Frequently Asked Collection Questions (Part 1)

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Q. IS YOUR LAW FIRM AND AGENCY BONDED, INSURED AND LICENSED?

A. The law firm is licensed to practice law in the state of GA and TN. We also have collection agency licenses in all states that require attorneys to be licensed as a collection agency. The Law Offices of Ross Gelfand, LLC has a $3,000,000 aggregate errors and omissions policy through Minnesota Lawyers Mutual -Policy #8199-03. We also have a $500,000 fidelity bond and a $1,000,000 business liability policy through Hartford Insurance --policy #20 SBA TQ2184.

Q. WHAT IS YOUR SUCCESS RATE?

A. Our most frequent question is "Will you be able to collect my money?" Everyone wants someone who can say "YES". We believe that if anyone can collect, we can. Because our business is debt collection and we are a national law firm, we collect more money, more often than most other third parties! Furthermore, our state of the art software as well as our highly trained collectors and paralegals make our success ratio higher. Our success rate depends on many things and even before we investigate and attempt your case, we can get a good idea of collection prospects. Certain cases, for example, are highly collectable while others have a low collection percentage.

High probability of collection success is often indicated by:

1. very recent debt; and/or 

2. lavish life style of an individual debtor; and/or 

3. operating businesses; and/or 

4. excellent credit history; and/or 

5. occupational or professional licenses of debtors; and 

6. generally stable history; and/or 

7. supportive family; and/or 8. strong financial statement or substantial asset ownership; and/or 

9. history of reliance on obtaining credit; and/or 

10. debts under $75,000.

A lower probability of collection occurs in cases that are:

1. very old; and/or 

2. against corporations that are out of business; and/or 

3. against outright thieves, like those in jail or who are being chased by law enforcement; and/or 

4. against those who have or will be filing for bankruptcy protection; and/or 

5. against those people whose lifestyle tends to indicate no assets now or in the future, such as alcoholics, drug abusers, chronic gamblers, those chronically on welfare, the terminally ill; and/or 

6. huge debts; and/or 

7. large IRS tax liens.

Collection Management and Debt Solution

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Many financial institutions seek the assistance of an experienced debt collection agent to enhance their debt portfolio. The debt collection agencies are specifically hired by lending institutions to acquire the money owed to them. Collection laws are executed by professional law firms that provide companies with the legal securities and protection needed to establish an effective collection campaign.

Any financial organization that endures debt or collection issues has the opportunity to utilize collection attorney affiliates to effectively recover large bills that have gone unpaid. A network of bonded and licensed collection attorneys offer a friendly service that not only recovers your debt, but also improves profitability. Your need to communicate with the debtors can be achieved through the involvement of highly skilled collection law offices within thirty days. Specifically, the debt collectors take pride in utilizing a unique approach that renders a debt solution in a timely and inexpensive manner.

The friendly collection law experts are always available to assist you with your commercial and retail debt collection needs. Licensed and professional debt collection attorneys provide services for well- established corporations to private individuals. The law firm patiently answers your questions, while simultaneously composing a powerful argument to manage your case. More so, the knowledgeable attorneys provide efficient services that accommodate each client’s needs. There is an array of services, which also includes medical and Skip Tracing.

The commercial account receivables include commercial lease accounts, binding contracts, telecommunications, open accounts, high technology, and insurance subrogation. The collection law offices also encompass a retail collectors department that specializes in consumer debt problems. Retail collections may include insurance subrogation, auto deficiency, credit card, and unsecured loans. A law collection management team will work on medical dilemmas, to include self- pay, contract compliance, PPO appeals, silent PPO’s, and HMO reimbursements. The Skip Tracing process is an aggressive and effective strategy used for tracking debtors. In order to successfully collect money owed to you, you must first locate the subject. Despite attempts to relocate or disconnect phones, the Skip Tracking debt solution tool is equipped to locate any debtors across the globe.

Utilizing the services of highly skilled collection attorneys has considerable advantages. A debt collecting law firm proves to be very effective in collecting aged receivables; delivering a high recovery rate. They have the resources necessary to successfully fulfill its client’s needs.

The Law Offices of Ross Gelfand, LLC provides quality services at reasonable prices. The attorneys and their affiliates are both friendly and knowledgeable. They have a unique approach to providing reliable and efficient services. Contact these highly qualified attorneys at www.collectionfirm.net to experience your ultimate debt solution.

How past due should be your customer before you decide to turn over to a third party collection agency and law firm?

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The first tier of collection is with first party agencies that are subsidiaries of the company itself, these are from 1 – 30 days past due. Second tier is 31- 60 days past due, this tier, it depends upon the company if they still want the first-party to continue collecting or if they will pass it on to the third-party collections agency. 

Banks, firms or credit card companies resort to third party collections once the account reaches 90 days to 180 days delinquent. Each country and state has their own rules and regulations regarding collection agencies and their practices which are quite often very aggressive.

 

Third party collection agencies, will try to trace the customer and ensure full settlement of outstanding. If the customer is unable to settle the outstanding, the collector will ensure that a settlement plan or a discount strategy – as agreed by the company and the collection agency- is offered to the customers. 

The advantage of first party collection is there is no lag in time between an account becoming delinquent and the beginning of the collections process. Another is you have knowledge of your customers needs and practices, making the client-customer relationship positive even if the later incurred a debt, which helps down the road to keep the customer loyal to the company. Third party collections can sometimes be seen as hostile, however if your clients need your product or service to keep his or her business running smoothly, they will strive to stay on your good side. Sometimes if the customer just hears a familiar voice asking nicely for a payment is enough to keep the problem solved. 

Many times the third party agency or law firm will have settlement authority from the client to settle for far less than the original balance. Now after 180 days and the account’s still in collections it is advisable to have the account transferred to third party agencies or law firms. 

Third party agency or law firm are subjected to Fair Debt Collection Practices Act of 1977 (FDCPA). This law is administered by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), this federal law limits the hours of collection agency or law firm to call the customers and prohibits communication of the debt to a third party. It also prohibits false or misleading representation and making threats of actions the agency cannot lawfully or does not intend to take.