Plan No. 415. Membership Collection Agency
A number of merchants in a western city were induced by a young man of that city to organize themselves into a mercantile collection agency, the membership fee to be $30 a year and to entitle them to have all their accounts collected free, even though litigation should become necessary to enforce the collections.
When collections were made for those not members, the charges were 20 per cent on all amounts under $40; 15 per cent on all accounts from $40 to $100; and 10 per cent on accounts over $100.
The young man engaged a live-wire attorney to look after the legal end of the business, and drew a good salary as manager of the agency, besides sharing in the profits of the business after all expenses were paid.
It proved a good thing for the merchants as well as the originator of the plan, and made collections much easier than under the ordinary methods, besides being more economical for the members.