CUSTOMER STORY:
ACTION RECOVERY ONLINE
Immediate Payments, Fast Payment Consent, Convenience for Consumers
Customer Story Overview
OUR CUSTOMER
Action Recovery Online, located in Phoenix, Arizona, has been in business for 10 years. They collect on consumer, commercial and medical debt within Arizona and in 18 other states.
Norm Kieffer and his younger brother, Jim, partner to run and operate Action Recovery Online.
Both have been in the debt collection industry since their early twenties. Norm discovered his interest for economics during high school after a teacher recognized his talent in the subject. This talent aids him in his debt collections career even today.
He got his start in collections when working for his father in 1971, selling a business service-a pre paid collection program. Kieffer worked on both the collection and sales side of the operation and stayed in the business ever since.
THEIR PDCflow STORY
Action Recovery Online became a PDCflow client in February 2017 and recently upgraded to the PDCflow updated user interface.
They currently use PDCflow software to take credit and debit card payments. Included in their software package is the ability to set up flexible recurring payment schedules and take online payments through a secure cloud-based portal.
Recently they added the ability to send FLOWS: digital communications sent directly to the consumer. Through these FLOWS, consumers verify their identity, electronically signing to provide consent on recurring payment schedules (satisfying Regulation E).
THE CHALLENGE
1. Getting the payment or payment agreement on the first contact with the consumer.
In debt collection, getting a consumer on the phone is challenging and may be the only opportunity to resolve the account.
2. Following compliance regulations without delaying the payment process.
Waiting for written authorizations by mail slows down the payment collection process.
Not getting signed payment consent puts the agency at risk for both compliance violations and chargebacks.
THE RESULTS
IMMEDIATE PAYMENTS
“The secret of collections, is that immediate collection, and that’s what the PDCflow software does. It allows us to make the collection immediately, within minutes, When a debtor is on the phone, to actually process a payment.”
- NORM KIEFFER
FAST PAYMENT CONSENT
Accepting payments comes with unique compliance concerns to which businesses must adhere. Using PDCflow software allows Action Recovery agents to send and accept payment consents electronically without slowing down the process of resolving a debt.
“The fact that the consumer can agree to the payment arrangement – either one-time payment or a schedule – by signature, is an advantage."
CONVENIENCE FOR THE CONSUMER
Built-in convenience within PDCflow software has proven to be a valuable asset for Norm’s business. Offering an online payment portal has captured many payments outside of normal business hours. He recalled one such instance:
“We missed an incoming call from a debtor that was located outside the state – where we’re here in Arizona. He called in early, we had not arrived to the office yet. He was prepared to make a payment and there was no one here to catch the call. He went to the portal and made a $4800 payment.”
