You definitely have concerns about what to look for when employing a third party debt collection agency if your company requires assistance collecting from past-due customers. But are you posing the proper inquiries? Before you employ a debt collector to get in touch with your past-due accounts, think about the following questions.
What collection services do they provide?
Understanding the type of collection activities your accounts will experience when you hand them over to an agency is crucial for the success of your organization. Sadly, not every collection agency offers the same services.
Some organizations make calls and write letters, although if they do, they might only put in a modest amount of labor in terms of calls made or letters mailed. When it’s legal, other people use emails and messages as part of their plans. Some credit reporting organizations notify the main bureaus of past-due accounts, while others do not. Various skip-tracing techniques may be used.
There are many different debt collection agencies, so it’s crucial to understand how much work will be put into your accounts. When you work with a third-party debt collection agency, it will be easier for you to grasp what you’re paying for if you are aware of the collecting services in advance and in full.
Is their work effort transparent?
A client portal may be available from some collection companies, which enables you to oversee your debt collection inventory, track development, and view statuses. But how much information about their activities does your collecting agency provide? Can you, for instance, see how many phone calls or letters were made? Can you tell me when those events occurred? Which types of reporting suites are available?
Your debt collection partner will be happy to let you in on the specifics of their work if you’re receiving moral and honest collecting services.
What do consumers think?
Of course, nobody enjoys receiving collection calls. So it stands to reason that you will undoubtedly find a lot of complaints if you search for Google reviews of potential debt collection agencies. But that doesn’t necessarily imply that the business is unethical or will damage your relationships with customers. On the other hand, given the nature of the industry, some complaints are expected in the collection sector.
Inquire about the call-to-complaint ratio of your prospective agency to get a more accurate sense of what customers think. For instance, the average number of complaints received by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is one per 93,345 contacts or 0.00107% of all contacts.
Additionally, confirm whether your potential collecting partner polls its customers. At the conclusion of every call, several organizations have started to ask customers to take part in customer satisfaction surveys. These polls can unbiasedly assess if respondents believe they are receiving ethical and professional treatment. When you use a third party to contact your clients, the surveys might also ease your mind.
What’s their standing with the BBB?
Checking a collection agency’s standing with the Better Business Bureau is a great approach to assessing its reputation. What do you think of them? They have credentials. Are they in good standing with the BBB? Do they possess any BBB honors, such as the Torch Award for Ethics (which does occasionally occur)? One of your initial actions should be to look up their BBB profile.
Is the company nationally licensed?
To contact the customer about an overdue account, the majority of jurisdictions need that a third-party debt collection agency to be licensed or bonded. Some small- and medium-sized debt collection organizations, though, lack a national license.
Why is this important if your tiny firm only serves the neighborhood? 9% of the population moves each year, according to data from the US Census. They might not be able to contact the consumer legally if your agency doesn’t have a license where they now reside. A nationally licensed agency will be able to pursue collection attempts across the USA and may be able to obtain more money for you.
Do they have a healthy culture?
Corporate culture is a strong indicator of the stability and success of any firm. To learn more about the culture of a potential collection agency, look them up on Facebook or their official website. How long has the company been in operation? Does it appear that their staff is content? Do they hold any Top Workplace honors from different associations?
When a consumer has a great experience, they are more likely to pay, which is usually the case when an organization has a positive working culture. Additionally, it would be beneficial for your company if you could recover your past-due bills while maintaining your clientele
