We punish all for the actions of a few:

To paraphrase an old saying, “we punish all for the actions of a few.” And in the collection industry, this is a regular occurrence, as was pretty much the case this past Friday on the NBC show Dateline. Dateline has been conducting a series on the recent financial crisis and it was only a matter of time before they got to the collection industry.

There is no doubt that there are people in the industry that give the rest of us a bad image. And if you think about it, there are bad apples in every industry. Our bad apples just seem to be more visible than other industries. Do some collection agencies deserve to be taken to task by Dateline? If you saw the episode, you would think so. In fact, we’re okay with it. The less renegades in our industry, the better for the overall image of our industry.

There are plenty of good apples in the industry also.  It’s a great time to once again show you American Profit Recovery and let you see just how we operate. American Profit Recovery is a collection agency. And yes, we collect money that is owed to our clients. That much is very clear. How we do it, is another story.

Ethics, morals and standards. That sums up how we do it. Our team members are college educated, and follow the strictest of standards. They all go through comprehensive training, continued education and live our true brand of being different. They all know this is the way to run a successful business in the debt collection industry. Even before we get on the phone, most accounts go through our mail based Tier I system that gently reminds people of their obligation to settle their account with our client. Many times, this is all it takes.

When we do get on the phone, we realize that many of these calls can be difficult and uncomfortable. We focus on keeping them professional and strive to help the consumer by working out some type of agreement that is acceptable to both parties. We never knowingly annoy the consumer, abide by all laws and aim for an amicable solution. It’s just good business.

Unfortunately, Dateline shed very little light on the majority of the nearly 6,000 collection agencies in the country that take compliance very seriously. We know that, when done in compliance of state and federal laws and even further consideration for consumers’ situations, we serve as a necessity to the economy and to businesses of all sizes. The collection industry pumped over $40 billion back into the economy last year at a time it is desperately needed. We are the guys putting the money where it belongs, in the hands of the businesses that performed the service.

After viewing the show on Friday, I felt proud to be a part of American Profit Recovery.