SAIF Golden Charter

Don’t sit on debt, act on it

The financial pressure on funeral directors is greater now than it has ever been. And it is compounded when clients fail to meet their bills.

Fortunately, SAIF members can turn to SAIF Resolve, a professional debt recovery service, if they find that chasing money they are owed is proving a fruitless exercise.

SAIF Resolve is operated for the Association by debt recovery specialist Scott and Mears, and it has been providing an effective service for a number of years.

Bill Baddeley of SAIF Resolve explained: “We offer no-win no-fee debt recovery, legal action, enforcement of legal action and tracing of debtors. We have our own in-house solicitor, as well as collectors and admin staff. And we’re fully versed in the needs of funeral directors.”

When people need help, the process usually starts with a call to the company.

As well as communicating with debtors by post, the SAIF Resolve staff will telephone if they have the necessary details. However, they do not make any visits or door-knock.

“More often than not we don’t get debts in one go, so we have the capacity to arrange a repayment programme,” added Bill.

He believes there is an increasing need for the service that SAIF Resolve provides. “Most funeral directors have an outstanding debt of some kind. Some of our clients have been chasing numerous debts. At one time people made sure they paid the funeral director before anything else. Nowadays, you get the impression that funeral directors are often among the last people to be paid.

“In my experience, the average outstanding debt for a funeral director is around £1,000-£2,000, which, in most cases, means their profit is wiped out.”

He counsels against letting debts slip. Since SAIF members are usually well known local businesses if someone doesn’t pay their bill and is not pursued, word can get around: ‘If you don’t pay your bill at XX Funeral Directors and keep your head down, nothing will happen.’

Bill said: “That’s why I say to clients if we don’t get anywhere you should consider taking out a county court judgment. That lets people know you are ready to take action if needed. Even if you don’t get your money back people will realise that if they don’t pay they will have a judgment against them.”

SAIF Resolve mostly operates in England and Wales. It can help in Scottish cases too, even though the legal system is different from the rest of the UK. As far as results are concerned, in 60-70% of cases SAIF Resolve obtains a single repayment of the outstanding debt or a repayment plan that recovers the money on a monthly basis.

What may be surprising is that many debtors are grateful. Bill believes that most people want to pay their debts, but sometimes they bury their head in the sand if things are getting too much for them. When they realise SAIF Resolve are reasonable and will take a repayment plan they are grateful. Bill has even received Christmas cards from debtors.

“So, the key message is if you’ve got money owed to you, do something about it,” he said. “Losing money can put your company in serious trouble. The quicker you act, the more likely it is that we can collect it. If you’ve exhausted your own debt recovery process contact us as soon as you can – certainly within 90 days. “If you want to find out more you can visit our website, but the best thing to do is pick up the phone.”

For more information, visit www.saifresolve.co.uk or phone 01702 312737.