Debt Recovery

Overdue accounts receivable for the Laundry and Dry Cleaning Service industries is an ongoing problem. Hiring an in-house person to deal with accounts receivable, even with prior experience in the collections industry is still not all that effective because collections are still being done under the name of your laundry company instead of a professional collection agency.

Fact: Customers are incredibly concerned when recovery is initiated under the name of a debt collection agency. They were not so serious when recovery was being made using your own Company’s own name.

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Additionally, collection agencies enroll for expensive “Scrub services” for “Change of Address“, “Bankruptcy” and “Litigious Customer” checks. Enrolling in these services for a standard entity like a Laundry Company is not practical because these Scrubs are too expensive per account. Collection agencies buy these subscription services, and these scrubs are cheaper for them.

Creating internal aging reports, monitoring accounts for delinquency, and follow-up with overdue invoices works well for the first 90 days. Beyond that, there is no point in pursuing recovery under your own name. If a client has not paid in 90 days, what is the possibility that they will pay any time soon ( or ever)? Extremely low!

Collection agencies are licensed and bonded, so if a counter-lawsuit arises, their insurance policy almost always covers lawyer fees and damages filed by the client. They keep their staff up to date with constant changes in collection laws, something which an in-house employee of a laundry company cannot keep up with because he works pretty much in solitude.

Delinquent customers are fearful of an account getting transferred to a Collections Agency. They are concerned that their account could be reported to a credit reporting agency and possibly be transferred for a legal suit. For accounts with higher balances, a collection agency will likely forward the account to one of their national network of attorneys to file a lawsuit.

You cannot win a football match by hiring a single player; you need a full team with varying roles to achieve the desired results. A Collections Agency works as a team, with each debt collection department playing a different role.

In short, an in-house staff has little chance to compete with the recovery rate that a collections agency can achieve. If you include the salary of your in-house employee, printing costs, benefits, mailing, follow-up and all the hidden costs, a collection agency turns out to be a lot cheaper and more effective choice.

Collection Demands Service

The upfront cost for 5 Collection Letters is about $15 per account. Debtors pay directly to you, no other fees. Low cost option. Good for accounts less than 120 days past due.

Collection Calls Service

Contingency fee only. No upfront or other fees. Agency gets paid a portion of the money they recover.  No recovery-No fees. Best for accounts over 120 days. A debt collector calls debtor many times. If everything fails, a possible Legal Suit is recommended by the attorney.

Collections agencies have been recovering money for their clients for decades. Almost no one can beat their efficiency and cost of collecting the debt.

Check here: Cost of hiring a collections agency

Debt collection agencies play a vital role in managing the accounts receivable of drugstores.

The in-house staff of drugstores has excellent knowledge about medicines and other core responsibilities required for the smooth functioning of the pharmacy. However, they are not experts when forced to become part-time debt collectors, calling patients to make a payment on their past-due bills. Therefore these overdue bills are often overlooked or not given a proper follow-up.

Collection agencies have been serving the drugstore and pharma industries for decades. Typically, those accounts which are not paid in full are transferred to a debt collection agency after 60-90 days of non-payment.

Serving Pharmacies Nationwide Need a Collection Agency? Contact Us   Pharmacies want a collection agency that:  Protects brand reputation and customer relationships. Compliance with healthcare and collection regulations (HIPAA, FDCPA). Minimizing financial losses from unpaid balances. Ensuring patient data privacy and security. Reducing administrative burden on internal staff. Partnering with agencies experienced in healthcare collections. Maximizing recovery rates with minimal legal complications. Maintaining a professional and ethical approach to collections. Preserving patient access to future services. Controlling costs associated with debt recovery.

Collection agencies send five diplomatic letters to recover the money from the patient. If the amount is still unpaid, it is moved to the next step, where an expert debt collector calls the customer and attempts to recover money diplomatically yet firmly. Your collection agency must have a proven track record of working with pharmacies/drugstores and must be able to provide references if requested. Free credit bureau reporting can be done once the debt is 180 days old.

Accounting and bookkeeping are some of the most challenging tasks of running a pharmacy. Insurance companies themself use third-party prescription software like Express Scripts which are billed when a prescription is filled, these need to be taken care of at the pharmacy, then check if the payment was processed or denied or if a co-pay is required. There are days when only one person (the pharmacist) is available at the pharmacy. Apart from core responsibility, the pharmacist also needs to have a deep understanding of the billing system. Some patients even transfer their prescriptions or get a new prescription to avoid paying their bills. As per federal law, medical debts cannot hit the debtor’s credit report before the debt is 180 days past due. Additional rules have been recently imposed by credit bureaus themself.

Pharmacies should enforce that the patient must sign a “charge account contract” if they are not paying in full. This document can be very beneficial during the collection process.

Collection Letters Service

The upfront cost for 5 Collection Letters is about $15 per account. Debtors pay directly to you, no other fees and a low-cost option. Good for accounts less than 120 days past due.

Collection Calls Service

Contingency fee only. No upfront or other fees. Agency gets paid a portion of the money they recover.  No recovery-No fees. Best suited for accounts over 120 days. A debt collector calls debtor many times. If everything fails, a possible Legal Suit is recommended by the attorney.

While pharmacists concentrate on running the pharmacy, a collection agency will collect money from accounts receivable, saving significant time and resources. Apart from being HIPAA compliant, they must maintain a professional and positive approach.

 

Every year millions of Americans utilize a variety of rehabilitation therapy services. Rehab centers and physiotherapists are vital in keeping our citizens healthy and self-reliant.

Unfortunately, billing is a complicated affair for Rehab centers because there is no uniform standard for how much private insurance will cover. The coverage is vastly different if a patient has a government-sponsored plan such as Medicare or Medicaid.

Moreover, the insurance coverage also varies from state to state, which determines deductibles, co-insurance, co-payments and other payments not covered by the patient’s insurance provider. Then there is a variation in the contractual agreements between various Rehab centers and insurance companies.

Rehab centers and physiotherapists expect payment right after the rendering of services or within 30 days of the billing date.

Need a Collection Agency for Rehab Centers and Physiotherapists: Contact Us

Even though rehab centers explain the billing process to their patients very clearly by providing a breakdown of what is covered by their insurance and what would be there out-of-pocket costs, many patients still cannot pay bills on time. The internal staff of the rehab centers is responsible for making reminder calls and sending repeat invoices by mail. Once a debt is 90 days past due, the efforts of in-house billing departments appear of no use.

The involvement of a professional debt collection agency is a game-changer. Patients are more likely to pay when a collection agency demands the payment versus when a rehab center tries to collect money by itself.

A debt collection agency assists rehab centers by making patients fulfill their obligations by establishing repayment plans, offering various payment options and explaining the consequences of not paying. They send recovery notices to the patient or the guarantor. Recovery efforts include collection calls and litigation if bills are still not cleared despite all the efforts.

Collection Letters Service

The upfront cost for 5 Collection Letters is about $15 per account. Debtors pay directly to you, no other fees. Low cost option. Good for accounts less than 120 days past due.

Collection Calls Service

Contingency fee only. No upfront or other fees. Agency gets paid a portion of money they recover.  No recovery-No fees. Best for accounts over 120 days. A debt collector calls debtor many times. If everything fails, a possible Legal Suit if recommended by the attorney.

The multi-step approach by collection agencies maximizes the chances of recovering money. Collections are performed diplomatically to preserve the relationship between the rehab center and the patient.

Check here: Cost of hiring a collections agency

Physiotherapy, psychiatry, de-addiction, sports & wellness, detoxification and rehabilitation centers must utilize the debt recovery services of a collection agency to recover money from clients who have not paid. They should avoid writing off that debt. Accounts receivable can restrict the cash flow and profitability of these wellness centers.

Contact us for your debt collection needs.

Massage parlors intend to de-stress clients with a gentle touch, but many customers leave behind huge stress in return for these parlors by not paying for the services they just received. Accounts receivable is an ongoing problem for these businesses, and there is very little they can do themself to recover the unpaid bills.

Accounts receivable may also result from a dispute regarding services received, damages, non-payment of recurring charges, bounced checks due to non-sufficient funds, or reversal/dispute of a credit card payment.

Owners of Spas, Salons and Massage parlors have to deal with all the complications of running a small business. The expenses of operating these centers are quite high. Non-payment for the services rendered by just a few customers can induce severe cash flow issues for these businesses.

The internal staff of a massage parlor is not skilled enough to collect money from those tough customers. If you keep proof of the services provided to your customers, then a debt collection agency can be your best partner for recovering money from defaulters. Evidence of services provided to a customer is essential because debt collection laws permit debtors to demand written documentation that they really owe money. If the invoice or backup documentation regarding the debt information is not provided after an account is in collections, all collection activity is stopped, furthermore it can result in many other legal complications too.

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Information such as –  Debtor’s full name, address and phone are a few essential pieces of information that are also required to initiate the collections process. And, of course all services rendered by corporate or private massage parlors must be 100% legal.

Collection Letters Service

Upfront cost for 5 Collection Letters is about $15 per account. Debtors pay directly to you, no other fees. Low cost option. Good for accounts less than 120 days past due.

Collection Calls Service

Contingency fee only. No upfront or other fees. Agency gets paid a portion of money they recover.  No recovery-No fees. Best for accounts over 120 days. A debt collector calls debtor many times. If everything fails, a possible Legal Suit if recommended by the attorney.

 

Check here: Cost of hiring a collections agency

 

Being an avid golfer and working in the collection industry for the last 22 years, it wasn’t long enough that I started to find so many similarities between the two.

1. Practice and Patience

Like Golf, debt collection is an art that requires sufficient time to learn and improve the game. Then there are days when we have excellent collection results and others when nothing seems to be working, precisely similar to the day-to-day fluctuations we experience in golf.

Keep your patience, continue to introspect, and stay focused. Put up a smile, clear your head, and start your next call with a positive attitude.

Do you need a Collection Agency for your Golf Course? Contact Us Golf courses have huge operating expenses. Their accounts receivables may include recovery from contractors (pavers, cart repairers, etc), credit card reversals, unpaid membership fees, damages and more. You must keep a signed contract/receipt/invoice to support the debt.

2. Play Smarter, Not Harder:

Apply too much force in the game of golf, and your shots start to go haywire. A successful debt collector needs to have an acute presence of mind. He should know how to handle the call based on the responses they get from the debtor and somehow make him pay. Smart and straightforward tactics work far better than brute force and anger.

Best collection rates in the industry are achieved with good acumen and the presence of mind, not by simply pushing too hard or blindly sticking to a script that your boss has given you.

3. Never use a Driver for shorter shots.

When your ball is 90-120 yards away from the hole, we use Irons, not the Driver. Suggesting the right product to the client is very important.

Low-cost collection letters are more suitable for debts that are no more than one year old. Collection calls are suitable for accounts over that limit and Legal suit as a last resort. Suggesting the most optimum solution to your client will lower their collection cost,  and make them stick with your agency for a long time.

4. Concentration:

Before starting a collections call, remove your mind from those daily “Breaking News”, forget about your social media conversations, and put the phone aside. Everything that can potentially distract you during your conversation with the debtor.  Exactly what my golf trainer says … Stay focused – razor sharp.

5. Control of Emotions

Debtors deal with crappy calls all day long. It is crucial to control your emotions, most importantly your anger. Just like in golf, the game is all but over once you are agitated.

6. Short Game is more important:

Every collection call need not be a 10+ minute conversation, probably only in those cases where the outstanding debt is too high. Time is money for debt collectors. It is important to remember that you are not working to hear long stories of your debtors but to collect debt in optimum time.

The idea is to reach the target in a minimum number of shots. Similarly, in Debt Collections, the idea is to recover maximum money with the minimum number of contacts.

7. Buy a good golf set: Not the cheapest one, not the costliest one

You can buy a bargain golf set for as low as $200. But most of us know they are not too good. They will likely spoil your game. There is a reason most people buy branded golf sets like TaylorMade, Callaway, Titleist, Ping etc. These golf sets have the appropriate design, metal and technology to get the best shots. A golfer does not need to break the bank, but a decent branded set will come between $500 to $1000.  This will improve your game and accuracy and last you for many years.

Similarly, never go for a collection agency just because it has the lowest fees. Good collection agencies invest a lot of quality manpower, technology, and services to provide maximum returns. So even if you have to pay 10%-15% extra for a better collection agency, go for it. Higher returns will make that little extra investment/fee look minuscule.

If you are looking for a good collection agency: Contact Us

 

Sending fixed-fee “written demands” through a debt collection agency is the cheapest and most effective way to recover money from debtors when your unpaid bill is no more than 180 days past due. They cost merely $15 an account, and debtors pay directly to you.

Providing Flat-Fee Services Nationwide Need a Debt Collection Agency? Contact Us

Written demands of a collection agency have the perfect blend of intensity and diplomatic verbiage.  For accounts older than 180 days, the contingency-fee-based Collection Calls service is better suited.

What makes the Written Demands so effective:

1. They firmly communicate to debtors that their account has been forwarded to a professional 3rd party for debt recovery. The situation has become a lot more serious. This is an eye-opener for the debtor, and he will be more likely to pay off the debt if he can.

Many customers have multiple creditors and stop picking up their phones altogether. The only way to contact them is by sending Collection Demands.

2. Collection agencies can report accounts to Credit Bureaus, creating multiple financial problems for the debtor. This alone is a big pressurizing factor for them to make a payment.

3. Debtors rightfully understand that this is just the beginning of the collections process. They will be contacted repeatedly through written demands and eventually by a debt collector. Even a legal suit may be filed eventually.

What makes the image of collection agencies so horrific? A collection agency will take every step that the law permits them to recover the debt. A standard creditor is not even aware of all the steps that can be made to recover the debt. In fact, they do not even have the resources or a process in place to perform a systematic collection activity. Sometimes newbie debt collectors who are not entirely unaware of FDCPA laws make the mistake of engaging in unethical and threatening ways of debt collection. Unethical and aggressive collection tactics are entirely unlawful. But this has created a nasty perception ( a monstrous image) of Collection Agencies among most people. However, this horrific perception of agencies sometimes complements the collection efforts of even those agencies which perform collection in an ethical, diplomatic and empathetic way. Creditors should always hire an experienced collection agency with competitive rates. Agencies offering cheap fees usually employ inexperienced collectors who may potentially land themselves and their clients in trouble.

4. Debtors often relocate to a new address and try to become untraceable, thinking this will protect them from all the debt recovery contacts. Since collection agencies perform “Change of address” scrub from various sources, they can generally send the collection letter to the debtor’s new address. Debtors are quite surprised when they receive demands on their new address and gradually start accepting that there is no point in running away from their payment obligations.

5. Collection demands are extremely cost-effective. Can you imagine sending five collection demands for less than $15. Wait, but it is not just the printing, mailing, and infrastructure costs. Collection Agencies perform various scrubs on every account to get more information about the debtor (like Change of address, Bankruptcy check, Litigious debtor check etc.). Their collection demands are handcrafted and approved by expert attorneys. Each letter has different verbiage for maximum impact. These written demands contain a host of legal verbiage, good enough to make any average person very concerned, thereby elevating the intention to settle the debt.

6. They can send collection demands in both English and Spanish. Regardless of the language, both versions have a high impact.

7. These diplomatically worded Collection Demands are the best way to collect money without damaging customer relationships.

8. Say, even if merely 25% of debtors clear their bills during the Collection Demands service, you would have received returns that are probably over ten times than you had invested in buying collection letter accounts. If accounts are submitted without delay (say around 90 days), recovery rates can easily exceed over 50% with collection demands service.

If you are looking for a flat-fee collection agency: Contact Us