in the following month, with zero income. It’s pointless making one hole to cover another, as it will come back and has more negative repercussions, which they don’t need, not at this stage.

So, when you act snidely, obnoxious, demanding, abrupt and think you are smart trying to prove a point to the customer with the entitlement that you are in a position of strength, taking great pleasure in wielding your power, then take a step backwards and ask yourself, why you cannot comprehend true situations presented to you, when:

a. They have explained to you, in detail, why they can’t pay their full overdues;

b. They have justified why they can’t pay the demanded high down-payment for the requested settlement, therefore requesting leniency for a reduction in the amount;

c. They are able to Justify their initial delinquency with documented proof, which you anyhow don’t bother to take into consideration;

d. They are pleading for your help and understanding, and you simply hammer them with 62 calls in a short period within one day, demanding, threatening, being abusive? Is this acceptable?

e. You initiate unnecessary action to present yourself at their place of work demanding to meet with the Human Resources Manager;

f. When you directly send emails to the CEO of their employment company and include the Human Resource Director, with your grievances against the customer, who by the way has not refused to repay their liability, except they requested leniency for a reduced EMI, which you refused;

g. You don’t care that your actions in points ‘e’ and ‘f’ could cost them their job being terminated due to your actions;

h. You have already filed a legal case, which has run it’s course, but don’t persue your next legal action, instead you continue to victimize the customer at their place of work, simply because you can;

i. The customer now loses he’s job and is terminated and you act with no remorse, except continue victimizing the customer for the money. Right here I wish to ask you how you expect the customer to pay their liability, now with no income, courtesy of your actions;

j. You don’t realize your actions has now brought extreme hardship onto the customer, because:

i. They cannot secure a new job because you filed legal action;

ii. They must send their family back to their home country;

iii. Their children and loved one’s suffer;

iv. They get into dire delinquency with no income, so the situation worsens, with a probable outcome of facing multiple legal action filed against them, so unemployment continues for months, sometimes for more than one year;

v. They end up virtually living from hand to mouth, borrowing from everyone without having to pay back and most times, living in a small room with absolutely zero sustenance, existing a sub-human life;

Is it your fault that the customer was indebted to creditors? Absolutely not, however, you take the burden on your shoulders when you are the root cause of this extreme suffering, because you are in a position of strength to respect and appreciate the customer’s dire debt situation, their please to reduce their EMI’s, where they never refused to repay their debt.

I will repeatedly stand by my philosophy that when you sow bad seed and you inflict harm and damage on any human life when you had the opportunity to reach out and take their hand, but you acted entitled and refused that help, then somewhere along the line, that seed will surface in your life and then please don’t ask ‘Why me?’, think back to when you could take the right action.

Life have evolved, times have changed, displaying kindness, empathy, care and love is the order of the day, because our only job is to try and touch a life daily to help those suffering today to transform their lives in happiness, joy, full recovery and future success, to rebuild and survive.

Your old ways are damaging lives and in so organizations and economies, so my suggestion is to think about the pain you inflict on people’s lives and learn to master the art of happiness and to help people transform their lives, do it, for your own personal transformation, because you probably need it more than anyone else in the world.

We never achieve great success by being mean and nasty, read the most successful people’s biography in the world, it tells it’s own story, which you should learn from.

Note 1:  Theda Muller is a UAE-based author of two books: Embrace Financial Freedom Volume One: 10 Proven Ways To Release Debt And Emotional Fears In Today’s Economy, and Volume Two: Releasing Fear And Bouncing Back From A Debt Crisis. She is also the CEO & Co-Founder of the remedial company EFFRS LLC, Dubai. She also conducts webinars and workshops on debt recovery.]

[Note 2: The views expressed are the author’s own and do not reflect in any way, the views of Emirates 24|7. Readers are advised to carry out their own due diligence before taking any decision.]