The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 15 letter word RENT-COLLECTORS
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
R
E
N
T
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C
O
L
L
E
C
T
O
R
S
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "They are sent by letter to demand payment" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case they are sent by letter to demand payment = rent-collectors.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.