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 …
How to Plan for Your Best Tax Refund Debt Collection Season
For many consumers, a tax return is the perfect opportunity to take control of outstanding debts. That’s why tax refund season is one of the busiest times of the year for debt collection agencies. Does your agency take advantage of tax refund season to boost revenue and close more accounts? Lots of companies might want to establish a tax time …
Chargeback Prevention Tips for High Risk Businesses
Your staff works hard during the busy tax season and throughout the year to settle past-due accounts and collect payments for your debt collection agency. Without measures in place to prevent chargebacks, though, many of your payments could end up being disputed by consumers. Agencies and other high-risk businesses can go months or years without experiencing the stress caused by …
A Strategic Approach to Debt Settlement Campaigns for Tax Season
Debt settlement campaigns are initiatives where debt collection agencies offer a discount to consumers to boost collection on old or unresponsive accounts. Tax refund season is the best time to consider a debt settlement campaign within your debt collection agency. A debt settlement campaign can help your agency: liquidate inventory more quickly increase revenue for you and your clients increase …
