How To Collect Debt

The fact of the matter is, the more time that passes between the time the payment was unpaid and the time the customer is contacted, the less likely you are to be given any sort of payment. If you’re serious about making a profit, there are three ways to handle collection on past debt; in house efforts, hiring a collection agency, or taking legal action.

Collecting the debt by yourself: If the debt is new or small, you’ll most likely start by trying to collect the debt yourself before hiring a collection agency or a lawyer. The most efficient way to start the process of collecting an unsettled debt is by calling the debtor. Many nonpaying customers can talk a great talk on the phone, but then never deliver. If the business is local, aspire to make an appointment with their finance manager to talk face to face.

Another yielding way to motivate clientele to make a payment is by applying a 10 day demand letter. Some collection agencies offer a free 10 day demand letter service that includes postage and mailing of a demand letter sent on official collection agency letterhead. Many times, this is enough to get your customer to part with their payment.

Hire a Collection Agency: Many small businesses don’t initially think of hiring a collection agency to collect overdue debt, but of the outsourced solutions, a collection agency is usually the most cost effective and gets the best results. With a collection agency, you don’t pay until they collect the debt, meaning that the collection agency is highly driven to find a way to get the customer to pay. Because they don’t get paid unless you do, a collection agency tends to work fast and much more efficient when working on a contingency basis.

Today’s new collection agencies don’t use scare tactics or bully customers. Besides, not all clients who are behind on payments are deadbeats. When you choose a collection agency, make sure one of its goals is to maintain extreme professionalism and one that fallows the FDCPA diligently.

Taking the legal road: Another idea to collecting a debt is to take legal action whether by taking the debtor to small claims court or by hiring a lawyer to pursue the debtor.

Rapid Recovery Solution is a national collection agency.

Feds Arrest 2 In Buffalo For Debt Collection Scam

The U.S. Attorney’s office submitted a criminal complaint Friday in U.S. District Court charging Timothy E. Arent and Neil G. Wieczkowski, both of Buffalo, N.Y., with mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Arent is also charged with bankruptcy fraud. The charge of mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The conspiracy and bankruptcy fraud charges each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and fine of $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney MaryEllen Kresse aforementioned the complaint asserts that, from September 2005 through the present, Arent and Wieczkowski were engaged in a deceptive debt collection scheme in which they intimidated monetary payments from their victims by means of false pretenses, false impersonation and false representations. The complaint states that the victims were individuals who at one time or another owed some type of debt that had gone into collection status.

According to the office, Arent and Wieczkowski deceitfully told their victims that the victims had failed to respond to summonses, which would result in their imminent arrest. It is further alleged that Arent and Wieczkowski told the victims that the only way they could avoid apprehension and detention by law enforcement was to make substantial monetary payments, usually in a matter of hours. The complaint also charges that the defendants tried to avoid detection by changing the names of their businesses up to 18 times, and by using mail drops and “virtual offices.” Deposits into accounts used by the defendants’ businesses during the scheme were more than $8 million.

The complaint also alleges that Arent filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy relief in 2005, and that, during the proceedings, Arent fraudulently withheld information from the Bankruptcy Court. The complaint alleges that Arent failed to disclose to the Bankruptcy Court that he had bought a 4,700 square-foot residence in Buffalo worth $500,000 before the bankruptcy, and that, after filing for bankruptcy, he was actively engaged in debt collection work through two corporate entities. Arent’s debts, as well as two civil judgments that had been filed against him concerning his pre-bankruptcy debt collection practices, were discharged by the bankruptcy court in 2006.

Arent and Wieczkowski appeared before Judge Scott Friday afternoon. Ms. Kresse moved for pretrial detention. Judge Scott granted the motion pending a detention hearing scheduled for October 6, 2009 at 2:00 pm EST.

Rapid Recovery Solution is a New York collection agency.

Ten Tips To Effective Cold Calling

Cold calling. Just the name can send chills up your spine. There are effective ways for sales professionals to warm up to cold calling, says John Monderine, President of Rapid Recovery Solution, Inc.. He shares 10 tips guaranteed to take the chill off of cold calling.

1. Define the grade of selling, your selling cycle and the basics of prospecting. Understand your selling cycle and the basis of selling. Know that 90% of your cold call must be spent interviewing your prospect.

2. Use ratios versus numbers. Instead of tacking on more calls to your day, work on bettering the ratio of people that you reach. Call executives in the mornings, during lunch or in the evenings. Work on what you say to your prospects to increase the ratio. “Stand up when you’re talking,” suggests Monderine. “Smile when you speak.”

3. Generate leads and turn them into prospects. “If someone won’t speak with you, they are not a prospect,” says Monderine. “A lead becomes a prospect once they agree to speak with you.”

4. Prepare for effective cold calling. Have your information organized and your product well defined before you make the initial calls.

5. Get past the buffers and protectors. If you call before hours or on Saturdays you are more likely to get past the gatekeepers and directly to the prospect’s voice mail.

6. Use a great opening script. First, greet your prospect by name. Second, identify yourself. Third, make a credibility statement regarding your company, products or services. Fourth, use a reference or allude to a reference. For example, you might say: We work with companies such as Verizon and Sprint. Fifth, state the reason for your call. Here’s an example: Im calling today to make an introductory appointment with you. Id like to see what your company is doing now and if using some of our services would make sense for you.

7. Create the necessary level of comfort. Provide your prospect with the logic and foundation for a conversation. Using a reference helps create comfort.

8. Make the arrangements. Ask for the appointment.

9. Understand and overcome objections and adverse responses. Be prepared for the usual objections or responses by coming up with responses of your own. Answer an objection with a question. For example, if they say: We aren’t interested at this time. You can respond by asking: Well, what are you doing for _____ right now?

10. Follow through. Schedule your appointment, stick to your schedule and execute.

60 Seconds: To get through to an executive or find the name of a decision maker, call the company’s human resources or sales department and ask for their help.

Rapid Recovery Solution is a commercial debt collection agency.

The Pros and Cons Of Bankruptcy

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.

Debt Collection Practices

If you owe debt to a creditor collection agencies are allowed to report your debt to credit bureaus, file lawsuits against you, and should be taken very seriously. The best way to protect yourself and your financial situation is a methodical approach. First, know why you are being contacted. Know where the debt is from and exactly how much it costs.

Inquire about the name of the person calling, the agency, the creditor, and the agency’s address and fax number. You have every right to tell a collector over the phone that you want all future contact to be in a written form. Follow up all requests with a written request.

Keep in mind if you tell the collector not to contact you at all it the agency is entitled to contact you once more to inform you how it plans to proceed. Another request that can be made is that you are the only person that can be contacted. It might be a good idea to keep a file including dates and details of phone conversations and when you mail out or receive letters.

If you do send any written correspondence to the collections company do this by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested. This guarantees that the letter reached the collector, giving you a signed receipt as proof. If you work out a re-payment plan over the phone, ask for the terms of the plan in writing. Any promise to remove or adjust credit history should also definitely be documented.

Double check that you pay the right party; payments should be made to the collections company, not the creditor, unless otherwise instructed to do so. Closely examine the amount you are being asked to pay. Get an assessment of any interest, fees or charges that have been added.

If you feel that your collector is being abusive, make sure that you complain to the agency and keep this complaint on file. Finally, don’t ignore a collector even if you feel that the debt is not yours; they will continue to call and it may mean more trouble and time in the long run.

Mallory Megan is employed by a debt collection company. She also writes articles on business, finance, consumer spending and collection agencies.

Debt Collection Companies Explore Work At Home Opportunities

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

Beware Of Cash4Gold

We’ve all seen them – the flashy “Cash4Gold” commercials, at times they feature people on the street dancing, or at other times, M.C. Hammer promising fast cash in turn for your old, unused jewelry. Although human nature makes us want to unconditionally trust the dancing person or even with his track record, M.C. Hammer, it turns out that Cash4Gold may not in fact be too legit to quit.

Recently Representative Anthony D. Weiner called out Cash4Gold on their bad business practices. Standing in front of legitimate jewelry appraisers, Weiner warned consumers to take their business to a place that they knew was valid as opposed to the shady mail in gold exchange.

The way that Cash4Gold works is that consumers utilize special envelopes to send jewelry and gold to the company’s offices in Florida. The advertisements claim the business will provide customers with a quick appraisal of the value of the items they have sent, and then they will mail them a check for that amount.

On paper, consumers are given a twelve day time span in which they have the ability to return their check and get the jewelry back. But according to research by Rep. Weiner and Consumer Reports, Cash4Gold paid out only 11 to 29 percent of the actual value of valuables sent to them, and often, they refused to mail jewelry back when it was requested to do so within the 12 day period.

Weiner proposed that the Federal Trade Commission should do some research the whole Cash4Gold problem, adding that he wants to introduce laws that would regulate companies that use mail to exchange cash and jewelry.

This legislation would put fines on companies that melt down gold without the owner’s permission or before a return period has been passed. It will make companies allow enough time for consumers to request a refund and make sure that companies actually insure the jewelry they are returning to consumers.

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