AccountsRecovery.net is hosting a webinar tomorrow on “How to Maximize Recoveries During Tax Season” because this is a very important time of year for the ARM industry, but I came across an interesting article that I thought might be worth sharing as possible inspiration.
Lunar New Year, which is also known as Chinese New Year, was this past Friday, Feb. 16. There is a custom of making sure that all debts are paid off before the start of the New Year, as a symbol of closing the books on an old year and being ready to start a new year with a clean slate. This article details some of the tactics that “debt collectors” may take to warn potential debtors of this custom.
For example, a debt-collection gang in Hong Kong released dozens of snakes inside a restaurant as a means of remaining the restaurant’s owners of a debt that needed repayment.
The most common reminder is splashing red paint on the doorways of delinquent debtors. The symbolism — red paint made to remind people of blood — has been known to be a very effective technique in coercing repayments. Paint splashings have become less common in recent years thanks to the proliferation of security cameras, according to a published report.
What is interesting is that the article sites the practice of banks in Hong Kong outsourcing debt collection to gangs and agencies as a means of keeping their hands clean by “outsourcing the dirty work through several layers of carefully separated intermediaries.” It’s clear that Hong Kong does not have its own Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Now I’m definitely not suggesting that collection agencies start employing snakes or paint alongside their letters and phone calls, but I did think it was insightful to learn about the customs of a particular group of people and how those customs impact their payment habits. Agencies that know their customers better are more likely to have better relationships and likely receive more money from individuals. Something to keep in mind.
