SACRAMENTO, Calif — RMAI recently acted in response to reports from many RMAI members that they have noticed an unexplained exponential rise in complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) against their companies. Upon investigation, RMAI identified that this rise in BBB complaints coincided with the release of two YouTube videos informing consumers how to remove credit report entries through the BBB, drawing no distinction between legitimately owed debt and fraudulent debt. Coinciding with the rise in BBB complaints, RMAI members also reported an increase in complaints with the credit bureaus and on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau consumer complaint portal which were referenced in one of the videos.

RMAI leaders immediately began investigating the increase in BBB complaints against their own companies and working with their local BBBs to dig deeper into the source of the complaints. Not surprisingly, the complaints all had similar, if not the exact language suggested in the YouTube videos.

RMAI reached out to our colleagues at the national BBB as well as the Consumer Data Industry Association sharing details of the investigations conducted. Both looked into the complaints from their side. The national BBB reached out to the local network of BBBs. On July 18, the national BBB sent a notice to local BBBs with guidance on handling any complaints coming in containing template language similar to that presented in the videos. The BBB advised that when a complaint filed with the BBB seeks to eliminate a debt and only minimally alleges problems with collection activities, BBBs are authorized to request substantiation of the alleged problems with collection activities. If none is provided, the BBB can reject the complaint.

RMAI’s swift action is expected to compel the rejection of frivolous complaints. If, however, these complaints continue, please notify RMAI Executive Director, Jan Stieger at jstieger@rmaintl.org or 916-482-2462. Please indicate the dates of the complaints as well as the local BBB where they were filed.

RMAI will continue vigilantly monitoring this situation as part of its ongoing effort to protect RMAI members and the receivables management industry from unethical activities.

About RMAI

Receivables Management Association International (RMAI) is a nonprofit trade association representing more than 600 companies that purchase or support the purchase of performing and nonperforming receivables on the secondary market. The RMAI Receivables Management Certification Program is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2023. Together with RMAI’s Code of Ethics, the Certification Program sets the global standard within the receivables industry due to the rigorous uniform standards of best practice which focus on protecting consumers. More information about RMAI is available at www.rmaintl.org.

In an era of workforce shortages, organizations are looking at all their options to improve employee efficiency and productivity. For some, that means adding a payment platform that is compatible with your current workflow system. But it is important to ensure the payment platform has some key features to accelerate the payment process. Let’s look at a few of those.

Payments, payments, payments

Digital payments are commonplace. So much so that the total transaction value of digital payments in the United States is estimated to be $2.041 trillion in 2023. And the digital payments market in the U.S. is expected to reach $3.528 trillion by 2027.

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While some expressed concern about the security of making payments online, those fears have clearly dissipated. A recent survey showed that 64% of U.S. consumers think paying online is secure. Another 65% reportedly prefer to use online methods to pay regular monthly bills (car payment, cell phone, mortgage, recurring medical bills, etc.). And another 57% say they prefer digital methods to pay infrequent bills (one-time medical bills, court fines, insurance payments, etc.).

This means that your employees must process all these payments. But what happens when a payment is denied? Employees must now investigate the reason for the denial and manually update any incorrect account information in the hopes that the charge will now be approved. Your employees must also manually review and reconcile all these transactions.

These are just some of the tasks an integrated payment platform can handle for you.

Automatically update accounts

With many of these payments being made with a credit card, some of the credit card information will inevitably be out of date. We’ve all experienced trying to make a payment, but the charge was denied because the date on the saved credit card was expired. Now imagine having hundreds or thousands of those. That’s a lot of information that needs to be updated.

But what if your payment platform was able to connect with the credit card companies to automatically update debit and credit card information? That would certainly eliminate the task of chasing down and updating this information manually. After all, there are more important things your employees could be doing. ​

Updated transaction information

How many times has a customer called about a problem with an account, yet your employee doesn’t see the same thing as the customer? Or several payments failed to settle and now reversals are needed? Inevitably, the employee must access multiple systems to get updated information. This is because your current platform doesn’t fully integrate with your system of record. And your employees are forced to access multiple systems to gather all the necessary information.

Modern, innovative payment platforms that integrate with your core operating system will enable automated status updates as well as easy batch reversals. These features provide real-time updates on all transactions and allow your employees to reverse multiple posts with just a few clicks.

Your employee will no longer have to analyze and compare multiple reports from different systems, then manually enter individual reversals one at a time.

Chargebacks or transactions that do not settle due to insufficient funds are automatically posted as a batch file. This allows employees to reverse the transaction in minutes – improving efficiency and accuracy.

Enhanced reconciliation

It is time-consuming to review and reconcile all transactions to determine:

• If a payment has been successfully deposited into the given trust accounts.
• If any payments need to be reversed due to insufficient funds or a chargeback needs to occur.
• If funds need to be transferred from one trust account to another.​

These manual processes can be a nightmare for employees and organizations, as multiple errors can easily be introduced.

Again, if your payment platform doesn’t fully integrate, your employees are stuck completing these manual, time-consuming tasks.

However, a payment platform that fully integrates with your system of record can provide enhanced reporting capabilities. With configurable reports, employees get clear visibility into how much has been deposited into each trust account and what amounts must be transferred to different accounts. This helps take the guesswork out of payments reconciliation and helps streamline your daily operations.

Say hello to efficiency

Your employees are working hard. So it’s incumbent on you to give them the tools they need to be more efficient and productive at their jobs. And a payment platform that fully integrates with your current workflow system is one of those tools. The right all-in-one platform will revolutionize your collection processes and it will free your employees for more important assignments.

New York, NY — Sedric.ai (“Sedric AI “), a pioneer in AI-driven compliance solutions for consumer finance firms, today announced that accounts recovery management (ARM) industry veteran David Sargent has been named Director of Sales. Sargent, who brings more than 30 years of experience in the ARM industry as an entrepreneur and sales executive, will expand and strengthen Sedric AI’s U.S. client relationships. 

“David is well-known for helping to transform the debt collection industry from a paper-based, dialer-focused sector into a more digitized industry,” said Nir Laznik, Co-Founder and CEO at Sedric AI. “His sense for innovation and extensive business experience brings additional expertise to help our clients boost collections while minimizing risks and navigating the current economic and regulatory climate. David is deeply familiar with the ARM ecosystem and we are thrilled to welcome him to our team.”

“I’m excited to join Nir and the Sedric AI team on their mission to bring advanced AI technology to the ARM industry,” said Sargent. “Throughout my career, I’ve seen the transformative impact technology can have for debt collection firms. Sedric AI’s platform can help alleviate a number of challenges that the industry is currently facing at the compliance, operational, and human resource levels. The insights it provides helps compliance and operations teams work better together, creating the first love story, so to say, between these two functions that are usually at odds.”

Prior to Sedric AI, Sargent served as the National Account Director at LiveVox. Before that, he either co-founded, or led several successful ARM tech ventures, ranging from contact center solutions to a cloud-based collection software company that was acquired by Fiserv. 

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This appointment is another important milestone in the company’s U.S. expansion where AI-based RegTech solutions are in growing demand due to tightening consumer protection regulations. Over the past 12 months, Sedric AI has onboarded numerous high-profile financial services companies across lending and collection, trading, and foreign exchange. The company has built out its platform to help collectors and creditors optimize their entire compliance and operations cycle, from real-time agent assistance and AI summarization to automated QA, and personalized coaching. Sedric AI has also added new documentation capabilities to alleviate the ever-growing reporting and auditing burden. Collectors using the application have seen significant improvements in their business, including a 30% increase in outcomes and a 40% decrease in compliance violations. 

About Sedric AI

Sedric AI is a compliance excellence platform for consumer finance organizations. With AI-based real-time monitoring, detection, and analysis of all consumer interactions, Sedric AI ensures customer protection, minimizes risk and expedites business growth. Sedric AI empowers compliance teams to quickly apply new laws and regulations across their growing business operations and enables them to focus on high-risk events across traditional and digital channels. The company was established by Nir Laznik and Eyal Peleg in 2020 and is proud to serve consumer finance organizations on three continents. It was recently awarded Most Promising Fintech Startup by CitiBank and Visa. For more, please visit: https://www.sedric.ai/

SCRANTON, Pa.– Abrahamsen Gindin LLC (AG Law), a multi-state creditors’ rights firm, is pleased to announce the formation of a new commercial debt collection group to operate as AG Commercial Law, LLC (“AGC”).    The new group will be led by Lloyd S. Markind, Esq., together with Jerred P. Roth, Esq., long-time commercial collection attorneys in the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, and Kentucky.

AGC will also enable AG Law to expand its list of coverage states to include West Virginia and Kentucky, with its current states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.

AG Law principals, Joshua Gindin and David Schlee, are excited about the opportunity to expand the Firm’s commercial services while broadening its coverage for consumer collections.  “We are excited to bring Markind and Roth on board as their presence will enable the Firm to better serve its existing clients and create the possibility of adding new clients as well” Gindin said.

Schlee concurred. “These are exciting times for AG Law and AGC.  The combined operation brings a whole new dimension to our overall business strategy and helps solidify our vision for the Firm. We are looking forward to the challenge” he said.

Contact:

Evan
Forster

EForster@ag-lawllc.com

(631)
393-9406

On July 10, the West Virginia attorney general, along with 26 other states, filed an amicus brief in support of respondents in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association of America, arguing that the CFPB’s funding structure violates the Constitution and that by operating outside the ordinary appropriations process states are often left “out in the cold.” In their brief, the states urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s decision in which it found that the Bureau’s “perpetual self-directed, double-insulated funding structure” violated the Constitution’s Appropriations Clause (covered by InfoBytes here and a firm article here). The 5th Circuit’s decision also vacated the agency’s Payday Lending Rule on the premise that it was promulgated at a time when the Bureau was receiving unconstitutional funding.

Arguing that the Bureau is operating beyond the boundaries established by the Constitution, the states maintained that the current funding mechanism limits Congress’s ability to oversee the agency. “Even if the CFPB has done some good—and some would even dispute that premise—it wouldn’t matter,” the states said, warning that “sidelining Congress can greenlight an agency to wreak havoc,” especially if the “agency wields broad regulatory and enforcement powers over the entire U.S. financial system, acts under the control of a single powerful figure, and lacks other protections from meaningful oversight.”

The appropriations process plays a crucial role in enabling states to influence agency actions indirectly, the states maintained, explaining that when an agency initiates a new enforcement initiative or significant rulemaking endeavor, it is required to publicly outline its projected work in order to secure the necessary funding to carry it out. “Disclosure on the front end of the appropriations process can empower affected parties—including the [s]tates—to take quick, responsive actions beyond lobbying their representatives (up to suing to stop illegal action, if need be).” In contrast, the Bureau’s insulation from this process has allowed it to hide its actions from public view, the states wrote. As an example, the Bureau has repeatedly declined to interpret or provide further clarity on how the provisions governing unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices work.

The brief also highlighted examples of when Congress used funding cuts through the appropriations process to curtail agencies’ powers. Additionally, unlike the challenges of amending authorizing statutes, appropriations bills must be passed by Congress each year to avoid a government shutdown, which can be “a painful pill to swallow for the sake of standing up for an agency’s policy choice,” the states noted, adding that “[b]ecause appropriations involves both oversight committees and appropriations committees, agencies may have ‘less flexibility to ally themselves with executive branch officials or interest groups.’”

The states also urged the Court to “ignore doomsaying” about the consequences of finding the funding structure unconstitutional. Should the Court agree to invalidate the funding structure, Congress can pass a proper appropriations bill for the Bureau, the states explained, adding that “a rebuke from this Court would no doubt grease the sticky wheels of the legislative process and move them a bit faster.” Moreover, states could also fill any gaps should Congress somehow pare back the CFPB’s funding, the brief stressed.

Several amicus briefs were also filed this week in support of CFSA, including an amici curiae brief filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and several banking associations and an amici curiae brief filed by 132 members of Congress, including 99 representatives and 33 senators, which urged the Court to uphold the 5th Circuit’s decision.

SAN JOSE, Calif — The County of Santa Clara in California has officially launched the implementation of their new Cloud Collections Financial Ecosystem, “CSS IMPACT! HD™ 2.0” for its California Public Assistance Program called “Statewide Automated Welfare System” or “CALSAWS”.  CSS, Inc., a leader in innovation that continuously pioneers advanced solutions, is the exclusive provider of enterprise-grade financial ecosystems and omnichannel contact engagement solutions that cater to all verticals of the financial industry. 

Santa Clara County, known as “the Silicon Valley,” is a prominent destination for global technology companies. With a strong focus on innovation and digital transformation, the County consistently leads the way in adopting advanced digital tools to provide exceptional service to its residents. 

The County continuously aims to transform modern governance using cloud technologies and smart AI-enabled services. The vision is to provide smart, mobile, transparent, and engaging public services that encourage increased constituent participation and foster trust with our citizens. This transformative vision is outlined in the County’s strategic plan mission statement, which focuses on collaboration to support the goal of an enhanced experience and better services to its citizens.

“We are incredibly proud to have been selected by the prestigious County of Santa Clara to carry out this important project. Through the implementation of our cutting-edge “NextGen” HD 2.0 Collections Ecosystem, the County will be able to unify and simplify its outdated systems, giving users the power to streamline processes and improve efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency. Ultimately, this will lead to increased revenues for the County.” said Carl Briganti, President and CEO of CSS, Inc.

CSS’s financial cloud architecture offers a cost-effective solution for acquiring NextGen cloud technology and intuitive agile fintech to fully automate fundamental day to day processes. Major metropolitan municipalities such as The City of San Francisco, California, the great State of Utah, Norfolk, Virginia, and now Santa Clara County, can restructure their processes and benefit from a streamlined workforce. By utilizing CSS’s Cloud Financial Ecosystem platform, these municipalities can automate essential tasks, allowing them to prioritize revenue management and customer care.

About the County of Santa Clara

The County of Santa Clara is located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay and encompasses 1,312 square miles. World-known as “the Silicon Valley”, the County of Santa Clara is a major employment hub in the technology sector providing more than a quarter of all jobs in the Bay Area with one of the highest median family incomes in the country. Home to a population of nearly 2 million from a wide diversity of cultures, backgrounds, and talents, the County continues to attract people from all over the world.

For more information on the County of Santa Clara, visit https://home.sccgov.org/home

About CSS

CSS, Inc. is a leading provider of complete enterprise-level Financial Ecosystems for the financial services industry. Our diverse range of solutions caters to all verticals and allows businesses to modernize their revenue and payment management systems by consolidating them into a single, unified enterprise-level cloud-based financial ecosystem with a wide range of fully integrated merchant services. This comprehensive solution unifies all areas of the enterprise, ensuring the highest level of financial transparency.

As pioneers in the industry, CSS prides itself on continuously introducing an innovative line of products such as the revolutionary COLLECTOR IQ+ & IMPACT IQ+. This powerful application seamlessly integrates Ai and Machine Learning into the debt-recovery workflows, providing both system administrators and agents with an intuitive and powerful set of dynamic tools for an unparalleled experience. Discover the future of financial management with CSS.

For more information, download our brochure at http://brochure.cssimpact.com or visit us http://www.cssimpact.com or call 877.277.4621 

FAIRFIELD, N.J. — Vertican Technologies, a global leader in the legal collections software industry, is excited to announce its corporate rebranding and the launch of its newly designed website, set to go live in the coming months.

As part of the rebranding initiative, Vertican has revamped its product logos to streamline their look and create a cohesive visual identity across all its offerings. The company’s new logos, which will be introduced across all its products in the coming weeks, reflect its commitment to innovation, modernization, and staying ahead of industry trends.

“We are thrilled to unveil our new corporate branding and website redesign,” said Isaac Goldman, Chief Executive Officer. “This is a pivotal step forward for our company as we continue to evolve and adapt to the changing needs of our valued clients and industry. Vertican’s rebranding is indicative of our dedication to providing cutting-edge solutions and an enhanced user experience.”

Vertican has been serving the legal collections arena for three generations, maintaining continuous ownership and a reputation for innovation and distinction. The rebranding and website redesign demonstrate the company’s commitment to staying current in a dynamic business landscape and delivering exceptional products and services.

Vertican has been revolutionizing the transmission and standardization of data used to protect creditors’ rights and the systems used to enforce those rights. The company’s long history in the receivables technology space has positioned them in leading the mission to advance the industry standard to a more unified height. The Vertican family of products, including its recently acquired interest in Greentree Legal (GTL), produces the legal collections industry’s most powerful and innovative technology.

Stay tuned for the official launch of the new website, which promises to be visually engaging, user-friendly, and loaded with valuable resources for clients.

About Vertican Technologies

For more than 40 years, Vertican Technologies has been the receivables industry leader providing best-in-class technology, making operations more efficient, compliant, and profitable. As the pioneer in developing data standards, Vertican continues to advocate for universal data standards which will increase productivity and reduce errors in the legal collection industry. Vertican’s team of subject matter experts and innovators build comprehensive software packages that automate and streamline the collections cycle. Solutions include: vExchange®, Q-LawE, Collection-Master, vMedia, Greentree Legal, and legacy YGC Data Standard licensing. Visit www.vertican.com to learn more.

In a matter involving the bona fide error defense to claims asserted under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA), an Indiana court of appeals reversed a trial court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of the defendant debt collector holding that the defense did not apply because the mistake at issue was not of fact but of law.

The decision in Rockey v. Med-1 Solutions, LLC involved an alleged violation of the FDCPA arising out of the defendant’s failure to stop communicating with the plaintiff regarding a disputed debt.

In August 2020, the defendant began sending collection letters for unpaid medical bills to the plaintiff at an address it received from the original creditor. However, the plaintiff no longer resided at that address. Rather, the property belonged to her ex-husband, who was also the plaintiff’s attorney. On January 12, 2021, the plaintiff sent the defendant a letter disputing the debt and refusing to pay. The plaintiff’s letter did not update her mailing address. Following receipt of the plaintiff’s letter, the defendant continued its collection attempts, sending her another letter on February 22, 2021 and leaving her three voicemail messages.

The plaintiff then filed a complaint alleging the defendant failed to stop communicating with her in violation of FDCPA § 1692c(c).

The defendant moved for summary judgment, asserting: (i) it was shielded from liability by the bona fide error defense under FDCPA § 1692k(c); and (ii) no violation of the FDCPA had occurred because the collection letter was sent to the plaintiff’s attorney. The defendant’s bona fide error defense was based on the assertion that it had misread the plaintiff’s letter and mistakenly treated it as a dispute and request for validation rather than a refusal to pay.

The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant, finding that the undisputed material facts established that any violation of the FDCPA was unintentional and resulted from a bona fide error, notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adapted to avoid the error.

On appeal, the court found that the defendant violated the FDCPA because the collection letter at issue was addressed to the plaintiff not her attorney and the defendant was unaware that the attorney resided at that address. The court also found that the error made by the defendant’s attorney in misconstruing the plaintiff’s dispute letter was a mistake of law in interpreting the letter rather than an error of fact such as sending the letter to an incorrect address. Consequently, the court held that the bona fide error defense did not apply and reversed the grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant. The court nonetheless remanded the case to the trial court for consideration of the defendant’s assertion that the plaintiff lacked standing because she did not sustain a concrete and particularized injury.

Troutman Pepper’s Take:

This case serves as a reminder that a defendant can only take advantage of the FDCPA’s bona fide error defense when the error at issue is a mistake of fact rather than an erroneous legal interpretation.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Arrears Inc., a pioneer in the debt collection industry, is set to transform the landscape of debt recovery with the introduction of their AI-enabled solution, leveraging the advanced capabilities of OpenAI’s GPT-4 technology. The new offering employs the latest LLM technology, enabling more efficient, effective, and empathetic communication with debtors, thereby improving collection rates and fostering better customer relationships.

“By harnessing the power of sophisticated language learning models and combining it with our own data, we’re able to automate and personalize the debt collection process like never before,” said a Trent McKendrick, CEO at Arrears. “Our communications solution not only scales these interactions but also ensures they are conducted in a respectful and understanding manner.”

In addition, Arrears features an account summarizer that allows agents to quickly review interactions and debtor engagement. This tool empowers agents to make faster, more precise decisions and manage data in a meaningful way, further enhancing the efficiency of the debt collection process.

Arrears represents a significant leap forward in the application of Conversational AI to debt collection. The technology generates human-like, effective payment reminder messages based on key inputs such as the debtor’s name, the amount owed, the overdue date, and the desired tone of the message. These messages are then integrated into Arrears’s Conversational AI platform, which intelligently sends reminders to debtors at optimal times, initiating the debt collection process without the need for human intervention.

Arrears invites businesses to explore the potential of intelligent conversations and automation in revolutionizing their collection processes. With Arrears, businesses can significantly improve their collection rate and customer relationships.

For more information, visit www.arrears.com.

About Arrears Inc.
Arrears Inc. is a Los Angeles-based company committed to transforming the debt
collection industry. By leveraging advanced machine learning technologies,
Arrears provides innovative solutions designed to enhance collection rates
and customer relationships.