Minimising the Risk of Non-Payment
Part 1 of our series discussing debt collection strategies for funeral directors.
There exists an anarchic business concept which affects you as funeral directors, called the "Prostitute Principle." It states that the desire to pay for a service diminishes significantly after the service itself has been rendered.
Most funeral directors, although they take a deposit to cover disbursements, still charge most of their fees by invoice, after the funerals have taken place. This, invariably, can cause payment problems. So, the question is what can you do to minimise the risk of non-payment?
The following three simple procedures will help enormously;
Firstly, before the funeral takes place, ensure that the 'Funeral Arrangement Confirmation' form is fully completed and signed by the person who is actually paying for the funeral.
Secondly, it is imperative that the signed terms and conditions include a provision for the collection of contractual interest and third party costs in the event of any payment default.
And, most important of all, make sure that you have as many contact details as possible for the arranger of the funeral. For example, the full postal address, email address, mobile and landline telephone numbers. This way, should you be unable to reach them via one method, you should be covered with an alternative.
Here, at Town & Country Legal Services LLP, we act for many funeral directors, and have done for many years. If you would like to discuss how any of the above problems may be affecting you, please call us on 01883 212121 or email enquiries@tclsllp.com