Large clients often assign hundreds ( even thousands) of accounts to a collection agency in one go. This large batch is usually their past-due inventory accumulated over the years.
Suppose a client submits a batch of 1000 accounts to the collection agency. These accounts are assigned to multiple debt collectors who will start sending collection demands or making phone calls to all these 1000 accounts in a matter of days. At least a few hundred concerned debtors will begin calling the client directly ( to pay, dispute the debt, complain, or other reasons). Although (in most cases) the debtor is directed to call the collection agency and not the client, a few debtors still call the client.
The front-line person in the client’s office receiving these debtor calls quickly gets overwhelmed (at least temporarily for a few weeks). This high inbound call volume catches the client by surprise. Although the client will collect a lot of money quickly, they will surely need additional hands to cope with these debtor calls and inform the collection agency about the payments the received for these accounts. An update to your internal accounting software will also be required.
There are two ways to handle this situation:
- Before a client submits a large batch of accounts, they should dedicate more resources for inbound calls for at least a few weeks till the inbound call volume tapers down to a nominal level. This is the preferred approach.
- Assign only 100 accounts to start with. This will keep your inbound call volume low, then increase/decrease the submission size the following week.