| |
| |
|
Credit Information |
|
|
|
Dealing With A Collection Agency
Step I - Selecting A Collection Agency Selecting a credit collection agency is perhaps the most important and difficult task. Some factors you must consider while selecting a collection agency are: - Experience and professionals Step II - Hiring the Collection Agency and Setting Up Processes Once you select the collection agency, the first two steps you have to take are: Enter into a contract with the agency; Set up processes on how you are going to communicate with the agency. A contract is the legal document and your legal experts will, of course, prepare it correctly. Just make sure that you include important clauses such as confidentiality and non-disclosure. You are likely to pass sensitive information to the collection agency such as your account receivables, customer contacts, product and services pricing, etc. to facilitate faster debt collection. You want to be sure that this information does not fall in the wrong hands. Setting up processes is a very important step in dealing with the collection agency. The success or failure of your partnership will depend a lot on how well-defined your processes are and how strictly they are followed. Important processes you need to define are: Internal processes: You have to put in place a clear process on defining bad debt and referring the case to the collection agency. You don't want to refer the case to the collection agency before you make a sincere effort to collect the dues internally. Information transfer: How will you transfer the information to the collection agency about your dues and defaulting customers, and how will you receive the information from your collection agency? Debt collection software can make the information transfer process easy and secured. Third party dealing: As mentioned earlier, it is very important for you to ensure the security of the information you give to the collection agency. The collection agency may use one or more of its associated agencies to get information about defaulting customers. Hence you need to set up a clear protocol on how much information they can share with such third parties. Communication: You need to set up single point contacts for communication within the company and the collection agency. In debt collection practices, the timing of communication is extremely important and hence it will go a long way in deciding the success of your debt collection process. Again, the importance of debt collection software cannot be overemphasized here. Step III - Performance Monitoring Once all processes are set, start monitoring the performance of the collection agency. This is an ongoing process when dealing with a collection agency. Important parameters to monitor are: Quantitative - Number of cases referred to the credit collection agency and percentage of cases successfully solved by them. - Percentage of debt recovered by the collection agency from all cases referred. - Percentage of debt recovered by the collection agency from solved cases. - Percentage of amount paid as fees/commission to the collection agency to the total bad debt cases referred to them. - Average number of days taken by the collection agency for full/partial credit collection. Qualitative * How well do the collection agency professionals deal with your customers? * Has the collection agency followed all legal requirements mentioned in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act? * Has the collection agency gone beyond the provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act? * Has the collection agency followed all processes and guidelines set by you? Step IV - Contract Closure Hopefully, the selected collection agency will work best for you. But if it doesn't, then you need to transfer all your debt collection processes from the agency. You should remember the following important points when you are ending the contract: Confidentiality and non-disclosure clauses are applicable even after the end of the contract with the collection agency as well as its employees. The collection agency returns all documents related to your business and destroys all information related to your business from their data storage. Following these simple guidelines will ensure that when dealing with a collection agency that it works best for you and your bad debts are minimized. Collection Agency Services offers you a wealth of information on how to select the best collection agency for your business. http://www.collectionagencyservices.net
MORE RESOURCES:
Credit - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Ghost of Expected Surprises Here, Cratchet, what do you think you're doing?Uh, er, leaving sir.Leaving? It's 5 minutes to the hour. The Hitchhiker's Guide To Insanity A new sickness is plaguing the UK called Denial. Denial has resulted in a national personal debt of almost 1. Errors on Your Credit Report: What You Should Do There are times when you may be turned down for credit and you do not understand why. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report if you have been denied credit because of negative items on your credit report within 60 days of the request for credit, if you are unemployed but looking for work, are on welfare, or believe that your credit report is incorrect because of fraud. Credit Card Rates - Negotiating Rates with Your Credit Card Company Ok, let's face it, everybody hates high credit card rates, and they drain hard earned money out of your wallet. As a valued consumer, it is apparent that you learn how to negotiate to get the absolute best rate that you possibly can. Credit Cards Can Help You Get Out Of Debt Your credit rating / credit score is based upon how you have dealt with credit previously. If you have always paid the full amount owing and never missed a payment then your credit score will be high. Boosting Your Credit Score To Get The Best Credit Card Deal Making Your Credit Rating Work For YouOne of the basics of getting the most competitive credit card deal in the market is to ensure you have the best credit record possible. Few of us are lucky enough to be earning a six-figure salary, and many people are likely to have other financial undertakings that a potential lender will want to take into account. Borrowing on a Credit Card One of the easiest ways to borrow money of a financial institute is to use a Credit Card, available from all banks, building societies, and other financial organisations. The choices available are enormous, with a wide variety of interest charges, annual charges, loyalty schemes, and bonus points available. All Is Fair In Love, War, and, Your Credit Report - At Least It Should Be! Understanding the FCRA Fact: Over 150 million Americans have credit report with the three major credit reporting agencies. Approximately 50 million of these credit reports contain errors, many of which are inaccurate. Credit Traps Snag Consumers Nearly 20 years ago I worked for a small consumer advocacy organization in Washington, DC. Each week we received sacks full of mail from consumers across the country requesting our list of credit cards with low interest rates and no annual fees. What You Didnt Know About Your Credit Card Numbers Have you ever really looked at your credit card and tried to figure out what that huge string of numbers really means? Do these card issuers have so many customers that your account number has to be 16 digits long?You may be surprised to know that all those numbers you see actually do stand for something, and it's not just who you are. Let's take a look. Update Your Computer System With Bad Credit Computer Financing The moment I placed myself in front of the computer screen a whole new world beckoned me to join it. And years of strolling have proved incompetent to get me acquainted with the full panorama of computers. Credit Card Shocker Have you ever looked at your credit card statement? I'm not talking about just making sure that all the transactions are correct. I'm talking about looking at the finance charges. Choosing the Best Low Interest Credit Card With so many low interest credit cards on offer, how do you know which one to choose? Here is a brief guide for choosing your low interest credit card.The Chase Manhattan MasterCard is a great choice, for those with an excellent credit rating. Free Credit Reports Now Available From the FTC The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has set up a new website (www.AnnualCreditReport. Credit Report - Look Out for Your Debit Report, Too Most consumers are aware that there are companies that keep track of their personal financial transactions - installment loans, mortgages, credit card accounts, bankruptcies and judgements. These items are assembled by the three main credit bureaus into a credit report, which is available upon request by lenders, employers and anyone else with whom a consumer might do business. A Summary of the Fair Credit Reporting Act This summary of the Fair Credit Reporting Act will explain what you can legally do if you want to repair your own credit report. No matter what you hear, you can dispute credit information on your credit report if you understand the legal rights you have under this law. Winning The Credit Game! Everywhere we go, the word credit can be found, shining huge dollar signs in front of our very eyes. Everyday we receive solicitation and promotions offering us credit. What is Credit Counselling? Ever wondered what is Credit Counselling? There are occasions when you might encounter a financial situation that is beyond your scope which is when a session with a credit counsellor could be beneficial.If you're not disciplined enough to create a workable budget and stick to it, can't work out a repayment plan with your creditors, or can't keep track of mounting bills, consider contacting a credit counselling organisation. Dont Trade Your Future for Todays DooDads "Easy Low Down Monthly Payment," "Buy Now Pay Later," "You Deserve the Car Today and We Can Finance It for You," & "Spend Today, 0% APR until Next Year!" We see those statements above every where today, on TV commercials, car dealership, banks and magazines. Those statements have put a lot of people into a financial disaster, because the statements make a lot of people believe that acquiring bad debts is an ok thing to do. Clean Credit Report: Easily Raise Your Credit Score 100 points Clean Credit Reports, your credit report contains information about where you work, live and how you pay your bills (On time or not). It also may show whether you've been sued, arrested or have filed for bankruptcy with in the last 10 years.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
