There’s a precise moment when a collectible account dies , and it’s not when the debtor stops responding. It’s when your phone rings, the debtor is on the other end, and you answer after having already assigned it to a collection agency or lawyer. I’ve been in the debt collection trenches for over two decades, and I’ll tell you straight: the most lost accounts aren’t those of debtors who disappeared, they’re those of clients who intervened after the account had already been assigned .

First, understand why they’re calling you. The debtor who calls you directly, bypassing the collection agency, isn’t looking to pay you. They’re looking for someone to ease the pressure. And they know exactly who to call: not the executive asking for payment dates, but you, whom you care about, whose debt you handled for three years, and whom you still want to believe. “Hey, Mr. Roberto, you and I have known each other for years, why did you hire lawyers? Tell them to give me a break, I’ll make the deposit next week.” And you, in good faith, answer, “Let me check.” That’s where the debt collection ends. Not in court, not at the agency: in that 40-second call.

Let me give you an example. A trucking company had an account for 1.8 million pesos with a freight forwarder. The account was assigned. By the third week, the debt collector had an acknowledgment of debt signed by the legal representative, and the first payment was scheduled for Friday. On Tuesday, the debtor called the owner and asked him to “stop collections while they sorted things out.” The owner agreed, saying they needed two weeks, that they were good customers. The debtor didn’t use those two weeks to gather money; he used them to transfer the transaction to a different tax ID number and empty the company he had signed the agreement with. Not a single peso of the 1.8 million was recovered. The signed document was perfect. A mere shell.

The other case is on the American side, and it hurts differently. A Mexican carrier, $180,000 against a Texas broker . Account assigned, formal notification to the surety bond company issued, the clock ticking. The carrier’s salesperson—with the best intentions in the world, because he wanted to retain the client for the peak season—wrote the broker a three-line email: “Don’t worry about the letter, we’re still evaluating your business.” That email ended up in the broker ‘s hands as proof that there was no real claim, but rather a commercial dispute in progress. The bond is a finite amount that is divided among those who file claims and those who actually uphold the bond. Those who upheld the bond got paid. We’re left with the most expensive email a salesperson has ever written.

And they don’t do it out of malice. They do it for three very human reasons: years of affection, fear of losing the client, and the desire to believe that this time it will work . Hope is the worst credit advisor there is. That’s why the rule with an assigned account is singular and brooks no argument: one voice . If the debtor calls you, your response is a single line, always the same, and it doesn’t change even if they’re your close friend: “My account is assigned. Talk to them; they have full authority to resolve your issue.” No “let me check it,” no “I’ll tell them to lower the amount.” If you want to offer a payment plan, a discount, or some other concession, perfect—it’s your money and your right—but you instruct the collection agency, and the agency presents it. Two parties negotiating the same debt are two different offers on the table, and the debtor always chooses the cheapest and ends up paying nothing .

Assigning funds doesn’t mean losing control of your account; it means concentrating it in the hands of the person who manages it every day . You lose control when you start negotiating independently of the person negotiating on your behalf. Collections are sustained pressure . You either maintain it, or you pay the price.

Until next time .

*Salvador Bañuelos is a founding partner of AFS International, a collections firm specializing in freight transportation, with offices in Mexico and the United States. ( cobranzadeltransporte.com , freightcollections.com and  afsacademy.online ).

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