When I was a little girl, my dad worked for a time for a small company. He apparently talked the owner into letting him take over the dead accounts as part of his duties on the condition that he get a cut. The owner expected them to be uncollectable, so he figured there was nothing to lose.
My dad would go personally see these people, learn where they lived, learn what day of the month they got their check (often, a welfare check). On that day, he would show up with enough money to cash their check and take out a small payment on the debt they owed. (He swore that if you went even one day later, you weren't going to get a dime.) He was very friendly about it and offered to cash it for their "convenience". He made it an offer they could not refuse.
My dad supposedly collected on upwards of 90% of what the business was owed by these dead accounts, taking his cut, of course.
When I was a little girl, my dad worked for a time for a small company. He apparently talked the owner into letting him take over the dead accounts as part of his duties on the condition that he get a cut. The owner expected them to be uncollectable, so he figured there was nothing to lose.
My dad would go personally see these people, learn where they lived, learn what day of the month they got their check (often, a welfare check). On that day, he would show up with enough money to cash their check and take out a small payment on the debt they owed. (He swore that if you went even one day later, you weren't going to get a dime.) He was very friendly about it and offered to cash it for their "convenience". He made it an offer they could not refuse.
My dad supposedly collected on upwards of 90% of what the business was owed by these dead accounts, taking his cut, of course.