Collection agencies have been doing it for years — collecting on a consumers bad debt who’s essentially said they won’t pay. Even the most hopeless of bad debts can be collected on — here are six of their secrets.

Years ago, owing the library a few dollars wasn’t a big deal. Today, with local budgets in a pinch, everyone is trying to find ways to make more money and fund valuable community services.

Collection agencies can be found in two different forms: in-house collection and third-party collection. The in-house collection agencies are most often the billing department for a credit agent or large firm which offered time payments. These are used to collect money while keeping the collection costs low and within the company. Most often this will be the first collection attempt you will come across.