Advice for Consumers

Below is a letter sent to state government officials from ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals about how collection agencies across the country are working to provide necessary support to the business community during this time and, help consumers through the COVID 19 crisis.

MEMORANDUM

TO: U.S. GOVERNORS, STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL, STATE LEGISLATIVE LEADERS

FROM: ROGER WEISS, PRESIDENT, ACA INTERNATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

DATE: MARCH 21, 2020

SUBJECT: ARM INDUSTRY COVID-19 RESPONSE

The Association of Credit and Collection Professionals (ACA International) is comprised of 2,500 members, including credit grantors, third-party collection agencies, asset buyers, attorneys, and vendor affiliates in an industry that employs more than 230,000 employees worldwide. ACA members are front line professional debt collectors that […]

We understand you are receiving countless messages regarding the COVID-19/Coronavirus crisis but we feel it is necessary to relay to you what our commitment is to you, to consumers, and what we are keeping an eye on in the collection industry day to day.

We fully understand that beyond the health and safety of the public, the COVID-19 crisis has quickly become an economic emergency unmatched in our current memory.

Dignity and Respect Always:

First, if you know us, you understand that our philosophy has always been one of treating everyone with dignity and […]

By Angela:

Often times I find myself in a position where someone is asking me what I do for a living and the reactions I get are pretty crazy. When I tell them I work for a collection agency, they either think I’m just a bad person, or they begin to understand, and are generally interested.

I recently went to a salon and they asked me what I did for a living and after telling them, the woman says, “Oh that’s got to suck”.  I love hearing this, because then I can take a few minutes to explain why it doesn’t and why what we do is important to the economy. It turns out the lady I […]

We bet if you turn your mattress over, clean out your car and check the laundry, you’ll be sure to find at least a few dollars. That’s a good start. And guess what, there are even more places that you can find lost and unclaimed money for both personal and business. And it might be more than just spare change.

Each year, there is an estimated $58 billion in unclaimed money in the United States. And there’s got to be a few bucks for you lying around somewhere.

For both individuals and families, there are countless sources of unclaimed money out there just waiting to be spoken for and if you do a little bit of homework […]

By Mike Hiller:

I’m a foodie so when I hear ‘Eat something that frightens you,’ the words get committed to my long-term memory bank. Must have happened across this advice from the radio or I read it in a paperback book maybe. Can’t say that public speaking, or confined spaces, heights, or things that go bump in the night, or even spiders scare me all that much. Killed plenty of creepy crawlies in the name of machismo; let a few go in the name of feminism too. You’ve seen tarantulas for sale at exotic stores as pets. Many of their various species are in fact quite docile. […]

What does a collection agency know about customer service? More than you think.

If there are a few things that are overflowing here at American Profit Recovery, its respect, and a deep desire to help. That’s helping the business that hires us and their customer that owes them money. They both require our help and some might say, they are both our customer.

Since we are most often talking about helping a business, stay in business, and what we can do to help them, let’s focus on the consumer for a moment.

While in many cases, a consumer gets into our system because of an oversight […]

If you spend any time on Google looking for a collection agency then you have no doubt seen many articles on various aspects of collection agencies, good and negative. The fact is that in any business, you see the exact same thing. Let’s take food for example.

How many times have you gone online to look for a restaurant only to find a wide range of reviews and opinions about that business. Some of these opinions are valid while other may be misleading. Not all businesses are created equal and that goes for just about any industry.

What we can tell you about the collection industry from a positive aspect is that this is a necessary industry […]

By Greg D. 

Contacting consumers is probably the most obvious thing a collection agency does.  Debt Collectors have a multitude of ways to reach out to consumers.  We can mail letters to them.  Some collection agencies may use email to try and get in touch.  Unlike years ago we now have a website that consumers seek out and look for help and make payments on.  But today just like 12 years ago when I started at American Profit Recovery, the number one tool in collections is the telephone and collector on the other end.

As one might imagine a collection call can go many different […]