Cities that use collection agencies for overdue garbage payments

Cities across the United States, both small rural towns and large metropolitan cities, are having trouble collecting monthly fees for garbage collection tasks. The slowdown in the economy has caught up with both public and private service providers, the city’s garbage collection is not immune to this, and cities are now looking for ways to improve cash flow and allow the service to remain viable for residents of the city. Many cities are now using collection agencies to collect on past due accounts and the results so far are positive.

When a resident signs up for a service like garbage collection, many people see it as a small bill that won’t even go into the monthly budget. After all, what is a few dollars when you make thousands per month? Usually the few dollars a month doesn’t end up being a big problem. Especially in recent years, when investments skyrocketed, annual salary increases were standard and total net worth skyrocketed. Of course, no one predicts that the breadwinner will be fired without warning. Also, unemployment rates are rising close to 9%, even higher in some areas, so new jobs are not as easy to come by as in the past. This is the cold, hard truth that many families face and when it comes to feeding little Johnny and Maria, that will always come before you pay the cell phone, car, or trash bill. Cities realize this and the numbers don’t lie when it comes to cash flow.

The occasional customer will forget to pay an invoice or send the invoice on time, this is to be expected with any service that bills customers on a monthly basis. The city’s garbage collection departments realize this too, which is why if a customer is late due to a bad check or simply not sending a payment, they simply send a notice. Typically, within the next 7-10 business days, the account will be paid and returned to its current state. Another step that garbage collectors will take is to post an expiration notice on your garbage container for all of your neighbors to see what can be a shocking but humiliating experience. After another 60 days have passed, that’s when the city realizes that the bill will probably not be paid unless other steps are taken. A collection agency can locate a client with jump tracking tools that will be able to provide information that the city may not have been able to obtain. Information such as former spouses, former employers, neighbors and relatives. The collection agency will make a few calls to people and get all the necessary information to contact the client. In most cases, the person will call the collection agency wondering how they had the nerve to call that former spouse after the phone call sparks a fight with the current spouse.

Collection agencies, after locating the customer, can secure a payment plan for the owner of an overdue account to pay the debt. In many cases, the customer simply moved out due to various reasons and will happily pay the amount owed in one payment. Even if only a few clients pay each month, this is additional income for cities that never arrived in the past and do not require any additional work. In the slow economy, city services are being cut completely and any additional income that can be made can make the difference in keeping employees on the payroll or laying off the customer. Keeping services running and people a job is always an advantage, even if it means hiring a collection agency.