Facts To Consider When Choosing A Collection Agency
Once you've decided on delegating your delinquent accounts to a collection agency, the next question is how to find the best one. In today's current economy there are so many different kinds it can be confusing. Following are suggestions for finding the best collection agency to suit your needs.
The first thing you need to ask when trying to hire collection agencies is whether or not they charge an upfront fee. Most collection agencies charge a percentage of the money they recover. This gives them more incentive to be successful, so there's really no reason to employ a collection agency that takes your money up front. It frees up more of your cash flow to pay a percentage fee.
The second thing you need to ask potential collection agencies is whether or not they belong to one of the professional collection associations. These two organizations are the Commercial Law League of America and the American Collectors Association.
For example, both organizations require perfectly professional conduct from their members. Not only do they conform to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, they are committed to training courses for members to teach the latest collection techniques.
The next question for a collection agency you want to hire is whether or not they will allow you to access your accounts online. Even though you're delegating collections to them, you want to be able to check your files to see how things are going at any time. A truly professional agency will understand this need and take care of it for you rather than making you rely on monthly reports.
An important way to keep an eye on your collections files when they've been outsourced is online access, so one of the most important criteria for choosing a collection agency is whether or not they offer you online access to your accounts. You want to be able to check on their progress at all times, so agencies that do this are better than agencies who only offer you reports periodically in the mail.
Ask your potential collection agency if they do all their own work or outsource it. If you're hiring a company you want that company to perform the actual work. Some agencies outsource their calls, including to offshore call centers. Unless your collections are international, in which case you will want an international collection agency that is familiar with the local culture, this is not a good idea. Debtors tend to take these calls less seriously.
The last thing you need to keep in mind is that a collection agency should have extended business hours and coverage in different time zones. If you have accounts across the country a local agency won't be able to call them during the prime collection hours. It's necessary to either have people working on a sliding schedule so the office is manned from 8:30 am Eastern time to 9:00 pm Pacific time, or hire a national collection agency that has offices in each time zone.
The first thing you need to ask when trying to hire collection agencies is whether or not they charge an upfront fee. Most collection agencies charge a percentage of the money they recover. This gives them more incentive to be successful, so there's really no reason to employ a collection agency that takes your money up front. It frees up more of your cash flow to pay a percentage fee.
The second thing you need to ask potential collection agencies is whether or not they belong to one of the professional collection associations. These two organizations are the Commercial Law League of America and the American Collectors Association.
For example, both organizations require perfectly professional conduct from their members. Not only do they conform to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, they are committed to training courses for members to teach the latest collection techniques.
The next question for a collection agency you want to hire is whether or not they will allow you to access your accounts online. Even though you're delegating collections to them, you want to be able to check your files to see how things are going at any time. A truly professional agency will understand this need and take care of it for you rather than making you rely on monthly reports.
An important way to keep an eye on your collections files when they've been outsourced is online access, so one of the most important criteria for choosing a collection agency is whether or not they offer you online access to your accounts. You want to be able to check on their progress at all times, so agencies that do this are better than agencies who only offer you reports periodically in the mail.
Ask your potential collection agency if they do all their own work or outsource it. If you're hiring a company you want that company to perform the actual work. Some agencies outsource their calls, including to offshore call centers. Unless your collections are international, in which case you will want an international collection agency that is familiar with the local culture, this is not a good idea. Debtors tend to take these calls less seriously.
The last thing you need to keep in mind is that a collection agency should have extended business hours and coverage in different time zones. If you have accounts across the country a local agency won't be able to call them during the prime collection hours. It's necessary to either have people working on a sliding schedule so the office is manned from 8:30 am Eastern time to 9:00 pm Pacific time, or hire a national collection agency that has offices in each time zone.
About the Author:
David P. Montana has three decades experience as an industry professional, business advisor and published author in debt collection services. David offers more useful tools and facts about national collection agencies.