How to Write Letters (Formerly The Book of Letters) Part 40

April 2, 1917.

Miss Grace Duncan, 146 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Dear Madam:

Our letters of February 15th and March 15th have brought no reply from you. Since they have not been returned by the Post Office we must presume that you received them.

You naturally wish to keep your credit clear. We wish to have it clear. It is really a mutual affair. Will you not send a check and keep the account on a pleasant basis?

Very truly yours, Stone Brothers, (Handwritten) _James Miller_, Collection Manager.

The amount is $29.36.

_Fourth letter_

STONE BROTHERS NEW YORK

April 16, 1917.

Miss Grace Duncan, 146 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, New York.

Dear Madam:

We have no desire to resort to the law to collect the $29.36 due us, but unless your remittance is in our hands by May 1st, we shall take definite steps for the legal collection of your account. May we hear from you at once?

Very truly yours, Stone Brothers, (Handwritten) _James Miller_, Collection Manager.

The following are collection letters of varying degrees of personal tone. In these seven letters are given the body of the letter, with the salutation and the complimentary close. Headings and signatures have been omitted.

Dear Sir:

A statement is enclosed of your account, which is now past due. A remittance will be appreciated.

Yours truly,

Dear Madam:

We desire to call your attention again to your past-due account for the month of January for $90.52, a statement of which was mailed to you several weeks ago. We shall appreciate receiving your check in payment of this account by return mail.

Very truly yours,

Gentlemen:

Two weeks ago we mailed you a statement of account due at that time, and as we have heard nothing from you we thought it possible that our letter may have miscarried. We are sending you a duplicate of the former statement, which we hope may reach you safely and have your attention.

Very truly yours,

_To follow the preceding letter_

Gentlemen:

We call your attention to the enclosed statement of account which is now past due. We have sent you two statements previous to this, to which you seem to have given no attention.

It may be possible that you have overlooked the matter, but we hope this will be a sufficient reminder and that you will oblige us with a remittance without further delay.

Very truly yours,

Dear Sir:

We are enclosing a statement of your account and we request as a special favor that you send us a remittance previous to the 28th of this month if possible. The amount is small, but not the less important. We have unusually heavy obligations maturing on the first of next month and you will understand that for the proper conduct of business the flow of credit should not be dammed up.

In looking over your account for the last few months, it occurs to us that we are not getting a great deal of your business. If this is due to any failure or negligence on our part, perhaps you will undertake to show us where we are lacking because we surely want all of your business that we can get.

Very truly yours,

_Follow-up letters_

Dear Sir:

We wrote you on 18th February and enclosed a statement of your account. We hoped at the time that you would send us a check by return mail. If our account does not agree with your books, kindly let us know at once so that we may promptly adjust the differences.

We hope that you can accommodate us as requested in our previous letter and that we will hear from you by the 10th of March. We again a.s.sure you that a remittance at this particular time will be greatly appreciated.

Also please remember that we want your orders, too. Prices on copper wire are likely to make a sharp advance within a few days.

Very truly yours,

January 19, 1921.

Dear Sir:

We are enclosing a statement showing the condition of your account at this writing, and we must ask you to be kind enough to do your utmost to forward us your check by return mail.

Our fiscal year closes January 31st and it is naturally our pride and endeavor to have as many accounts closed and in good standing as is possible for the coming year, and this can materialize only with your kind cooperation.

Very truly yours,

LETTERS OF APPLICATION

_Application for position as stenographer_