Petersen Company received a letter from Jane Kimler, a customer. Jane had
purchased $425 worth of clothing from Petersen on credit. She has made
two payments of $50 each. She has missed the last two payments, and has
received a collection letter from Petersen. Her total debt presently, with
interest and late fees, is $3513.
Jane sent a letter to Petersen in which she asked for her debt to be forgiven.
She said she had heard that companies make allowances for accounts they
are doubtful about collecting, and that Petersen certainly should have been
doubtful about her’”that as a college student she had changed her major
three times. She also said that she could not enjoy a high quality of life
when making such high payments, but that she didn’t want to be
embarrassed by bill collectors, either. She especially didn’t want her
parents to find out that she had not paid her debts. Having Petersen write
off her account seemed to her the best solution in the circumstances. She
added that the clothes she bought at Petersen were among the best she had
ever owned, and that she “told everybody” that Petersen was definitely the
best place to get clothes.
You are the accounting manager for Petersen. Write a short letter to Jane
explaining why her debt cannot be written off.
Answer: