Posts Tagged ‘collection agent’

An Oldie But A Goodie- Fake Bill Collector Scheme

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

Even though it’s an oldie, apparently it’s still a goodie. Enjoying a recent boost in popularity, the fake debt collector scam still fools unknowing victims.

First, you will get a phone call from a number that will not be recognizable. Sometimes, it will seem legitimate, but ultimately, not familiar. When you get the call, the person calling will let you know that they are a debt collector with so and so debt collection agency, and that this is an attempt to collect debt. At times, the phonies have been known to claim that they are working in addition to a local lawyer to get your delinquent account settled. The conman will tell you that you have accumulated a large amount of debt from a previous account. Typically, the crooks will tell you that you potentially owe them thousands, but if you are willing to settle, they will “settle: for, oh say, five hundred dollars. And could you wire the money via Western Union?

An interesting hint of ingenuity on the part of the scam artists is that a good amount of times these calls will arrive on a late Friday evening, or afternoon. When they call at these times, any government offices that you may report this to will be shut and closed for the weekend.

A number of times, the fake bill collectors will be calling from outside of the country. An example of this was a recent scam involving a call center in India. Using services in order to mask their number, call centers located outside of the country may even choose a number from an area code nearby to where you live.

If you have received a call from a debt collector that you feel may be a scam, it is imperative to remain vigilant. Ask your bill collector for a written statement of your debt. If they will not provide you with written proof, don’t fork out any money to this suspicious business. If you feel as though you may have been victimized by a phony bill collector scam, it is necessary to file a report with the Attorney General’s office in your state. It is important to collect as much information as you can to provide more details in your complaint.

Rapid Recovery Solution is a medical debt collection agency.

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Collections Agencies Look Into Work-At-Home Programs

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

While it is always a good idea to hire more people to add to your ranks, keeping the best employees in a collections agency is crucial. It has become a recent trend that tenured collectors are requesting to work at home.

It might be wise to accommodate for them seeing as their commissions have been lower as of late, and the stress of the commute or a desire to spend more time with family might 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 simple. Usually, the collector is set up with a computer that can access the computers at the office and they are given designated phone equipment to use. The beauty of it is that everything the collector does can be monitored still, 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 number of issues that need to be addressed when one considers working at home. First, there are potential data security performance control and data security issues. Also, in light of all of the recent legislation impacting the collection industry, it is not likely that we will hear about many formal work at home programs anytime soon. Yet experts believe it is not good to alienate the best workers who are asking about work at home. They believe that we will see more collection agencies allowing collectors to work from home within the next five years.

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

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Spanish Debt Collection Company Humiliates Debtors Into Paying Up

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Would you be mortified if a man in a tuxedo and a top hat followed you into a restaurant and silently joined your lunch date? How about a three men with more to love dressed up like superheroes begging your neighbors for donations to help you in your financial situation?

In Madrid, make sure that your bills are paid or you might be visited by one of these crazy characters. The recession has slammed Spain. Official figures show that the unemployment rate has sky rocketed, reaching 19.3 percent. That\’s one of the highest rates in Europe. About four million people aren\’t working. That\’s the same number of jobless people as France and Italy combined. One business is flourishing however, that business is debt collection.

Spanish law is pretty lax when it comes to debt payment. They allow 95 days to settle bills unlike the 30 in other parts of Europe. This, coupled with the fact that Spanish courts give the matter low priority put collection agencies in high demand.

One company, El Cobrador del Frac – which translates as \”The Debt Collector in Top Hat and Tails\” – has more than 250 collectors, and an equal number of investigators and secretaries.Their goal is to work out some deal and retrieve money, not to run after people without the means to pay.

For the company, the new and most popular business is coming from constructive trade which is suffering from a huge slowdown. Homeowners owe money to contractors, contractors owe money to construction companies, construction companies owe equipment makers, and so forth and so on.

Last year, the agency was contacted by a wedding company who had a couple who did not pay the $83,000 bill for their extravagant wedding. The agency got their hands on a wedding guest list and began calling up guests one by one on the phone and asking them if they had the chicken or the lobster, and then asked them where to send the bill. Eventually the shamed couple paid up.

These ideas are interesting, (I guess that\’s one way to describe it) but they won\’t be this effective in due time. In this time of crisis, too many people have debts and they honestly can\’t pay. And to these people, it doesn\’t matter how much you humiliate them.

Mallory Megan works for a debt collection company. Also she composes stories about finance and business, consumer spending and debt collection.

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