Page:Roy Ralph Hottman - Practical Collection Procedure (1923).pdf/53

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COLLECTING THE ACCOUNT
39

Careless and Bad Pay.

The careless debtor is a precarious risk. He has no method in meeting any obligations. and has little moral responsibility. He is not just dishonest, on the whole, but he allows bills to grow very old unless pressed urgently for settlement. Through their own careless, aimless habits, this type generally is not endowed with much worldly goods. They usually feel that the world owes them a living and that somehow or other it will be forth- coming ; they are disgruntled if it is not and are inclined to think that a prosperous creditor, who presses for pay- ment of his bills, is oppressive. When this kind is on the books, immediate persistent dunning is necessary to get the account. If the account grows old, collection becomes more difficult.

To sermonize, others of this type of debtor are seeking “worldly pleasures.” They are vain, extravagant, live be- yond their means, and are deeply offended if their creditors do not aid them in their frantic endeavor to secure a foot- hold in society—by allowing the accounts to run indefi- nitely. In their desire to imitate the smart set, to be deemed of consequence, they make extravagant purchases and have an apparent disregard for money. The most effectual way to deal with this class is to send four or five letters and then to give notice of garnishee or to serve suit papers. They are very sensitive over their imagined social standing and never in the world will they allow their name to be disgraced by a judgment. That would mean nothing less than ostracism by their really refined social acquaintances, who have a strict moral sense of their obliga-