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Displaying Matches 35 thru 49 of 295 Found. BACK NEXT

Credit Reporting and Bankruptcy: Is Your Post-Discharge Credit Reporting Inviting Trouble?
November 15, 2010, By Diane P. Furr & Lisa Sumner

In difficult economic times, debtors' attorneys closely review credit reports looking for potential legal claims against creditors. Long after a debtor has been discharged from bankruptcy, creditors can find themselves defending claims of improper credit reporting. A recent case from the Eastern District of North Carolina illustrates the trouble facing creditors who furnish incorrect reports of discharged debt. See In re Adams (Bankr. E.D.N.C. 2010). . . . keep reading

Collecting from "Moms and Pops"
"Large national and retail advertisers cover our costs, but we make our profit with the local 'moms and pops'," notes the credit manager for a major Southeastern newspaper. "And not all of them are able to pay in a timely manner. When local people start businesses, they often find out later that they needed more capital and that cash flow is suffering. When they get into a predicament, it makes it difficult for them to pay their creditors."

a four-step process this credit manager uses to help customers remain current, as well as loyal clients
why he believe that an in-person visit is ultimately the best way to collect from his local customers
his experience as to what happens when he set up appointments in advance
a proven technique he uses to get the most leverage on a collection call and what his goals are

. . . keep reading

Independent Banking at Its Best
There's a widespread assumption that used-car loans are the preserve of car dealerships and their affiliated lending companies and credit unions. But this California bank has made them a profit center and strong motivation for customers to return for other services, as well as for car loans in the future. They've done it with a carefully tailored program to fit the used-car clientele.

How a bank can stake out the area of used-car loans and continue to be rate-competitive while avoiding the risk of an overload of repossessions is a continuing success story at this bank. The four key creditworthiness factors they look at; what percentage of the vehicle's value (and how they determine that value) they finance; the specific procedures they use to handle delinquencies. . . . keep reading

The Many Functions of Credit
Unlike most aspects of retailing, credit can be used in many ways -- as a profit center, as an outreach for new customers, as a way to sustain customer loyalty, as a faucet to turn on cash flow, and, combined with other programs, as part of a strategy to increase volume. Some current examples . . . . . . keep reading

Does a Debt Created by Passing a Bad Check Fall under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?
Snow paid for goods at a convenience store by writing a check in the amount of $23.12. When the check bounced, the store sent it to its attorney, Riddle, for collection. Riddle sent Snow a letter demanding that payment, plus a $15 service fee, be made within seven days or suit would be filed. Snow paid the $23.12 but refused to pay the $15. He then sued Riddle for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by not including a "validation notice" alerting him to his rights under the FDCPA. The suit sought $1000 in statutory damages as well as an unspecified amount for emotional distress. Does Snow have a case? . . . keep reading

Creditors Trade Group Off to Fast Start
"People join trade associations for two reasons," observes CI director Robbie Thompson, director of Creditors International (CI), a division of the Mi . . . keep reading

Reflections of a Part-Time Collector
By Gregory Dennis
For the third summer in a row, I have had the opportunity to work for my father as a collection specialist. Some of the things that I have learned about collections are:

there are some fantastic observations and techniques in this article as this college student is unburdened by years of "experience" and instead gives us a fresh look and some important "truisms" about collections...

. . . keep reading

Collection Processes Outlined
"I don't do much letter writing anymore," notes Jan Perlman, credit manager for Medo Industries, Inc. (Tarrytown, N.Y.). But when her other efforts to make contact with a delinquent customer have failed, she will sometimes send a certified letter--to make sure it is received--and follow up with a phone call. She cites a recent situation with one long-term customer. Medo's experience with this company had been very eventful. After satisfactory relations for several years, credit privileges had to be suspended when they ran into severe financial problems. . . . keep reading

The Importance of Collections Focus
No matter how long I work in commercial collections, one aspect of this job will continue to amaze me. It is the fact that some collectors cannot, do not, or will not, when contacting delinquent accounts, differentiate between customers owing a few hundred dollars and customers with past due balances many times larger than that. Like most business issues, the old 80/20 rule applies to commercial collections. 80% of the past due balances involve 20% of your customers. I tell my collectors to . . . keep reading

Proactive Collection Strategies
A collection representative from Brooklyn Union (Brooklyn, NY) places a call to a customer who is late with his payment. On this particular call, she reaches the customer's answering machine, which ends with the message, ". . . and if this is Brooklyn Union, the check is in the mail."

"We're on our customers' minds now, but this wasn't always the case," muses David Feldman, general manager, Accounting, Special Projects.

Learn...

the first step in turning around the escalating costs of collecting at this utility
the vision statement and motto they developed
three major flaws they uncovered in their collection process
the three components of their credit matrix redesign, and how this new scoring system drives their collection efforts
how they leveraged customer service calls into collection calls
four major recommendations they implemented in collections
the goals of special needs team that they developed
an innovative use of college students in collections - how many calls they made, the cost, and the astonishing results

. . . keep reading

Lending--Up Close and Personal
"The bigger a bank gets, the farther away its decision makers seem to get from you. The farther they get, the easier it is to see you as a file. Or an account number. Or a loan application form. At Anchor Bank, we work hard to deliver the personal attention that your business should expect from a bank." This interview of the president of Anchor provides an inside look at the credit-granting procedures and priorities of this community bank, including such items as . . .

why he believes community banks have a distinct advantage over larger banks
how often loan officers should be visiting their clients
how their loan officers and credit analysts work together to help their clients
how and why the "people side" of the relationship is so important
why it's critical for a lender to understand the pschology of a individual customers
what the first questions a loan officer should ask when visiting a customer
what questions they ask when screening potential new clients

. . . keep reading

Collections!
This article discusses a New York credit manager's aggressive - but respectful - strategy for telephone collections. It also details how he deals with customers experiencing legitimate cash flow problems vs. those who simply don't want to work with him to pay. It also covers his strategy on the front end when dealing with credit issues. . . . keep reading

Legal Case Study: Debtor Sues Based on Deceptive Letter from In-house Collection Arm. Is that A FDCPA Violation?
This legal case study explores a situation in which a retail credit card holder fell behind on her payments. This retailer's accounts were operated by Citicorp, which sent the debtor various dunning notices. When she failed to pay, she received a letter from "Debtor Assistance," which stated that "your account has recently [been] charged off" and which offered her a manageable repayment schedule. At the time of this case, Debtor Assistance was actually a unit of Citicorp that handles accounts that have been written off but not yet assigned to collection agencies. The debtor never paid and ended up filing for bankruptcy protection. She eventually sued Citicorp for violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), based on the letter from Debtor Assistance.

Think she had a case? Read on for the answer and our analysis! . . . keep reading

Intuitive Collections
"When collectors are talking with debtors, they need to pay attention not only to what the debtors are saying, but to how the debtors seem to feel about what they are saying. contends Leonard Sklar, a former collection agency owner and now a professional collections consultant based in Redwood City, Calif.). "Collectors who fail to deal with debtor emotions rarely ever reach the root of the problem. Key points covered:

why most collectors stay too long with an account, and why this trait hurts productivity
what the top goal (other than collecting the money, of course) should be in a collection call
the surprising way he reccommends helping collectors be more effective in getting to the root cause of debtors' problems

. . . keep reading

Making the Most Out of Predictive Dialing Systems
"Each time we added more stations, we achieved more benefits," reports a West Coast bank manager whose responsibilities include supervision of a new predictive dialing system. "We've been able to get along with fewer people, and productivity has increased between 30% and 40%. This article covers:

3 key strategies that helped this bank make the most of their predictive dialing system
the point at which an account is taken off the predictive dialer system, and why

. . . keep reading

Displaying Matches 35 thru 49 of 295 Found BACK NEXT

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