Small Matter

Here's A Debt Collection Letter That We Shouldn't Laugh At

Hannah Scott -

It comes to us courtesy of a Small Matter reader who received the letter from a debt collection agency called Transworld Systems Inc.

In the letter (which is depicted above), the debt collector tries to "threaten" the letter's recipient with a consequence should the recipient not do what the letter-writer wants the recipient to do--and that's where this letter gets kind of funny.

...because the consequence threatened  is, essentially, that the letter's recipient might later receive more letters from this Transworld Systems debt collector (who, by the way, identified himself in a separate email to the same recipient as "Joshua M. Despabiladeras").

Here is letter's content in diagram:

  • There is "debt" that we think you owe.
  • As a consequence of you owing this debt, you are receiving this letter.
  • If you fail pay the debt within 5 days, there will be an additional consequence.
  • That additional consequence is that you may receive additional letters from us.

At a high level, dealing with a debt collector is, of course, not necessarily something to take lightly. But...when you really look closely at some of the things debt collectors actually say and do, it's sometimes hard not to laugh.

Poor Joshua: I am sure that this debt collector did the best he could in deciding what to say in this letter. But the apparent fact is that he did not have much to work with. So, he decided to go with the ol'...

If you don't pay me the money I am now saying that you owe, then you will soon be hearing from me again about the money I am saying you owe.

...threat, which, may actually work on some recipients, just because many people don't like the idea of hearing from a debt collector at all, and so much so that they will do or pay anything to make the communication stop. But for anyone with a 5th-grade reading level and enough attention span to follow the above diagram from beginning to end, this letter is not likely going to get the job done for the debt collector. It's just a bit too circular. 🔃