Cali Collection Company Attempts to Get Fit And Healthy

May 16, 2010 by  
Filed under Business

A collection agency based in California produced a plot to motivate and educate employees to live healthier lifestyles in early January. There are twenty eight employees at the agency; more than half are currently participating in the initiative.

All of the parties involved have made a goal to lose ten percent of their total body weight by the end of June. Every Monday morning weigh-ins are scheduled and employees have an opportunity to win two cash prizes for losing five percent of their body weight by the end of March, and then another five percent by the end of June.

The Agency’s executive alleged that he had been considering the initiative for quite a while. He says it’s perfect for the stereotypical office setting that is fraught with unhealthy eating, and employees taking breaks to get fast food. He made note of the fact that trying to make employees lose weight was more cost efficient than actually obtaining health insurance for his workers.

In a ploy to get employees to live healthier, the agency has sporadic lunches and “education track meetings” once a week. The meetings are supposed to assist employees target and plan for their weight loss goal. So far the program has been a success. The collection company has collectively lost 72 pounds to date. That’s the size of a small child.

The program works to produce a better all around worker. It follows that a worker that is less stressed will be more efficient and motivated. While a really relaxed debt collector does not seem like they would be the most efficient worker, it all seems like a good idea. As the government tries to sort out the health care system, perhaps it is time that more companies like this take this route. If employees cannot get health insurance, health initiatives and goals at work could be the next best solution.

Rapid Recovery Solution is a third party debt collection company. lawyer based and equipped with skiptracing tools. You are welcome to reprint this article – but get your own unique content version here.

The Pros and Cons Of Bankruptcy

April 15, 2010 by  
Filed under Business

Bankruptcy may be seen as a quick fix solution to financial problems. However, the effects of bankruptcy are long term and can impair your ability to obtain a job, house, and any type of credit. It is important to weigh the pros and the cons of bankruptcy before making a major decision.

Admittedly, bankruptcy comes with a number of benefits. First and foremost it annihilates most of your debt. It can aid you with missed debt payments, defaults, repossessions and lawsuits. If you have horrible credit, it can get you started on rehabilitation.

Bankruptcy will stop the phone calls from creditors, collections letters, repossessions, declined charge authorizations, cancelled credit cards, and lawsuits. You also can keep your car if you keep up on the payment; bankruptcy will also allow you to hold on to your home if you remain current on the payments.

Bankruptcy allows you to exit foreclosure and make monthly payments on past amounts. Finally, it stops creditors from making a claim after it is filed, even if your financial situation changes.

On the flip side, bankruptcy law offers a “fresh start” but only every six years in many cases. Bankruptcy will be on your credit report for ten years and severely hurts your credit rating. In addition, filing bankruptcy may require a wait of two years before it is possible to buy a home. Some lenders allow for home loans after one year though.

Bankruptcy does not deal with most tax debt. It does not clear away student loan debt. It is required that you give up your credit cards. It may cause you to lose some of your possessions, and unfortunately bankruptcy carries a stigma that can be embarrassing.

If you are not sure whether to file bankruptcy or not, call your creditors to see what type of repayment plan they can work out with you. While bankruptcy is an option, in most cases it should be seen as a last resort.

Mallory Megan works for a debt collection company. Also she writes articles on business, finance, consumer spending and collection agencies.

Scams On The Increase – Jury Duty Scam Emerges

April 15, 2010 by  
Filed under Business

The FBI recently reported that jury scams are on the rise, even though they have existed for years. What happens is that someone will call you, telling you that you have missed jury duty, and then they will ask for personal information to stop you from getting arrested. But if you give the conman what he is asking for, you could lose your identity.

The scam goes down when the victim claims that they never got summoned for jury duty. Then the scam artist will answer that they need to verify that and make sure that it’s the right person. And for this they will need your social security number and birth date.

This scam is years old but as the recession gets worse, more and more conmen seem to be making their ways out of the woodwork. A similar scam to try to gather telephone information has surfaced recently as well. Emails alert unsuspecting victims that their number is being dispersed to telemarketers, and that they have to call a number to be put on the government’s “do not call” registry. When a victim calls, they are asked for information and even a fee to be put on the list.

Identity thieves are extremely adept at piecing a puzzle together in order to create an identity out of yours. Regular protocol for jury duty summons is that you fill out a qualifying questionnaire. Then the courthouse will send you a summons if you have been selected. Usually, a summons is sent out a couple of weeks before the month that they will serve on jury duty. This has been protocol for twenty years at the least, and there are obviously no plans amend it.

People legitimately calling you about jury duty won’t ever ask for a birth date or a social security number. It is very important to bear in mind that if you are not sure if you are being scammed or not, you should always verify what they are saying and not give into them, no matter how aggressive. It will be worth it in the long run.

Mallory Megan works for a debt collection agency. Also she composes articles on business, finance, consumer spending and collection agencies.

Debt Collection Companies Explore Work At Home Opportunities

April 12, 2010 by  
Filed under Finance

Despite the fact that it is always a good idea to hire more workers to add to your ranks, sustaining a good relationship with the best employees in a collections agency is crucial. It has become a recent trend that tenured collectors are now requesting to work at home.

It might be a smart move to accommodate for them considering that their commissions have been lower as of late, and the stress of the commute or a need to spend more time with family may drive your best collectors away.

Work at home programs haven’t become an every day thing yet, but there are a few companies that are making exceptions for certain bill collectors. Typically these collectors are the best at what they do and may work from home a few days a week.

The way that working at home works is easy. Typically, the collector is set up with a computer that has the ability access the computers at the office and they are given designated phone equipment to utilize. The beauty of it is that everything the collector does can still be monitered, as if he or she was working in the call center itself.

But before you start to send employees to work at home, it is imperative to assess the good and bad qualities of each collector. But studies have shown that if a collector is a good candidate to work from home, they will be more productive, take fewer breaks, and without social interaction with other employees they can focus on the job itself.

There are still a good amount of issues that have to be addressed when one thinks about working at home. First, there are potential data security performance control and data security issues. Additionally, in light of all of the recent laws impacting the collections business, it is not probable that we will know of many formal work at home programs anytime soon. Yet experts believe it is not good to alienate the best workers who are inquiring about work at home. They predict that we will see more collection agencies allowing collectors to work from home within the next five years.

Mallory McGuinness works for a collection agencies agency. She also writes articles on business, finance, the credit industry and debt collection. Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory

What Can A Collection Agency Do?

March 25, 2010 by  
Filed under Debt Consolidation

When and how does bill collection cross over the line into harassment and aggressive behavior? A bill collector is never allowed to use obscene language or threats of violence. However, they are allowed to insult your integrity and make you feel bad about the person you are.

Anecdotal stories circulate about collectors claiming that a debt cannot be negotiated, settled or paid off with time. Collectors have been known to rudely inquire when a debtor is planning to pay, and then reject a debtors offer as not enough. This is not true or acceptable, as a consumer you always have the ability to negotiate.

Debt collectors work on commission which is why the persistent ones can be so aggressive and hostile. But the key point is that, despite that you may owe money to a creditor, you always have the right to be treated like a professional. Even though collectors are prohibited from calling third parties such as co-workers, friends and family to spread the word that you are in debt, collection agencies are allowed to contact people who may know where you are if they are trying to find you.

Collection agents are expressly forbidden from threatening you with jail time, sadly in some unethical companies it has become a common tactic to use this threat to intimidate immigrant communities, because there is less of a chance that these people will know or understand the law.

A bill collector cannot call you repeatedly, which technically means that they can’t continuously call you over and over. Despite this fact, that does not stop them from calling you two, three, even four times a day. With some companies, bill collectors are given a small number of accounts to work with purposely so that they can badger a consumer in debt into paying for their commission. To put a stop on collections phone calls, you are able to send a letter by certified mail return receipt requested requesting that they no longer contact you by phone.

Mallory Megan is employed by a debt collection company. Also she writes stories on business, finance, consumer spending and collection agencies. Visit the Uber Article Directory to get a totally unique version of this article for reprint.