Collections…it’s a word that strikes fear into the hearts of many service providers and their clients. No one really likes collections, but it’s a necessary evil. You need to get paid what you’re owed. Most people don’t purposefully make the decision to allow their accounts to become delinquent. Sometimes, life happens. Often, lawyers, doctors, and other service providers decide to keep their collections work in-house in an effort to save time and money. For a few, such as attorneys that specialize in debt and collections, that might work out without an issue. For most everyone else, that can become a problem because they’re misinformed about collections. So, that’s why we put together this post on third party collections myths.
Myth #1 – When Someone Owes You Money, You Can Call Them Whenever You Want
Just because someone owes you money doesn’t mean that you can call them whenever you want. The FTC says that you cannot contact someone at an inconvenient time. Also, if they tell you not to call them at work then you must stop calling them at work.
Myth #2 – If You Know Their Friends and Family, You Can Call Them
While you can take advantage of phoning friends or family of the delinquent client, you cannot do it in an effort to necessarily get someone to pay you. You can only do it to try and get the address of the person who owes you money.
Myth #3 – No Verification of Debt Is Needed
This is one that gets a lot of service providers in trouble. In fact, even debt collection agents often mess up by refusing to provide verification of the debt when it is requested. If the account holder asks for verification of what they owe, you are required to provide it in writing.
Myth #4 – Additional Collection Fees
Anything that you try to collect must be part of the original debt in some form. This means that if you are going to try and collect interest on the outstanding balance, it better be listed in your original agreement. The only other way that you can charge an additional fee is if it is authorized by state law.
Myth #5 - Keeping Collections In-house Is a Necessity
Actually, it’s not. Also, you could end up expending a lot of time and money that could be better spent in your practice. By outsourcing your collections to Attorney's A.R.M. you save both time and money. Since we know the law, you’re relieved of the headache of determining if what you’re doing violates the rights of the person who owes you money. We are a licensed collections agency. Attorney's A.R.M. can also help you minimize the amount of future collections because we can also help your clients obtain outside funding for their needs. Sounds good, doesn’t it?
If you’re ready to save 40% or more on what keeping your collections in-house would cost you, then it’s time to book your free process review. Attorney's A.R.M. will look over your collections and accounts receivable process and show you where you can become more efficient and more cost effective. Click here to schedule this valuable free review.
