The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an independent federal agency responsible for maintaining the safety of customers who interact with financial businesses. Because they create and enforce the regulations that govern the credit and collection industry, debt collection agencies know this organization well. But do you know the best way to handle a CFPB complaint about your business filed …
Managing a Multigenerational Workforce: Key Tips
Effective team management transforms your office. It can create an environment where a multigenerational workforce comes together to make a winning team. But managing different generations in the workplace isn’t always easy. A good manager must take into account the backgrounds and experiences each employee brings to their work — experiences that change with every generation.5 Generations in the WorkplaceEach …
Dispute Resolution Processes for Debt Collection
What happens if the consumer you speak to doesn’t agree that they owe a bill or debt? What if a consumer leaves your company a bad review on the internet? What policies and procedures does your debt collection agency have in place to ensure compliance and a dispute resolution process? In the past, PDCflow partnered to cover a California Association …
Skip Tracing Tools and Techniques for Collections
Between 2017-2020, PDCflow partnered with the California Association of Collectors (CAC) to share in-depth advice on running a successful, compliant debt collection agency. The subjects, ranging from day-to-day operations such as best practices for telephone communications with consumers to high-level topics like creating debt collection settlement campaigns, first appeared as the curriculum of the CAC’s Collection Boot Camp courses. Our …
Team Leadership: Seven Steps to Lead a Winning Team
The California Association of Collectors (CAC) conference and expo held each year in October features some of the best leaders in the credit and collection industry. Many of the sessions center on best practices for successful agencies, but some sessions provide unique advice which can be applied to all aspects of personal, professional and team leadership communication, no matter what …
Navigating Federal and State Call Recording Laws for Debt Collectors
Each year, the California Association of Collectors (CAC) provides insight to debt collection professionals through a series of educational courses. They touched on topics ranging from responding to disputes to tips for creating compliant collection letters, to best practices for handling call baiting. PDCflow has partnered with the California Association of Collectors (CAC) in the past to cover many operational …
Expert Tips for Creating Debt Collection Letters
Debt collection letters are a central part of a collection agency’s compliance management system. However, the California Association of Collectors (CAC) 2017 Collection Boot Camp panel, Courtney Reynaud, Shawn Suhr, Kelly Parsons-O’Brien (agency owners) and June Coleman (attorney), recognize the potential liabilities inherent in drafting collection letters. Their combined expertise and Coleman’s legal know-how as the CAC’s MAP attorney provided …
Guide to Credit Card Chargebacks for Collection Agencies
Every business comes with obstacles. A high-risk operation like a debt collection agency is full of especially unique team management and compliance challenges. Along with industry-specific rules, collection agency owners and managers must also comply with Regulation E, understand PCI compliance rules, and maintain a compliance management system as a whole. While balancing these responsibilities, agencies need to keep a …
Frequently Asked Questions on ACH Payment Processing
Offering to accept ACH payments is an effective and low-cost method to enhance convenience for your customers. And, expanding payment processing options to include ACH can significantly increase your business’s revenue. However, on the operational side, processing ACH payments and reconciliation differ significantly from handling credit card transactions. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions merchants have regarding …
High Risk Merchant Account Underwriting: What to Expect
The underwriting process for a new merchant account can be invasive and exasperating for business owners. This is especially true of those in high risk industries like debt collection. Immoral or against-regulation activities by some people in the collections industry have given legitimate agencies a bad reputation. Because of these untrustworthy few, merchant service providers and banks view high risk …
Payment Types and Channels: Pros and Cons for Businesses
Giving your customer more choice and an easy-to-use payment system can remove most of the objections that cause your business to lose out on money. These choices can mean types of payment or a preferred payment channel. Credit card, ACH and cash payment types aren’t enough on their own. Your business should also have: An online payment portal so customers …
Prevent Card Not Present Transaction Fraud and Chargebacks
EMV, better known as credit card chip technology, has revolutionized what it means to take a secure card payment during a card present transaction. The computer chip embedded in many new credit cards makes cloning card data much more difficult, deterring fraud. But what advancements in technology have been created for merchants in a card not present environment? How can …
