Debt recovery using Twitter – what’s that all about?
by James Agate
Yesterday saw the news that SMEs will now be able to collect their outstanding debts using Twitter. It is a well known fact that business owners here in the UK have to fight tooth and nail to get invoices paid on time. This slow paying culture (particularly prevalent in situations where a smaller business is serving a larger organisation) is really damaging to the British economy and one of the reasons why so many businesses fail.
Businesses can now send a tweet to @wcymdotcom detailing the organisation that has failed to adhere to the agreed terms and the amount owed.
In principle, the Twitter debt recovery service offered by WeCollectYourMoney.com is a good idea because it will save small businesses millions of pounds every year and endless time as businesses will be able to avoid taking expensive legal action against companies that are simply incapable of paying.
However in practice there are implications of the service which perhaps haven’t been entirely thought out. Very often an invoice hasn’t been paid because there is a dispute between the parties or there is a trivial matter than needs resolving like a copy invoice being sent out again. A frustrated business owner may feel the urge (particularly because it is free) to vent some of this frustration and send a tweet to the We Collect Your Money team.
I’m no lawyer but surely the business owner that is just trying to collect the money is committing libel. He or she will be publishing something about another organisation which is damaging to their reputation.
It is unclear as to whether We Collect Your Money is intending to make the service a way of publicly outing those that don’t pay on time or whether the use of Twitter is simply a more convenient communication tool but I think a private forum is a much more appropriate solution given that just because one party feels that they are owed money, this isn’t always the case.
Jamie Waller, MD of We Collect Your Money said “We aim to collect every penny that is owed to our clients through integrity, hard work and determination. We believe that all SMEs have a right to be paid what they are owed and supporting the business community is at the top of our agenda.” Here at WeLoveBusiness.co.uk we wholeheartedly support this mission but the proof of this Twitter based debt recovery solution working in practice is yet to be seen.
