ORCHARD Park, N.Y. — Orion Capital Solutions proudly participated in the Ronald McDonald House Charities 2021 Hybrid 5K Run again this year. The Orion team will continued its annual
support of the Ronald
McDonald House Charities of Western New York, Inc. (RMHC of WNY) by participating either virtually July 14-28 or joining
the race in person on Wednesday, July 28th at 6:30pm at Buffalo, New York’s Outer Harbor.

The Orion team is highly
engaged in this race and their participation will help contribute to the
charity’s $100,000 fundraising goal for 2021. “As receivables management
professionals, we strive to help people live a better financial life by
offering quality services and providing valuable resources. We want to devote
this same compassion to making an impact within our communities. We are so
fortunate to have built a company culture that gives these initiatives so much
energy, it is truly our great people that make Orion the company that we are,”
says Kristin LoVallo, Director of HR/Compliance at Orion
Capital Solutions.

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The collaborative and motivated
work culture at Orion Capital Solutions creates a space where everyone feels
confident to perform their best in a positive environment. Orion team members
are constantly striving for positive goals in the space where they work, play,
and live. Each year, 13,000 people are touched by RMHC of WNY and we are honored to help generate excitement for the
race as Buffalo safely reopens and welcomes great events, like the Ronald
McDonald House Charities 2021 Hybrid 5K Run. Orion is proud to support
initiatives that create and support programs that directly improve the health
and well-being of children and their families in thier community.

Kristin adds that “this event
aligns with our debt collection agency’s culture, incorporating a great cause
with an activity that boosts employee morale, boosts heart rates, and helps to
keep creative minds engaged. We believe it is important to get outside of the
office for a change in environment and perspective, to collaborate with our peers,
and support RMHC of WNY.”

Orion Capital Solutions
actively supports the communities in which they work and live. They also
support Feedmore WNY, a nonprofit organization
that provides nutritious food, friendship, and skills training to our Western
New York, the Watermark Wesleyan Church, a 501(c)(3) that authentically cares for the community
and meeting the needs of its neighbors, and more. To learn more about how Orion
Capital Solutions supports its communities, please
visit its news page.

To join us and show your
support of the Ronald McDonald House, please visit their website at rmhcwny.org.

About Ronald McDonald House Charities of WNY, Inc.

Ronald
McDonald House Charities of WNY, Inc. (RMHC of WNY) is part of a global network
of Ronald McDonald Houses and programs that serve nearly 6,000,000 children and
families annually. Since 1974, our network of local chapters have been making
children happier and healthier by keeping families together and giving them a
place to rest and heal. Tailored to meet the urgent needs of each community,
these programs can now be found in more than 64 countries and regions across
the globe.

About Orion Capital Solutions

Orion Capital Solutions is a professional, nationally licensed collection agency located in
Orchard Park, New York. Founded in 2018, they provide outstanding services to their
clients and consumers through the integration of technology and an experienced
and compassionate team. They have over 30 years of experience in delivering
exceptional results for creditors and realistic solutions for consumers.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) today announced it had signed a landmark agreement with New York-based Meratas, Inc., a
company that partners with educational institutions to offer students
Income Share Agreements or ISAs to
finance post-secondary education and training.

The agreement reflects the
Department’s decision to treat these private financing products as student loans for the purpose of the California
Student Loan Servicing Act (SLSA). The move represents a significant first step toward providing greater oversight
of the ISA industry.

“Today’s action shows we are
taking significant steps to better protect California student borrowers,” said DFPI Senior Deputy Commissioner
Suzanne Martindale, whose Consumer Financial Protection Division oversees the student loan servicing law. “Regulating
income share agreements like student loans levels
the playing field and creates a fair marketplace that protects all consumers.”

The agreement between DFPI and
Meratas is believed to be the first of its kind to subject an ISA servicer to state licensing and
regulation. Regulating an ISA servicer under the SLSA better protects California students by ensuring the
company submits to regular examinations and communicates honestly and fairly
with borrowers, amongst
many other protections. 

ISAs are increasingly used by
private, for-profit companies offering post-secondary education and nonprofit training programs. Under an ISA,
a student agrees to repay a school a fixed percentage of the student’s future gross income after
graduation, but only if the student is employed and making above an agreed-upon amount.

Meratas
voluntarily applied for a license in April of this year, which led to the
agreement. The agreement provides that the Department will issue the company a conditional license
under SLSA.

For years, some ISA issuers have
contended that state and federal lending laws are inapplicable to ISAs, and students who finance education under ISAs did not enjoy
the same regulatory protections as other borrowers. The DFPI expects to
clarify requirements for ISA providers and servicers through future rulemaking.

In addition to regulating student
loan servicers, the DFPI licenses and regulates financial products and services, including state-chartered banks
and credit unions, commodities and investment advisers, money transmitters, the offer and sale of securities and
franchises, broker-dealers, nonbank installment
lenders, payday lenders, mortgage lenders and servicers, escrow companies,
Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE)
program administrators, debt collectors, rent-to-own contractors, credit repair
and consumer credit reporting
agencies, debt-relief companies, and more.

On August 3, 2021, the D.C. City Council unanimously
approved an amended version of the pending D.C.
emergency debt collection bill. If
signed by the D.C. Mayor, the amended bill will become applicable on October 1,
2021.

The amendments address several of the more demanding aspects
of the original bill, including the limitation on call volumes, itemization for
credit cards and number of monthly statements required, initial communication
requirements, proof of ownership requirements for lawsuits, damage awards,
and the applicability date

Here is a quick run-down of the changes between the original
bill and the amended bill:

Call Volume Limitation: the original bill limited
calls to three calls per consumer within any seven-day span. While this limitation
remains in the bill, the amendment clarifies that the limit of three calls does
not apply to calls made at the consumer’s request.

Itemization Requirements/Monthly Statements: In addition
to an itemized accounting, the original bill required debt collectors
collecting credit card debt to send consumers twenty-four months’ worth of
statements. The amendment clarifies that itemized accounting shall be measured
from the charge-off balance and changes the monthly statement requirements to
include only copies of the charge-off statement and most recent monthly
statement showing a purchase, payment, or balance transfer.

Initial Communication: The original bill required
debt collectors to provide numerous documents and information to the consumer
within five days of the initial communication, whether or not the consumer
requested them. Instead, the amended bill now requires the debt collector to include
a notice in bold-face 12 point font in the initial communication that the consumer
may request specific types of information and documents. The exact phrasing of the
statement and the other information the debt collector must provide to the
consumer is provided in the amended bill.

Proof of Ownership Requirements for Lawsuits: The
original bill required debt collectors to include within any lawsuit to collect
a debt an assignment or writing which showed the last four digits of the original
account number and the debtor’s name associated with that number. Instead, per the
amended bill, debt collectors must state (a) the date on which the debt was sold
or assigned; (b) each previous owner and the date on which the debt was assigned;
and (c) the amount due when the original creditor sold the account.

Damage Awards: The original bill stated that if a
debt collector violated the requirements in the bill and the existing law, the
debt collector “shall” be liable to the consumer for certain types of damages,
and included language that damages were to be awarded per violation. The amended
bill changes “shall” to “may” and removes the allowance of damages per
violation.

Applicability Date: The amended bill states it will
not be applicable until October 1, 2021.

—-

insideARM Perspective:  

The original bill was passed without a hearing or
opportunity to comment and ultimately included requirements that would have
been impossible for debt collectors to meet. The amendments to the bill should
allow the D.C. City Council to achieve its goal of protecting consumers in a
way that is feasible for the industry. Although the bill has not yet been
signed, it is expected that the D.C. mayor will ultimately sign this version.
Accounts receivable entities should make sure they read the amended bill in its
entirety to ensure they will be ready to comply when it becomes effective. 

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — DCM Services, LLC
(DCMS) the industry leader in estate and specialty account recovery solutions,
has launched a new Quick Pay feature within DCMS ServiceLink™, and is also
pleased to announce the official launch of chat functionality within DCMS
ServiceLink! Clients who are eligible will have the option to allow online chat
between their consumers and DCMS account representatives.

The DCMS ServiceLink application allows Personal
Representatives (PRs), attorneys, and survivors the flexibility and convenience
to communicate with DCMS in multiple ways based on preference.

Quick Pay functionality

The Quick Pay feature allows a PR to access the site and
submit a payment without going through an account registration process. The
Quick Pay function does not share personally identifiable information, but requires
the individual representing the estate to input certain critical information in
order to submit payment. Since its release, 33% of users who have accessed DCMS
ServiceLink have utilized the Quick Pay feature.

Online chat with DCMS ServiceLink

In addition to Quick Pay, DCMS ServiceLink also offers
online chat functionality. Once logged in, Personal Representatives are able to
chat with DCMS Account Representatives in a convenient and secure manner,
allowing the estate representative to fully resolve accounts without a
traditional phone call. Account Representatives can help the PR navigate the
ServiceLink platform, submit a payment, or assist with any of the functionality
ServiceLink has to offer. Free-form chat is also available when questions occur
outside of normal estate processes.

Project lead and Director of the Project Management Office
(PMO) at DCMS, Annmarie Vogelgesang was excited to bring these features to DCMS’ partners,
“Enhancing our customer experience is consistently at the heart of our
development process. With Quick Pay and chat functionalities, we’re putting the
choice to resolve an account in the hands of the consumer, a much-needed shift
from the typical call or letter strategy for the collection industry. The
consumer doesn’t have the option to choose the agency they work with and
providing them options to resolve an account is one way we provide additional convenience.”

The DCMS PMO team is continuously designing future product
and service enhancements concentrated on the needs of the consumer, DCMS’
clients, and the organization. The ultimate goal of each new development is to
produce effective processes while enhancing customer experience.

Want to know how DCMS ServiceLink enhances the estate
representative experience? Download the DCMS
ServiceLink overview here.

—

About DCM Services
Minneapolis-based
DCM Services is the industry leader in estate and specialty account resolution
services, maximizing the value of client portfolios across financial services,
healthcare, auto, retail, telecom, credit union, government and utilities
industries through innovation and performance. Its recovery solutions offer a
full range of services from proprietary web-based solutions to full
outsourcing, maintaining an unmatched spectrum of innovative solutions
that increase recoveries, protect brand value, and enhance survivor relationships
– with respect and sensitivity. For more information on all DCM Services’
offerings, please visit www.dcmservices.com.

Join
1,400+ industry professionals in following DCM Services on LinkedIn.

https://www.linkedin.com/company/dcm-services/

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Balto, the #1
Real-Time Guidance platform, has announced the end of contact center coaching
and QA as we know it with the launch
of two new products: Real-Time
Coaching and Real-Time
QA.

With 70 million
analyzed calls under their belt, Balto is no stranger to bringing outdated post-call practices into the future. “When
we launched Real-Time Guidance in 2017, we wanted to make conversations better as they’re
happening – not after they were over,”
says Balto CEO Marc Bernstein.
“We set out to change the game for contact centers by scaling excellent conversations at the push of a
button. Now, we’re coming for contact center
coaching and QA.”

Rather than
relying on small, random samples of calls to gauge agent performance and waiting
days or weeks before coaching
sessions, Real-Time Coaching
and Real-Time QA will bring both into real-time, with 100% visibility into all calls.

“It’s time for a
change. No more post-call coaching and QA,” said Bernstein. “These tools take Real-Time Guidance
beyond the agent level. Now, organizations can unilaterally move forward in real-time across different departments.”

Real-Time QA: Say Goodbye
to Random Sampling
and Hours Spent on Call Recordings

During many
conversations with customers and contact center leaders, Balto heard what the perfect QA system would look like:
A process that automatically scores
100% of all calls that managers can see instantaneously.

So they’ve built exactly
that: Real-Time QA.

What can users expect to see?

• Complete visibility: Score 100% of calls and create unlimited
  scorecards, so different
  teams can measure
  what matters to them – no more,
  no less.

• Real-Time Data: See how the call floor is doing at the moment – QA scores instantly
  populate when calls
  end.

• A Lot Less Work: Create new scorecards in less than five minutes
  while Balto automatically scores as many calls as needed

Real-Time QA seamlessly integrates with the current
Balto platform.

Real-Time Coaching: Coach the Right Calls as They’re Happenin

Live coaching
isn’t new. But with current
coaching tools, it’s hard to tell which calls to coach. And in the meantime, managers are wasting
time searching for a good coaching opportunity instead
of actually coaching.

When building a coaching
tool, Balto directly
addressed this issue.

Real-Time Coaching alerts managers for key in-call moments in real-time.
And unlike other listen, chat,
or coaching tools,
this one allows
managers to join the call and guide the agent with just a few clicks — all in the same platform.

Here’s what users will see:

• Never miss key moments:
  Balto tells managers
  which calls to join, based
  on their own criteria.

• Immediately impact the outcome of critical calls: Instantly join live calls with the push of a button. While listening,
  managers can use chat to guide agents or commend a job well done.

• Measure coaching effectiveness: An Activity Log tracks the amount of triggered alerts,
  and where managers
  responded. Users can also generate
  reports showing agent performance and triggers over time.

Real-Time QA and Coaching to arrive
on August 9

For those  who want to see a full picture
of what Real-Time QA and Coaching will offer, CEO Marc Bernstein will preview both tools in a live-stream on August 9, 2:30 PM CST.

Guests can register for the event here. A recording of the stream
will be available on Balto’s
YouTube Channel.

About Balto

Balto is the #1 Real-Time Guidance
platform for contact
centers. Balto is centered around
a simple truth: Better
conversations make more money. Powered by AI, Balto scales best practices to agents with the push of a
button and gives immediate insight into what’s
working and what’s not. Founded in 2017 and based in St. Louis,
Missouri, Balto has guided over 70 million conversations around the world.

Contacts

Marc Bernstein
CEO, marc@balto.ai

Chris Kontes
COO, chris@balto.ai

It often happens in TCPA litigation that a Defendant will cry
poor– claiming to be judgment proof or otherwise incapable of settling a case
on a classwide basis–as if that were some sort of defense to a TCPA suit.

While
may times these are simply the cold hard facts, as Anthony Paronich told us long ago
that doesn’t mean a Plaintiff is likely to dismiss their case. Many times it
simply leads to a change in tactics: personally naming the officers and
employees that made the challenged communication.

For
instance, in Sattler, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 132083
(SDNY July 15, 2021) a Court granted a Plaintiff’s request to add employees
that sent allegedly illegal faxes after the company’s lawyer apparently claimed
the Defendant was judgment proof.

In
a letter filed with the court in June the Plaintiff stated the following:

[Defendant’s] counsel has repeatedly told
[Plaintiff’s] counsel that [Defendant] is insolvent and that it may stop
defending the litigation and allow a judgment to be entered against what
[Defendant’s] counsel represents would be an empty corporate shell. 

While
Defendant undoubtedly shared this information with Plaintiff in the hopes that
the case would go away, the opposite happened. Plaintiff doubled down and
decided to add corporate officers and employees as a direct result:

So that this litigation does not become a
meaningless academic exercise, [Plaintiff] is requesting this Court’s
permission to seek leave to amend her Complaint to add as defendants the
individual corporate officers, employees, and agents of [Defendant] who
directly participated in or personally authorized the conduct that violated the
TPCA. It is appropriate to add these individuals as defendants because the only
way in which a corporation can act is through the people who make decisions and
act on its behalf.

The
Defendant opposed arguing that it is inappropriate to hold such officers and
directors and employees liable for the acts of the corporate entity. Defendant
also argued that the proposed individual defendants are broke anyway so there
is no reason to add them.

The
Court disagreed and allowed Plaintiff to make his proposed amendment concluding
that the claims against the unnamed employees would not be futile since
personal liability is permitted under the TCPA. (Most unfair rule in the entire American legal system BTW.)

Moreover,
the court yawned at the notion that the new individual defendants (i.e.
employees of Defendant) might have no money–the Court reasoned that the mere
fact that a defendant is judgment proof is not a basis to deny the amendment.

As Sattler shows,
courts continue to liberally permit suits against individual officers and
employees of defendants that allegedly violated the TCPA–terrible though that
is.

But even more critically–Sattler highlights
why TCPA defendants should not expect to evade liability by pointing to a lack
of funds. TCPA defendants should recognize that by pointing to
empty corporate bank accounts they may actually be pointing the Plaintiff to
their own personal assets. TCPA defendants lacking the
resources to satisfy potential judgments should carefully weigh tactics with
their counsel and give consideration to concealing (rather than sharing) their
financial condition–which is NEVER relevant in TCPA litigation pre-judgment
anyway.

Leading with “the company is broke” may result in corporate
officers and employees sharing in its fate following personal liability for its
actions.

This
is serious stuff folks. Always consult counsel before engaging in any form of
outreach with consumers–and never assume that you can safely violate the TCPA
merely because the company you work for is small or underfunded. No way.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — During its 2021
Convention & Expo in Las Vegas, ACA International reelected two members and
elected three new members to its Board of Directors along with a slate of new
officers for the 2021/2022 term.

The officers elected to serve one-year terms are:

• Kevin Baich, president (vice president of
  Day Knight Associates in Ballwin, Missouri)
• Courtney Reynaud, president-elect (president
  of Creditors Bureau USA in Fresno, California)
• David Williams, treasurer (president of
  Williams & Fudge Inc. in Rock Hill, South Carolina)

New board members elected by the Council of Delegates for
three-year terms are:

• Jacob Corlyon, co-founder and CEO of Capital
  Collection Management LLC in Syracuse, New York.
• Ronna May Denny, senior vice president of
  client services for CollectionCenter Inc. in Rawlins, Wyoming.
• Jennifer Whipple, president of Collection
  Bureau Services Inc. in Missoula, Montana.

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In addition to Williams, the Council of Delegates reelected
Anita Manghisi, IFCCE, president of Independent Recovery Resources Inc. in
Patchogue, New York.

“The ACA Board of Directors plays a critical role in helping
members succeed by driving the association forward to ensure that it retains
its position as the leading voice of the accounts receivable management
industry,” said ACA CEO Mark Neeb. “I truly appreciate the new members stepping
into these valuable volunteer leadership roles and helping lead us into the
future after a tough year for businesses and consumers. Furthermore, I look
forward to working with the returning members and new officers as we continue
the great work we’ve started in the last year.”

ACA International’s Board of Directors is made up of up to 15
elected association members who serve three-year terms. Officers serve one-year
terms.

About ACA:

ACA is the largest membership organization in the accounts receivable
management industry. Founded in 1939, ACA brings together third-party
collection agencies, law firms, asset buying companies, creditors and vendor
affiliates representing industry professionals. ACA produces a wide variety of
products, services and publications, including educational and
compliance-related information; and articulates the value of the accounts
receivable management industry to businesses, policymakers and consumers. www.acainternational.org.

On July 30, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that the final rules interpreting the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) will go into effect on Nov. 30, as originally planned. The CFPB issued a proposal in April that, if finalized, would have extended the effective dates to Jan. 29, 2022. However, after considering the comments submitted, the CFPB has declined to extend the implementation date and their proposal has been officially withdrawn.

Now that the uncertainly of the official implementation date has been resolved, here is a countdown of the steps organizations, who are subject to the final rule, should consider as the Nov. 30 deadline quickly approaches:

1. Talk with Your Highest Governing Body of Your Organization

Schedule and hold a meeting with your highest governing body along with any professional advisors to make key determinations with regard to rule requirements. Retain minutes of your discussions and the results;

2. Speak with Your Technology Vendors

Engage in a detailed conversation with all your collections system and technology vendors to ensure that (a) your systems will support and capture consumers’ communication preferences, (b) your application programming interfaces (APIs) are able to link to any self-service portal or web-based resources, and (c) any “apps”  you offer to consumers are enabled in order to express or change communication preferences;

3. Update Consumer Information

Reach out to existing consumers to update contact information as well as any new, changed, or revoked permissions or preferences;

4. Decisions about the Model Validation Notice

Determine whether your company will migrate to the Reg F model validation notice. To ensure the notice will be compliant on or before the implementation date, you need to talk with your clients to determine that all necessary data elements can be transmitted timely and there is a determination as to which of the five mandated “itemization dates” will be used. If your company decides to continue to use a proprietary validation notice, review Reg F, specifically Section 1006.34 to assure your collection notice templates meet all mandated requirements;

5. Will you Use the “Limited Content Message?”

If your company decides to adopt the “limited content message”, you will need to test your collection agency’s name to assure that any message left, using that name, will be compliant and not reveal that the call is from a collection agency;

6. Review Credit Reporting Policies

Review your policies related to the furnishing of data to the consumer reporting agencies.  If you do furnish data check that your system logic assures that after November 30, 2021, you will not be furnishing data on any accounts that have not received your initial collection notice;

7. Staff Training and Assessments

Review and update your talking points, training programs, voice analytics, and other ways in which you train collectors who engage and interact with customers to assure that they are familiar with how to handle and capture expressions of a consumer’s communication preferences, how to offer consumers optional communications strategies, how to listen for changes or revocations of communication preferences, and how to field questions about your Reg F compliant collection notice;

8. Review Document Retention Program

Tune up your document retention programs to assure that any and all artifacts and resources you have that can prove your compliance (or non-compliance) can be retained consistent with Reg F’s retention expectations. This includes including call recordings;

9. Are you Compliant with Call Frequency Requirements and Alternative Methods of Communication?

Ensure that you have the capability to monitor 7 call attempts within a 7-day period and then one call within a week after having a telephone conversation with a consumer. If you are using or intend to use electronic methods of communication like email or text, make sure that opt-outs and unsubscribes are working in real time and that there are no delays in complying with a consumer’s desire not to be contacted by one or both of those methods; and

10. Meet with your Clients

Schedule time to meet with your clients to assure they are aware of the high points of Reg F and how it may change the exchange of information about debts and consumers’ demographics and communications preferences – consider a debrief presentation to demonstrate how your company is adapting and planning for these Reg F changes.

——-

Clark Hill’s Consumer Financial Services and Regulatory Compliance team has developed a unique “Reg F Ready” tool that can assess your policies and procedures to ensure you are meeting all the requirements under Reg F. For more information, please contact Joann Needleman, jneedleman@clarkhill.com, or Leslie Bender, lbender@clarkhill.com.

This communication is not intended to be legal advice and may not be used as legal advice. Legal advice must be tailored to the specific circumstance of each matter. Every effort has been made to ensure the information provided herein is up-to-date and accurate. It is not intended to be a full and exhaustive explanation of the law and it should not be used to replace the advice of your own legal counsel.

On July 27, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
provided insight into the economic recovery by issuing a press
release regarding the state of credit applications. On July 28, 2021, to
further the goal of helping consumers navigate the (hopefully) post-pandemic world,
the CFPB issued a press
release unveiling a tool to help renters and landlords access federal
assistance.

Credit Applications

According to the CFPB’s July 27, 2021 press release, by May
2021, consumer applications for auto loans, new mortgages, and revolving credit
cards had mostly returned to pre-pandemic levels. Prime and near-prime consumers
are driving the recovery; subprime and deep-subprime applications remain down.  As with previous reports from May and December
2020, the CPFB noted an increase in credit applications, particularly from
borrowers with below prime credit scores in conjunction with federal stimulus payments.

Key findings by the CFPB include:

• Auto loan inquiries saw a drop of 52 percent by
  the end of March 2020 and returned to their usual pre-pandemic trend by January
  2021.

• New mortgage credit inquiries saw a smaller drop
  in March 2020 compared to other types of inquiries and then surged.
  Subsequently, inquiries have exceeded their usual, seasonally adjusted volume
  by 10 to 30 percent, reflecting the unusually high activity in the mortgage
  market throughout the pandemic.

• Revolving credit card inquiries took the longest
  to recover from the initial March 2020 decline until March 2021, when these
  inquiries reached their usual levels.

• Consumers with deep subprime credit scores
  showed the largest decline in auto loan inquiries compared to prior years,
  followed by inquiries from consumers with subprime credit scores. These
  consumers also showed declines in new mortgage and revolving credit card
  inquiries.

• Changes in auto loan and new mortgage
  applications were quite varied across the states, while changes in credit card
  applications were generally uniform.

Online Tool to help Renters and Landlords

On July 28, 2021, the CFPB released an online tool to help
renters and landlords impacted by the pandemic easily find and apply for
payment assistance for rent, utilities, and other expenses. The Rental Assistance Finder will
make it easier for renters and landlords to connect with federal, state, and
local rental assistance programs in their area.

According to a CFPB analysis of Census
Household Pulse Survey data  from
June 23–July 5, 16 percent of adults living in households who rent said they
are currently behind on their payments. Of adults living in households behind
on rent, 49 percent, or approximately 3.6 million of them, say that eviction in
the next two months is somewhat or very likely.

insideARM Perspective:

The last eighteen months or so have led to uncertainty throughout the accounts receivable management industry. While the news regarding credit applications will likely not have an immediate impact on the ARM industry, a return to some stability and normalcy is surely a welcome sign.

Conversely, the online tool offering renters
and landlords a resource to find assistance in their areas might have an immediate impact on consumers and the ARM industry. Many consumer advocates believe the next economic crisis is going to be related to evictions, as there are a significant number of consumers who are not
prepared to pay now-due back rent and will be evicted from their
homes. 

Aside from the obvious impact to consumers, should this scenario come to
fruition, the accounts receivable management industry will likely feel a
significant impact; people who don’t have a place to live will not jump at the
opportunity to pay a delinquent bill. Billions of dollars have been made
available for consumers and landlords during the pandemic, should the online
tool do what the CFPB hopes it will do; it will mitigate the impact on
consumers and the financial sector. 

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Credit Control, LLC (“Credit Control”) is proud to announce that Paul Kaloustian has joined the company as Senior Vice President – Sales.  Paul joins an established team of Executives and will assist in managing existing client relationships, provide a consultative approach to business development, and focus on expanding our national presence as industry leaders in the Financial Services collections and recovery industry

Paul comes to the role after a 26-year career with Bank of America where he was the Senior Vice President and Senior Group Operations Manager for the past 7 years. In addition to running Bank of America’s third-party collection agency program that included 29 domestic & international vendor companies, he also led the vehicle possession network, divisional non-customer contact data vendors, and oversaw vendor performance, controls & compliance.  Paul also held leadership positions at MBNA prior to the Bank of America acquisition in Collections, Customer Marketing, and early detection Fraud.

“Without question, Credit Control is the preeminent, best-in-class, provider of collection & recovery solutions in the industry,” said Mr. Kaloustian. “They understand the needs credit grantors require in today’s environment, whether it’s controls, compliance, or performance.  My decision to join their team was an easy choice.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Paul to the Credit Control team,” stated Rick Saffer, President & CEO. “He is a great match for our company and his experience, reputation, and wealth of real-world experience will play a vital part in our continued growth.”

Paul will be based out of our corporate headquarters in St. Louis, MO and will report to our Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, Paul Farinacci.

About Credit Control, LLC

Headquartered in St. Louis, MO, Credit Control, LLC is a recognized leader in collections and recovery solutions. Since 1989, Credit Control has served a wide variety of blue-chip clients through its four nationwide locations and a team of over 600 employees. The company is founded on its core values of providing strong customer service and exceptional recovery results for our clients; developing an employee culture that is built on trust, accountability, and clear communication; and creating solutions that utilize the latest technology.

Credit Control’s recovery approach blends traditional collections with omni-channel communications in a fully compliant & customer-centric culture. The company maintains ISO/IEC 27001 certification, audited SSAE-18 SOC 1 Type 2 and SOC 2 Type 1 reports, Level 2 PCI-DSS compliance, and secured systems. The company has received numerous awards for performance, compliance, and innovation from many of the largest creditors in the world and has been recognized as back-to-back winners of InsideARM’s Best Places to Work in Collections.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Credit Control is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Credit Control’s mission is to become the preferred supplier to industry leaders by providing the highest level of quality, compliance, and innovation while delivering top tier performance in a positive employee work environment.

Company Contacts

Paul Farinacci, Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer
Direct: 818-720-6502 / Email: pfarinacci@credit-control.com

Marc Ross, Vice President of Marketing
Direct: 305-389-6235 / Email: mross@credit-control.com

Credit Control, LLC – Corporate Headquarters
5757 Phantom Dr, Suite 330
Hazelwood, MO 63042

Other Offices Include: Las Vegas, NV & Tampa, FL (2)