MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Third-party debt collection has an important impact on America’s national, state and local economies, according to a new study by ACA International and global advisory firm Ernst and Young (www.acainternational.org/impact) based on 2010 data.

“These findings reinforce the critical role the third-party debt collection industry plays as a service provider in recovering unpaid consumer debt on behalf of the public, private and non-profit sectors,” said ACA International CEO Pat Morris. “Moreover, third-party collectors are actively engaged in their local communities as employers, volunteers, philanthropists and taxpayers.”

Key national findings of this landmark survey include:

* Recovering Assets: A total of $55 billion was recovered on behalf of creditor clients. The collection of consumer debt also provides a valuable benefit to American households. Based on a net of $44.6 billion recovered, third-party debt collection efforts represent $396 in savings on average per household by keeping the costs of goods and services lower.
* Job Creation: Third-party collection agencies directly employed 148,272 people with a payroll of $5 billion. Indirectly, the industry influenced creation of more than 300,000 jobs with a payroll of $10 billion.
* Paying Taxes: Third-party collection agencies and their employees paid $495 million in federal taxes, and $509 million in state and local taxes. The ancillary impact of the industry generated a total $970 million in federal taxes paid and $1 billion in state and local taxes.
* Giving Back: Third-party collection agencies and their employees contributed $85.2 million and volunteered 652,000 hours to charitable community causes.

“Our nation was built on the premise that those who provide credit, goods and services to consumers have the expectation of being repaid,” said ACA International President Mark Neeb. “Recovering these debts helps organizations survive; prevents layoffs; keeps cost down and credit, goods and services available; and reduces the need for tax increases to cover government budget shortfalls.”

To review the complete ACA / Ernst and Young report, “The Impact of Third-Party Debt Collection to the National and State Economies,” please visit www.acainternational.org/impact.

ACA International is the comprehensive, knowledge-based resource for success in the credit and collection industry. Founded in 1939, ACA brings together more than 5,000 members in the United States and abroad, and their employees, including third-party collection agencies, asset buyers, attorneys, creditors and vendor affiliates. ACA establishes a wide variety of products, services and publications. For more information on ACA International, visit www.acainternational.org. Information on consumer rights is available at www.askdoctordebt.org.

Contact: Mark Schiffman, PR Director
Tel. (952) 259-2124 or schiffman@acainternational.org

SOURCE ACA International

RELATED LINKS

http://www.acainternational.org

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Attorney General Lori Swanson sued a debt collection agency that works with two Minnesota hospitals on Thursday, saying it failed to keep health care records for tens of thousands of patients confidential and did not tell patients just how much it was involved in their health care.

The lawsuit against Accretive Health Inc., a Chicago-based company that works with hospitals to maximize revenue, comes after an Accretive employee had a laptop stolen in July that contained the data of 23,500 patients of Fairview Health Services and North Memorial Health Care.

As authorities were investigating, they discovered Accretive had access to patient data through contracts with the hospitals, and used that data to assess patients’ “frailty” or risk of becoming hospitalized. Swanson said the agency shared its activities with investors on Wall Street “without the knowledge or consent of patients who have the right to know how their information is being used and to have it kept confidential.”

Francesca Luthi, spokeswoman for Accretive, said the company will work with the state to resolve the matter.

“We have already enhanced our security procedures to ensure that all patient information is fully protected and secure,” Luthi said. “There is no evidence that any data has been improperly accessed.”

The lawsuit claims Accretive violated state and federal health privacy laws, and state debt collection and consumer protection laws. It seeks an order that would require Accretive to tell patients what information it has on them, what information it lost, where it sent the information, and why it has the information in the first place.

It also seeks an injunction that would restrict how Accretive treats and uses patient data in the future.

When asked why Accretive has the information about patients, Luthi said the company is reviewing the complaint and she had no additional comment.

Swanson said she will follow up with the hospitals, but no action has been taken against them.

Larry Taylor, chief executive of North Memorial Health Care, said the lawsuit is between the state and Accretive, and that information about North Memorial patients did not contain information such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, or home addresses.

Fairview Health Services said it remains committed to “improving patient outcomes, improving the patient experience and lowering the cost of care.”

“We are redoubling our efforts to safeguard our patients’ health information,” Fairview’s statement said. “We are also working to ensure that all of our partners and vendors are doing the same.”

Swanson said she has spoken with some of the patients whose data was released. All received a notice as required by law last fall, but they might not know their information was rated, she added.

After the laptop was stolen, a patient requested information about the data, which was unencrypted. According to a “screen shot” sent to the patient, the laptop contained identifying information such as the patient’s name, address, birthdate and Social Security number. It also included a checklist noting whether a patient has 22 different chronic medical conditions, ranging from HIV to seizure disorders.

The screen shot included numeric scores to predict the complexity of a patient’s needs and the probability of hospitalization.

“A mental health disorder … can subject patients to stigma. A physical disorder can disqualify people for jobs. HIV status can subject people to discrimination,” Swanson said. “Simply put, medical confidentiality is one of the most sacred rights, and if medical information isn’t privileged and confidential, people are going to be reluctant to seek treatment.”

Swanson said Accretive gained access to the data through contracts with the hospitals. Swanson said as part of the contracts, Accretive has staff in hospitals, and largely controls the hospitals’ “revenue cycles” — including scheduling, registration and billing.

The attorney general said Accretive tells investors the cycle starts when a patient registers for services or goes to the hospital and ends when the hospital has collected funds from all possible sources. Accretive tells investors it uses techniques such as data mining and “propensity to pay” algorithms.

Accretive receives compensation and incentive pay for helping hospitals boost revenue or cut costs, Swanson said.

The company also has a second contract with Fairview in which it manages the hospital’s total cost of care, the lawsuit said. Accretive tells investors that as part of this contract, it scores the risk of patients and tracks profit loss by patient. It also reduces avoidable hospital admissions and identifies the sickest patients for proactive management.

Fairview is the only hospital in the country that has this contract with Accretive, Swanson said. As part of it, Accretive also helps Fairview negotiate contracts with HMOs and insurance companies under which Fairview gets incentive pay to cut costs.

Dr. Deborah Peel, founder of the nonprofit group Patient Privacy Rights in Austin, Texas, called this case “outrageous.” She said even when conducting analysis, outside companies should not see identifying information about patients.

And while similar things are happening nationwide, she said Accretive’s activity is particularly egregious because the data could have been used to improve care, but was instead used to figure out who is able to pay for care and who isn’t.

“These people are all fulfilling what is every American’s worst nightmare, which is using health data to discriminate against you and keep people from getting treatment,” she said.

A second look at the numbers suggests the regulator takes in even less in fines than it appears

Admittedly, the figures put out this week by the Ontario Securities Commission look bad enough at first glance. Since 2005, the OSC has collected less than 1 per cent of the $73.36-million in fines it has imposed on fraudsters and other rule-breakers after defeating them in contested hearings.

The agency blames the lack of recovered money on the ability of bad guys to hide assets. It points out that it has had success with winning more and longer jail sentences for some offenders lately, and says it extends bans on trading and other activities for deadbeats who don’t pay up.

The OSC’s collection rate for fines imposed as part of settlements with violators – the regulator’s version of plea-bargains – appears much better, with about 71 per cent of that money coming in.

However, even that number deserves a second look. The OSC says it collected $109.79-million in fines and costs agreed to in settlements, of the $155.52-million pledged to it.

Those figures include the $28-million in settlements made in 2009 with establishment financial institutions Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, CIBC World Markets and HSBC Bank Canada, over their failings in the meltdown of the asset-backed commercial paper market in the summer of 2007.

That money could not have been hard to collect. Big banks, unlike serial fraudsters, tend to be quite concerned about their repuations.

Subtract that amount from the total the OSC says it was able to rake in from settlements, and the agency only got its hands on $81.79-million. If you also strip the bank’s $28-million out of the total amount pledged in settlements, the result shows the OSC recovering just 64 per cent of penalties promised in deals with the remaining wrongdoers. And this is money that people and companies in trouble actually agreed to pay in order to settle their cases.

The lower number provides a more realistic assessment of just how little of the money the OSC imposes in fines – even the money that rule-breakers agree to pay – ends up coming to it from the more run-of-the-mill offenders, such as “boiler-room” operators, that it deals with.

The OSC acknowledges that it has hardened its stance in settlement talks in recent years, and that it chooses not to take into account a rule-breaker’s ability to pay when demanding a dollar amount.

As the agency’s director of enforcement, Tom Atkinson, said in an interview this week: “You don’t want to waive your penalties because someone comes before you and says ‘I’ve stolen a million dollars from victims, but I’ve spent it all now, so don’t fine me and I just want to walk out of here.’”

He said both that the OSC had already made exhaustive efforts to track down money and that it would somehow do more. The OSC’s pledge to publish its collection rates in its annual reports means investors and the public will be able to judge whether things are getting better.

Meanwhile, the OSC’s poor collection record could factor into the current debate over whether it should adopt U.S.-style “no-contest” settlements with alleged wrongdoers, which allow them to neither admit nor deny liability. Some argue this would speed up settlement talks in certain cases and allow the agency to concentrate on bigger fish. Critics say it lets bad guys get away without punishment.

Ontario is already the holder of a reputation as a place where white-collar criminals get off easily. It is easy to see why critics will say a move by the OSC to allow some violators to get out of admitting liability, even while most are already getting out of paying their fines, would reinforce that perception.

By JEFF GRAY
Globe and Mail Blog
The Globe and Mail Inc. All Rights Reserved

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Attorney General Lori Swanson sued a debt collection agency that works with two Minnesota hospitals on Thursday, saying it failed to keep health care records for tens of thousands of patients confidential and did not tell patients just how much it was involved in their health care.

The lawsuit against Accretive Health Inc., a Chicago-based company that works with hospitals to maximize revenue, comes after an Accretive employee had a laptop stolen in July that contained the data of 23,500 patients of Fairview Health Services and North Memorial Health Care.

As authorities were investigating, they discovered Accretive had access to patient data through contracts with the hospitals, and used that data to assess patients’ “frailty” or risk of becoming hospitalized. Swanson said the agency shared its activities with investors on Wall Street “without the knowledge or consent of patients who have the right to know how their information is being used and to have it kept confidential.”

Francesca Luthi, spokeswoman for Accretive, said the company will work with the state to resolve the matter.

“We have already enhanced our security procedures to ensure that all patient information is fully protected and secure,” Luthi said. “There is no evidence that any data has been improperly accessed.”

The lawsuit claims Accretive violated state and federal health privacy laws, and state debt collection and consumer protection laws. It seeks an order that would require Accretive to tell patients what information it has on them, what information it lost, where it sent the information, and why it has the information in the first place.

It also seeks an injunction that would restrict how Accretive treats and uses patient data in the future.

When asked why Accretive has the information about patients, Luthi said the company is reviewing the complaint and she had no additional comment.

Swanson said she will follow up with the hospitals, but no action has been taken against them.

Larry Taylor, chief executive of North Memorial Health Care, said the lawsuit is between the state and Accretive, and that information about North Memorial patients did not contain information such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, or home addresses.

Fairview Health Services said it remains committed to “improving patient outcomes, improving the patient experience and lowering the cost of care.”

“We are redoubling our efforts to safeguard our patients’ health information,” Fairview’s statement said. “We are also working to ensure that all of our partners and vendors are doing the same.”

Swanson said she has spoken with some of the patients whose data was released. All received a notice as required by law last fall, but they might not know their information was rated, she added.

After the laptop was stolen, a patient requested information about the data, which was unencrypted. According to a “screen shot” sent to the patient, the laptop contained identifying information such as the patient’s name, address, birthdate and Social Security number. It also included a checklist noting whether a patient has 22 different chronic medical conditions, ranging from HIV to seizure disorders.

The screen shot included numeric scores to predict the complexity of a patient’s needs and the probability of hospitalization.

“A mental health disorder … can subject patients to stigma. A physical disorder can disqualify people for jobs. HIV status can subject people to discrimination,” Swanson said. “Simply put, medical confidentiality is one of the most sacred rights, and if medical information isn’t privileged and confidential, people are going to be reluctant to seek treatment.”

Swanson said Accretive gained access to the data through contracts with the hospitals. Swanson said as part of the contracts, Accretive has staff in hospitals, and largely controls the hospitals’ “revenue cycles” — including scheduling, registration and billing.

The attorney general said Accretive tells investors the cycle starts when a patient registers for services or goes to the hospital and ends when the hospital has collected funds from all possible sources. Accretive tells investors it uses techniques such as data mining and “propensity to pay” algorithms.

Accretive receives compensation and incentive pay for helping hospitals boost revenue or cut costs, Swanson said.

The company also has a second contract with Fairview in which it manages the hospital’s total cost of care, the lawsuit said. Accretive tells investors that as part of this contract, it scores the risk of patients and tracks profit loss by patient. It also reduces avoidable hospital admissions and identifies the sickest patients for proactive management.

Fairview is the only hospital in the country that has this contract with Accretive, Swanson said. As part of it, Accretive also helps Fairview negotiate contracts with HMOs and insurance companies under which Fairview gets incentive pay to cut costs.

Dr. Deborah Peel, founder of the nonprofit group Patient Privacy Rights in Austin, Texas, called this case “outrageous.” She said even when conducting analysis, outside companies should not see identifying information about patients.

And while similar things are happening nationwide, she said Accretive’s activity is particularly egregious because the data could have been used to improve care, but was instead used to figure out who is able to pay for care and who isn’t.

“These people are all fulfilling what is every American’s worst nightmare, which is using health data to discriminate against you and keep people from getting treatment,” she said.

Tempus reported from St. Paul, Minn.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Southern Nevada is in the running to be the home of an expanding credit card debt-collection company that could eventually provide 2,000 jobs in a call-center environment.

Tulsa, Okla.-based CFS II won unanimous approval Tuesday from the Nevada Commission on Economic Development for $538,106 in sales and business tax abatements in addition to $33,600 in sales tax deferrals.

Approval of the incentive package puts Nevada one step closer to being selected for the site of a 40,000-square-foot facility with 500 employees and plans to expand to 200,000 square feet and 2,000 jobs in three to five years.

Bill Bartmann, president and CEO of CFS II, said Nevada is in the running against sites in North Carolina and Illinois.

The commission’s approval of the incentive package was a departure from traditional requests in which a company has a firm commitment to locate in the state.

Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, who chairs the commission, sought an opinion from the attorney general’s office on whether the board could approve incentives to a company without a firm commitment to the state. The AG’s office said it was permissible.

Bartmann said the incentives would be “helpful” in his company’s decision on whether to locate in the state, which he said would be a purely economic decision.

Bartmann said the decision would be made by the end of March, and the facility would be operational in the second quarter.

The company acquires charged-off credit-card debt at greatly discounted rates from banks and lending institutions and renegotiates payments under new terms with the borrowers.

Once listed as one of the 25 richest people in the United States, Bartmann developed a reputation for providing offbeat benefits to his employees. When his staff beat performance goals, he flew them to Las Vegas where he wrestled Hulk Hogan at the Thomas & Mack Center — and won.

He also chartered 27 Boeing 747 jumbo jets to fly employees and their families to Walt Disney World for a weekend.

But commissioners were most impressed with some of the benefits Bartmann extends to his workers — free health care, a 250 percent match on the company’s 401(k) retirement program and free on-site child care.

In Oklahoma, CFS II is major supporter of Junior Achievement and Salvation Army charitable activities and in one year funded $750,000 in college scholarships.

CFS II qualified for tax incentives meeting three statutory requirements, job creation, average wage and capital investment.

The company’s application said it would pay $19.87 an hour on average, 2 percent more than the requirement, and invest $1.7 million, 68 percent more than required. The 500 jobs created is more than five times the statutory requirement. CFS II needed only two of the three requirements to qualify for tax breaks.

State officials estimated that sales tax, abated to 2 percent for a year, would cost the state $102,480 and the modified business tax, abated by 50 percent for four years, would result in $435,626 less going to the state. The company also would get a 60-month deferral on sales tax payments.

The state’s analysis of the benefit to the state is that it would create $11.4 million in new taxes and an economic impact of $666.4 million over 10 years. That’s $1,238 per abated dollar.

In other business, the commission approved federal training grants for two companies expanding to Southern Nevada.

Commissioners approved a $60,000 grant to Smile Foods Inc. to train 38 employees at a new specialized food manufacturing plant in Las Vegas or Henderson.

Ina Agwada, president and CEO of Smile Foods, is developing a manufacturing plant to produce foods free of glutens, wheat and allergens and for lactose-intolerant customers.

Agwada said the company is dedicated to the growing food-intolerance products market and using sustainable agriculture that saves billions of gallons of water a year, keeps soil healthy and avoids the use of pesticides and harmful chemicals.

Smile Foods qualified for the grant, administered by the state, creating 280 percent more jobs than required by statute and providing an average wage of $19.07 an hour, 22 percent above the industry average.

Commissioners also approved a $20,000 training grant for Plantation, Fla.-based Storkie Express, which is opening a satellite executive office in Southern Nevada.

Jonathan Gudai, vice president of business development for Storkie, said the company would create 12 jobs, 20 percent more than required by statute for the grants, and an average wage of $22.09 an hour, 41 percent more than the required industry average.

The company’s expansion plans include growing to 17 positions by the end of next month and 50 positions long-term.

Storkie, which produces custom-designed invitations and greeting cards, will have marketing and public relations, software and product development and customer service positions in its Las Vegas office.
By Richard N. Velotta

© VEGAS INC, 2012, All Rights Reserved.

The Fixer’s recent article on the 10-year battle between the 407 ETR Hwy and Tammy Flores over her ex-husband’s unpaid bill is a most amazing saga. I use the 407 from time to time and very carefully monitor my billings and pay them on time.

In recent months I inquired about some extra charges on my billings I wasn’t quite sure of and was informed that every time I enter the 407 for a short or long trip I will automatically be billed 50 cents just as a service fee. That fee has dramatically curtailed my usage of this most convenient highway. But that’s my choice.

This company has a history and reputation since our government sold it to a private (overseas) enterprise of being relentless and in some cases all powerful over any customers using this toll road when there is any payment dispute.

The fact that our Ontario government, through the Motor Vehicle Licensing division, denies “plate renewal” to anyone in dispute (or in arrears) with payments to the 407 (a private company operating in the province of Ontario) is tantamount to being “held hostage.”

It’s time the politicians opened their eyes to this injustice and sent a message to the road owners that they will have to deal in some other manner that most private companies employ in order to collect these debts. Our government should not be in the debt collection business unless it has to do with taxes.

Marty Fruchtman, Toronto
© Copyright Toronto Star 1996-2012

AMSTERDAM, January 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ –Atradius Collections, the global expert in domestic and international debt collections, releases the third version of Collect@Net, the leading online debt collections management and communication system.

The new version has undergone a major facelift in terms of functionality and look and feel, resulting in an interface that boosts a new level of ease and efficiency for businesses handling their collection cases online.

“Transparency was a key request we continuously heard from customers,” says Ralph van Dijk, Commercial Director at Atradius Collections. “Based on research and customer feedback over the past three years the new Collect@Net has been designed to deliver a new level of transparency and control for the customer.” Some of the improvements include an expanded and therefore more detailed reporting section, additional specific information on case histories, as well as new interactive features, such as a messaging tool to directly communicate with a collector.

Version 3.0 will also be available in four more languages, being Swedish, Finnish, Danish and Norwegian. It is already available in English, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Hungarian, Czech, Spanish and Portuguese. As of today, Collect@Net is the only online tool for debt collections world-wide that is offered in 14 languages.

Collect@Net is Atradius Collections’ integrated 24/7 online system that allows the customer to manage and monitor its collection cases worldwide. The system is used to submit and monitor collection cases, book payments and credit notes or download management reports and contact a collector directly. Over 70% of Atradius Collections’ customers rely on this online tool.

About Atradius Collections:

Atradius Collections, a business unit of Atradius Group, provides efficient, quick and flexible solutions to collect domestic and international trade debts. With a global network of collections specialists, lawyers and insolvency practitioners worldwide, Atradius Collections serves over 15,000 customers handling on average 100,000 cases a year. Over 85 years of worldwide credit management industry experience uniquely position Atradius Collections as a global leader in business-to-business debt collections.

SOURCE Atradius Collections

After a year of both positive and negative month-to-month changes, the Credit Managers Index (CMI) inched up to 54.4 in December, its highest level since May. (Numbers higher than 50 indicate expansion; numbers below 50 indicate contraction.)

However, the Index remains below the level of a year ago, when it was at 55.8. The Index incorporates ten factors, including sales, new credit applications, bankruptcy filings and accounts placed for collection, and covers both manufacturing and service industries. The CMI is calculated by the National Association of Credit Management (NACM) in Columbia, Md. The index is based on responses from about 900 trade credit managers, about evenly divided between manufacturing and service organizations.

On the positive side, sales, dollars collections and the amount of credit extended all increased during the month, although none matched their yearly highs. Still, dollar collections actually jumped nearly 8%, rising from 56.9 to 61.4. Both sales and the amount of credit extended rose by less than 4%.

Among unfavorable factors that grew, albeit slightly, were accounts placed for collection, dollar amounts beyond terms, and disputes. Accounts placed for collection and dollar amounts beyond terms both rose about 1%. On a more positive note, bankruptcy filings dipped by about the same amount.

Perhaps not surprisingly, given the time of year, the service sector showed stronger growth than the manufacturing sector in December, driven by retail. “The sector grew much faster than manufacturing, to the strength of the retail segments of the index,” says NACM economist Chris Kuehl.

In fact, the service sector has slightly outperformed manufacturing for most of the year. While the manufacturing sector CMI has stayed between 52 and 56.5 this year, the retail sector CMI has done slightly better, fluctuating between 53.3 and 56.7. As of December, the manufacturing CMI was at 53.2, or about 4.7% lower than the service CMI of 55.7. “In general, it can be said that many companies remain in distress, and this doesn’t bode well for the coming months when there will be no boost from holiday spending,” Kuehl says.

Even so, a number of factors overall remain below what’s considered truly expansionary. For instance, the rejection of credit applications remains below 50, at 49.5. The index for accounts placed in collection also is at 50 – again, just making it into expansion territory. Overall, the year’s performance wasn’t as strong as most would have liked. “There is some concern about the length of time the index has been resting in the middle ground between expansion and contraction,” according to the report.

The hope for 2012 is that at least some components of the index move closer to 60, and solidly into expansion territory.

DEBT collection is one of the biggest challenges facing Louth County Council, Dr Philip Byrne, chairman of the Audit Committee, told councillors at their Budget meeting.

Presenting the Audit Report for 2011, he said this was not a unique problem to Louth but was one which went right across the country with other local authorities in the same position.

Collecting money due to the council for rates and water charges was not getting any easier, he warned, but their cash flow position was still quite strong as they didn’t have a bank overdraft so they were in a good financial position.

The collection of commercial rates is currently running at 67% while the collection of water charges is only 34% with considerable arrears in both. This, however, was not unique to Louth County Council and was very much an issue around the country.

The local authority had also spent € 150,000 on voids/relets with around 40 units falling into this category every year.

The Local Government Audit Report revealed that a total of € 8.5million was owed to Louth County Council from arrears of rates, housing rents and annuities, housing loans and commercial water charges at the end of 2010.

Cllr Declan Breathnach wanted to know what impact the decline in revenue and collections would have for the operations of the Council while Cllr Pearse Mcgeough described the figures as ‘staggering’.

Cllr Tomas Sharkey pointed out that unpaid commercial rates stay on a premises and that new tenants need to be aware of this. He also advised businesses to respond to any letters which they receive from Louth County Council looking for payment and not to ignore them.

Businesses were paying rates and water charges as if they were still in the Celtic Tiger times, said Cllr Tommy Byrne calling for a review of the rates as a lot of businesses were down 90% and most down 50%.

Ms Bernadette Woods, Head of Finance, said that the difficulty in collecting money was having an affect on their cash flow. While they were still in a good position it wouldn’t last. They were lucky to have provided well in the past and managed money in the good years so that they had money for a rainy day.

She anticipated that a lot of the rates owed would be paid in December/ January as traditionally that is when businesses have money after the Christmas season.

She added that the top ten users of water owed 40% of the water charges and some of those companies were in liquidation or receivership. They were in negotiations with these companies and were getting paid small amounts. A similar situation pertained regarding commercial rates and they were looking at every opportunity to chase funds and would follow- up debtors who were not in communication with them. They do have a provision for bad debts and write- offs.

©Argus.ie

(PRWEB) January 04, 2012

Access Receivables Management (ARM), a Maryland based collections firm has announced the launch of their “Nice People Collect More” website. The site has two URL’s – http://www.NicePeopleCollect.com and http://www.Access-Receivables.com

The launch marks a commitment by the firm to a total non-confrontational collection process. According to ARM President, Tom Gillespie, “The collections industry has taken a lot of heat in recent years for over-aggressive collection tactics and deceptive practices in dealing with debtors. Our new website demonstrates our corporate commitment to totally repudiate those practices.”

Gillespie explained that ARM’s collection representatives have undergone extensive re-training. “It’s a much more involved process than simply demanding payment. We don’t harass debtors. We want to understand why they haven’t paid. Sometimes it’s as simple as a misunderstanding between our client and the debtor that we can work out. Sometimes debtors tell us they don’t have the funds to pay. Our representatives often find themselves helping debtors work on their budgets so they can start meeting the financial obligations and make partial payments. We think its much more productive to be friendly and helpful rather than antagonistic. Like our corporate mantra says ‘nice people collect more.”

The firm’s new website features a number of employees discussing how they work with and help debtors. It also includes testimonials from ARM clients on how effective these new collection methods are in not only improving receivable but maintaining the clients’ image.

When debtors will not pay their obligations, ARM refers them to another website: http://www.Whycreditmatters.net. This educational site, also developed by ARM, explains how not paying bills can affect a persons credit rating and make financing more difficult to obtain and more expensive. In reviewing the site, Mary Ann Marrero, Business Operations Manager for Time Warner Cable Business Class commented, “Awesome website – a sign of how much this is needed in these days of financial crisis and economic uncertainty.”

ARM finds it invests a lot more time in the collection process. According to the company’s figures it invests 83 cents per revenue dollar in collection expenses compared to the industry average of 50 cents. A cost not passed on to clients. But Gillespie contends it is worth the effort. “Our average recovery rate from 2009 -2011 was 33% higher than for the average firm in its size category. Understanding a debtors issues and being compassionate does have its rewards.”

The firm was recently designated as a Certified Commercial Collection Agency by the International Association of Commercial Collectors, Inc. Of IACC’s 2,200 plus members, Access Receivables Management is one of only 14 firms to receive this honor. To receive the designation, ARM had to complete a rigorous application and audit process that meet the highest standard for collection agency operations.

Access Receivables Management is a national debt collection firm that serves colleges and universities, insurance companies, telecommunications and technology companies and Fortune 500 companies. It was established in 1999 and has led its field in other innovations including the first ever avatar based collection site that enables debtors to explore payment options and self-resolve their accounts without speaking to a collector by going to http://www.2mybill.com.

For more information contact Tom Gillespie, President Access Receivables Management 410-583-8601

# # #

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Copyright: (c) 2012 PRWEB.COM Newswire