Extensive Survey Illustrates That Working As A Debt Collectors Isn’t So Bad

In 2009, collection agencies from all parts of the country took place in an extensive survey that attempted to pinpoint the best places to work in the collections industry and why. With the results, the collections industry was capable of identifying some of the most important aspects of the job that makes a company an employer of choice.

Company employees were asked to rate their agencies on an “ABC” scale, “A” being the best, “C” being the worst, “B” being in between. Small agencies claimed the most “A” scored when compared to larger and medium companies. The survey was able to establish that smaller companies were desired for a number of reasons, including the idea that employees are part of a team working towards a common goal, and the fact that leaders of smaller businesses in general are open to more input from employees.

Other factors responsible for high ratings included a feeling that the agency the employees were working for treated people like people, not numbers. Supervisors working at high scoring agencies were viewed as handling work related issues more adeptly, and seemed more open to feedback. The employees of the small companies that were selected as winners of the highest scores felt as though their supervisor helps them to grow to their fullest potential, and as if their agency might increase their pay. Employees of smaller companies additionally saw more room for advancement in the agencies.

Of all of the agencies of all sizes, employees were the least happy when it came to salary and benefits, and felt like their training and development lacked. But, overall ratings improved from the preceding year, most likely because of the sobering realities of difficult conditions and layoffs that happened over the last year.

Other major factors that had the largest influence on the positive opinions of employees included the belief that the leaders of the agency felt for their well being. Corporate objectives that were well planned with good follow through were highly valued, and leaders of agencies that were open to input from employees were much appreciated. Finally, out of all of the positive feelings about their place of employment, the workers who felt as if they could trust the agency reported the most favorable opinions.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on medical collection agencies This article, Extensive Survey Illustrates That Working As A Debt Collectors Isn’t So Bad is available for free reprint.

Factors That Collection Companies Need To Consider

In today’s recession, collection companies are not exempt. Starting last year, they first started to suffer from declining liquidation performance, staffing cuts, and increased placements.

Then in January 2009, the U.S. savings rate grew and continued to grow. By May 2009 the rate was the highest level of consumer savings in sixteen years.

Generally, an increase in the U.S. savings rate would mean that debtors will be more fiscally responsible and try to pay off debts that they may owe in case of an unexpected bad turn of events. Unfortunately the first half of 2009 has shown us that this is not what is going to happen and the collections industry shouldn’t expect it to.

One factor that makes the situation worse is that the sustainability of savings growth is quite doubtful because a part of the increase was the result of the Obama stimulus package, which sent one time only disbursements to consumers. Also, in today’s economy any type of consumer savings may be considered a means to keep heads afloat as opposed to future planning. And although savings boost personal income, they slow down consumer spending.

For the first time, collections agencies need to alter their focus greatly. Its not that consumers won’t pay, it’s that they can’t pay. Thus, the future success of collection companies is depending on U.S. economic recovery.

That being said, savvy conclusions can be drawn about the future growth in the collections industry. Better job opportunities would be an amazing gain for the collection industry. If debtors are employed, they are more likely to resolve their issues. Renewed consumer confidence and spending would be a huge boost.

There is an impending tide of pro-consumer reforms that the collection industry can do little about. How it can truly affect change would be the quality of responses they give, and that they are carefully considered and level-headed. Finally, increased access to credit is a necessity for the collections industry. .

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on commercial collection agencies.

Crack Down On Superbowl Expenses

Even though the economy is suffering, and many of you are in debt, there is no reason that you cannot throw a really great Super Bowl Party.

Focus on not overdoing it. Make just one extravagant dish and play the rest off of that. A vat of chili, if seasoned correctly can serve twelve people for twenty dollars. Chicken wings are very inexpensive and easy to make. Coils of kielbasa, priced around five bucks are a cheap and delicious snack.

Due to the fact that the Super Bowl is a special occasion, go for hot food. Ordering big trays of Chinese takeout are less expensive and time consuming than cooking your own food.

kids at Superbowl parties can often be difficult to please. Vegetables, juice, chips, and a carvel football shaped ice cream cake priced at $22.99 will keep them at bay.

Drinks? The best choice for shoppers on a budget is beer and wine. A keg will save you about 40% according to experts. The wine doesn’t have to be fancy – a five liter boxed wine will be more than acceptable. If you encounter the troublesome guest who insists on liquor, get discount vodka, a half gallon for just fourteen dollars. Its cheap, and blends with about anything.

Even in tough times, it is neccessary to make the most of your game-viewing experience. A medium to large flatscreen is completely necessary. But if you don’t own one, rent one. Websites list 42 inch TVs for as low as $26.99 a week.

And then those irritating people who won’t watch football. A pool for small gifts like a store certificate or CD might inspire people who aren’t the least bit interested in football at all if a prize is awarded at the end of every quarter. Try to have experienced fans explain what is going on. Then, sit back, and enjoy your game.

Mallory Megan is employed by a debt collection company. Also she writes stories on business, finance, consumer spending and collection agencies.

Debt Collectors Are Calling More And More Often As Economy Suffers Part One

Things are not going so great for this country. The economy is the pits, and Americans are losing jobs by the barrel-ful. Marketing is as strong arm as ever, making our citizens convinced that they absolutely MUST own the next big “thing” – whatever it might be, whether it be a cellphone or a computer. All of the next big THINGS have updated versions which are better and bigger too, which means that the time to purchase is NOW.

Instead of saving for that cellphone that you are on a waiting list for, if you are the typical American you are more prone to buy now, and worry about paying later. Then maybe you lose your job, or those hours at work you were depending on get cut down drastically. Now you find that you are in a heap of debt that you cannot pay off, and that debt collector is calling. And calling.

It is a simple fact that more people have neglected their payments and let their accounts go delinquent, while businesses, who are also feeling the heat, have become more strongly focused on collecting on those delinquent accounts or selling them off to debt buyers.

That’s where the bill collectors step in. According to research in the field, customer complaints of threats of violence, calling at inconvenient times and cursing have increased in parallel with one another. However, complaints about repeated calls have shot sky high from 15,000 to 41,000 far outnumbering other complaints. Roughly, during this same time period, complaints about violence only rose from 2,000 to 4,000, obscene language from 8,000 to 15,000, and inconvenient calls from 2,500 to 10,000.

From an anecdotal perspective, my mother had just finished up telling me the other day that a store credit card bill that she had was about to be due, and the store anticipated her payment to be late. She received multiple calls a day, every day, starting at eight in the morning, and ending at eight thirty at night. To Be Continued In Part Two…

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on commercial collection agencies. Check here for free reprint licence: Debt Collectors Are Calling More And More Often As Economy Suffers Part One.

Debt Collectors For Beginners: When A Debt Collector Is On The Phone

Welcome back to debt collection 101, your beginner’s guide to collection agencies. In the last article I explained that there were two kinds of collection agents, third party debt collectors and in house collection agents. I explained what skip tracing was and how a skilled debt collector will use it to find new information on a debtor that is difficult to locate.

When the debt collectors do find their debtors they will contact them and inform them of their overdue accounts. If it is a necessity, they will go over terms of sale or the credit contracts, and then they will request payment. When a collection agent calls, they may ask you for information, or a skilled one may simply utilize their listening skills to try to figure out why the account went delinquent and if you have the means to pay it back.

In general, a debt collector will have the capacity to offer a repayment plan or some other way to make it possible for the debtor to pay their bill. Sometimes, they are capable of finding solutions to debtor’s financial problems that the debtors were not able to think of themselves. As experts in the field of finance, they might even be able to refer debtors in trouble to a good debt counselor or offer some useful advice.

If a debtor agrees to pay, then the goal of the collection agent is almost finished up. At this point the collections agent will record this commitment and will make a point of checking up on this later to ensure that the payment was made.

If a debtor refuses to pay, the collection agent will then make up a statement about their delinquency for the credit department of whoever they work for. In extreme cases, typically when there is a lot of money being discussed, collectors might call for repossession, disconnect service, or even hand over the account to the company attorney. To Be Continued In Parts 3,4, 5, and 6.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on medical collection agencies. Check here for free reprint licence: Debt Collectors For Beginners: When A Debt Collector Is On The Phone.

Respecting Privacy: When Does A Collections Agent Cross The Line?

Personal finance is an issue that is, well, personal. Due to the delicate nature of this subject, debt collection is closely monitored by Federal and State laws that do their best to protect the privacy of a consumer. The Fair Debt Collection Practice Act (FDCPA) is a federal law that all third party collection agents must follow and it comes with restrictions regulating how a debt collector might approach the issue of contacting debtors and how to preserve their privacy. First off, a debt collector can only speak about your debt to you, the credit bureaus, and the creditor that they are working for. They certainly cannot make up a list of their debtors to distribute to other creditors, or advertise a debt for sale.

The way that a third party debt collector is permitted to send mail is strictly monitored. Collections letters are only able to be sent in care of another person if you, the debtor, live at that address, or if you get your mail at that address. If the address where you receive your mail is shared, collections mail should be labeled “private,” or “personal.” Any mail that alludes to the fact that it could be correspondence from a collection agency is strictly prohibited; therefore, the envelopes sent by collections agents can’t indicate the purpose of the letter in any way. Post cards are especially prohibited.

If a collection agent knows your name and your phone number and thus can contact you yourself is not permitted to call your family members or neighbors. When they reach you, they must positively identify that they are speaking with you, the debtor, before they can proceed in their attempt to collect a debt. If a debt collector calls you at your job, you can ask them to stop calling you there and they must comply with your wish.

If a collection agent cannot find you, they are permitted to call your neighbors or family members. In these cases, the collector must identify themselves by name but certainly cannot offer the information that they are a debt collector. They are not permitted to let other people know that you owe money, or talk to them about account details. If a debt collector calls a third party to locate you, they cannot contact that person a second time, or leave any information about your debt on a third party voicemail.

If you are a family member or neighbor being called by a debt collector who is looking for someone you know, the FDCPA mandates that a collection agent is only permitted to call you in order to locate the person you know who owes the money, and only once. If a debt collector thinks you have new information they can contact you again, but only under those circumstances. If a debt collector is contacting you repeatedly about a third party, that can be considered harassment and you can file a complaint with your attorney general’s office.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on medical collection agencies. Free reprint avaialable from: Respecting Privacy: When Does A Collections Agent Cross The Line?.

Collection Agencies For Beginners: Rules And Regulations

Welcome back to debt collection 101, your beginners guide to debt collection. In article two of this series, I wrote about what a debt collector will do after they have located their debtor and informed them of their debt. Oftentimes debt collectors can make it easier for debtors to pay back their delinquent accounts, can be friendly and offer advice, but also have the authority to mark your credit score negatively, and hand your account over to an attorney if you refuse to pay.

In article one, I spoke about the two different kinds of collection agents, in house collectors, and third party collectors. In house collectors are debt collectors that work directly for the creditor, and these creditors are usually financially based organizations like mortgage or credit card companies. Third party debt collectors make up the majority of debt collectors and work directly for a third party collection agency that is hired by a creditor to collect on their delinquent accounts.

Due to the fact that in house collectors work directly for their creditors, they are not restricted by a number of the rules and provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). However, third party debt collectors are, and there are a number of rules and regulations that they are bound by.

In addition to the Federal regulations third party collection agents have to abide by, they also have to be careful to abide by the state procedures that apply too. Debt collection is closely monitored because of the fact that people’s financial issues have the capacity to be a sensitive issue. According to the Federal Trade Commission, a collector must positively verify that they are speaking with the debtor themselves, and not anyone else before they can proceed.

After they have positively verified that they are speaking with the debtor, the collection agent will issue a statement, known as a “mini-Miranda” which tells the consumer that this phone call is an attempt to collect debt, and any information in the conversation can be used to do so. The numbers of rules and regulations for a collector who is calling cross country can be overwhelming. A number of companies use electronic systems now to help debt collectors keep track of all of the rules regarding each call. To be continued in parts 4, 5, and 6.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles about medical collection agencies. This article, Collection Agencies For Beginners: Rules And Regulations is available for free reprint.

Debt Collection Broken Down As Basic As You Can Get Part One

This is the first article in a three part series on the very basic facts of debt collection. When you take out an account, and don’t pay your account bills on time, the account goes delinquent and your bills turn into debt. A debt collector is a person whose job it is to try and get in contact with you and get that money back, or in layman’s terms, collect the debt.

Debt collectors can also be called bill collectors, account collectors, or collection agents. A lot of debt collectors work for third party collection companies. A creditor is the financial institute that you originally set up your account with. For example, you set up an account with a contractor to do work on your house. When you don’t pay your bills, this creditor will often hire outside of their company to get their debt collected, especially if their accounts receivable department is small.

Other collectors are employed directly by the original creditors. These agents are called in house collectors. Typically companies with in house collectors are finance based institutions like health care providers, utility companies, or credit card and mortgage companies. In house collectors are working straight for the creditors, while third party collectors are working for their own collection agency, so both sets of collectors must follow different guidelines and regulations concerning debt and directing payment.

If you are being contacted by a bill collector, attempt to figure out if they are calling on behalf of the original creditor or an outside debt collection company so you have a better idea how to proceed. If you are dealing with a third party debt collection agency for example, you are always going to pay the agency, not the creditor.

Collectors working under the creditors do not always have to adhere to all of the rules of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, while collectors working for a third party collection agency must. Mail from a creditor informing you that you owe a payment may be marked accordingly, while mail coming from a third party debt collection company can’t indicate that it is an attempt to collect money. To Be Continued In Parts Two And Three

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles about new york collection agencies. Unique version for reprint here: Debt Collection Broken Down As Basic As You Can Get Part One.

The Very Basics Of Debt Collecting Part Two

In article one in this three piece series on the very basics of debt collection, I wrote about the differences between third party debt collectors and in house debt collectors. But no matter what entity or institution they work for, the goals of debt collectors are the same. First, they need to find the people or businesses that owe the debt, and inform them that they are delinquent in their payments. Generally, debt collectors will reach a debtor over the phone, but they are known to send mail as well.

The people who owe the money are known as debtors, or consumers, and some times they might move and neglect to leave a forwarding address or appropriate phone number. At times this is done on purpose to avoid being contacted by the collection agents, other times this is just a mistake. In these cases, the bill collectors might check with telephone companies, the post office, credit bureaus, and former neighbors to get the new address.

If a debt collector gets a hold of a debtor’s neighbor, they are strictly prohibited from telling that neighbor why they need the number, and are not permitted to say that the debtor owes a debt. The process of tracking down a debtor’s new address or phone number is called “skip tracing.” Debt collectors will use computer systems to track when debtors or companies change their contact information on any of their open accounts automatically.

As soon as the collection agents locate the consumers they will get in touch with them to let them know about overdue accounts and to request a payment. Debt collectors generally call from 1-800 numbers and must verify that they are speaking with you before they can proceed. If anyone else picks up the phone, they cannot inform them of your debt, all they can do is ask that you call them back at such and such number.

If a debt collector is able to get in contact with a consumer, and verifies that they are talking to them, they will let them know their name, the details of their overdue accounts, and that this is an attempt to collect and anything said in this conversation may be used for the purposes of collection. To Be Continued In Part Three.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on medical collection agencies. Also published at The Very Basics Of Debt Collecting Part Two.

The Essentials Of Debt Collection Part Three

In parts one and two in this set of articles on the very basics of debt collection, I wrote about the differences between an in house collector and a third party debt collector. I wrote about the different types of ways that debt collectors will locate the debtors, and described a number of statements that the debt collector must say before they can proceed in their attempt to collect debt from you.

Bill collectors refer to these legal guidelines as a “mini Miranda.” If a bill collector doesn’t share this information with you, he or she is violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. If questioned, the debt collector is obligated to tell you her name, the name, address and fax number of her agency, and what creditor she is calling on behalf of.

If it is necessary the collections agent will go over the terms of sale with you, or credit contracts. Keep in mind that your conversation will most likely be recorded, and a good collection agent is a sneaky one. They will probably utilize their listening skills to attempt to determine the cause of the delinquency.

Despite what you may have heard from anecdotal stories, or the sensational stories you have heard on the news, most debt collectors are empathetic people, working to make a buck like you. Even if your debt collector is calling aggressively, it is never a good idea to ignore their calls. A debt collector will have the authority to offer a repayment plan, or some other type of help to make it easier for you to pay off of your debt.

At times, they are capable of finding solutions to your financial problems. After all, they work with people like you every day. They can even offer you some helpful advice or they may be able to tell you about some helpful debt counselors. Unluckily, it has been mentioned that all stereotypes have some truth in them, and there will be an occasional debt collector who may use strong arm or even illegal tactics to collect money that is owed. If a collections agent calls you, and something doesn’t sit right with you, consult the FDCPA, and call your local attorney general’s office to report the incident.

Mallory Megan works for Rapid Recovery Solution and writes articles on medical collection agencies. Check here for free reprint licence: The Essentials Of Debt Collection Part Three.

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