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NCS Wins Award for Federal Collection Subcontracting Performance

February 6, 2014 By admin Leave a Comment

National Credit Services (NCS) and Fed Cetera are pleased to announce that NCS has won Fed Cetera’s first-ever Robert J. Prince Award for outstanding performance as a subcontractor on the Department of Education’s (ED) Private Collection Agency (PCA) contract.

The award is given to a small business subcontractor whose exceptional performance, provided in a compliant environment, has had a substantial impact on performance for ED among small business subcontractors in the previous year. Working for ED PCA Account Control Technology, Inc. since 2011, NCS displayed outstanding performance across the board in 2013, earning the company this honor for 2014.

“It’s an honor to be recognized and receive the first-ever Robert J. Prince Award,” said Haidari Sarajy, President of NCS. “I would like to credit Account Control Technology for their trust and unwavering support throughout the past three years as well as my NCS team for their hard work and accountability. Their commitment to respectfully communicating with ED borrowers and following compliance guidelines has made this all possible.”

“ACT has had the pleasure of mentoring NCS for three years, and the company’s recent achievement is well-deserved,” said Nabil Kabbani, CEO of ACT. “NCS eagerly adopted ACT’s time-tested, consultative approach to debt collection, and their outstanding performance shows that treating borrowers with respect leads to the best outcomes for all parties involved.”

From left to right: Robert J. Prince (retired), Troy Ortega (ACT), Nick Myrben (NCS), Haidari Sarajy (NCS), Nick Bernardo (Fed Cetera), Leah Wilson Conger (Fed Cetera), Lynn Heineman (ACT), Kris Berquist (ACT), Nabil Kabbani (ACT)

NCS is currently one of only a handful of small businesses competing to win a small business set-aside contract from ED this year for a procurement that started in March of 2013. As reported on www.mygovwatch.com, due to increases in volume, ED’s business with its more than three dozen contractors and subcontractors is expected to reach $700,000,000 per year by 2015. Fed Cetera helps small businesses tap into subcontracting opportunities available through the ED contract.

“We have been pleased to have the chance to work with ACT on its subcontracting strategy since 2011,” said Leah Wilson Conger of Fed Cetera, continuing, “this arm’s-length relationship not only follows the letter and the spirit of ED’s subcontracting program for PCAs, but also shows that PCAs willing to offer their expertise to small businesses can help drive small business growth in a way that reinforces what ED is trying to accomplish.”

The ED PCA contract employs thousands of American workers. In a report published by the Department of the Treasury in March of 2013 and available as a free download here, ED’s total receivables have continued to rise, from $504.7 billion to $643.3 billion, or 27.5%, at the end of FY2012. Its delinquent dollars went up by $120 billion during the same period. Any dollar collected by an ED PCA is one that can conceivably be relent to a future student who aspires to receive a college degree.

Based in Woodinville, WA, National Credit Services is a full service, nationally-licensed collection agency that has been serving businesses across the nation with professional recovery since 1995. The company serves a broad range of clientele in various industries including: higher education, healthcare, financial institutions, retail, commercial and government entities. Account representatives are trained to be the best in the industry by an operation and management team with over 100 years of combined experience. For more information, call 800-324-7564, email sales@ncscollect.com, or visit www.ncscollect.com.

Account Control Technology, Inc. is a national leader in providing consultative debt management and collection solutions for education, government, and consumer entities. Established in 1990, ACT has been recognized as an Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private company for the past seven years running. The company serves clients nationwide from five office locations: Bakersfield, California; Woodland Hills, California; Mason, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; and San Angelo, Texas. For more information, call 800-394-4228, email info@accountcontrol.com or visit www.accountcontrol.com

Fed Cetera helps companies in the collection industry pursue opportunities with the Federal government. Federal PCAs have strong incentives to give a portion of their work to qualified small businesses. Companies working with Fed Cetera to pursue subcontracting opportunities recently surpassed $25,000,000 in total billings for their work provided as subcontractors to ED PCAs. Click here to learn more: http://www.netgain4results.com/net-gain-marketing/b2g/federal-subcontracting

NCS Wins Award for Federal Collection Subcontracting Performance
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Accounts Receivable Management

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Executive Change: Jason Blood to MSCHHI as Executive Director of National Operations for ARM Accounts

February 6, 2014 By admin Leave a Comment

Merchant Service Center of Hilton Head Island (MSCHHI), a leading provider of payment processing solutions to the ARM industry, is pleased to announce the promotion of Jason Edward Blood to Executive Director of National Operations for ARM accounts.

Mr. Blood has had years of experience in both the finance and collections industries and will be based in San Diego.

MSCHHI has always felt that understanding the ARM industry is critical for a card processing company, as we know that your ability to accept debit and credit cards dramatically increases sales and gives your business the boost it needs to succeed. With same day approvals, 24 hour customer service, personalized account reps and industry leading rates Merchant Service Center is the only credit card processing solution you’ll need. We’ll provide you with access to our award winning Gateway where you can process credit cards and checks, and set up recurring billing. Our technology is compatible with all major collection software platforms, is easy to integrate and is certified PCI compliant.

Please contact Mr. Blood today at Jason.blood@mschhi.com for a no obligation price comparison and analysis of your processing needs.

Executive Change: Jason Blood to MSCHHI as Executive Director of National Operations for ARM Accounts
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Accounts Receivable Management

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Credit Control, LLC Acquires Professional Recovery Services, Inc.

February 6, 2014 By admin Leave a Comment

Credit Control, LLC, headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., has acquired Professional Recovery Services, Inc. (PRS), a Voorhees, N.J.-based provider of third-party debt collection services to large financial institutions and other blue chip credit grantors. The transaction was completed in December 2013.

Corporate Advisory Solutions, LLC advised PRS in the deal and is proud to announce the transaction as its first in the Accounts Receivable Management (ARM) industry.

According to Michael Lamm, President & CEO of CAS, “It was a pleasure to represent PRS in the marketplace. PRS established a reputation for strong performance and regulatory compliance in the credit card sector, and leveraged these core competencies to win business in other consumer markets.”

At the time of the transaction, PRS supported roughly 170 employees in three locations. Jack McCusker, the owner of PRS, will remain involved transitionally prior to pursuing other business interests. Jack commented, “PRS is a great company that has found a good home. While I enjoyed my time there and in the ARM industry, I am looking forward to moving on and pursuing other activities. I truly appreciate the advice and support that I received from Michael and the CAS team during this engagement, and would highly recommend them to other business owners seeking to sell their companies.”

Doug Jacobsen, Chairman of Credit Control, stated, “We are delighted to own PRS and look forward to growing this business as part of the Credit Control family. PRS’ strong reputation in the financial services sector will compliment Credit Control’s family of ARM companies.”

Rick Saffer, President and CEO stated, “This acquisition couldn’t be a better fit for both companies. There is very little overlap in the client base, the leaders of both organizations have worked together in the past, and both companies work on similar collection platforms. PRS will have the benefit of Credit Control’s strong balance sheet and capital sources while Credit Control will have access to some of the largest creditor’s in the country. This acquisition also fits perfectly with Credit Control’s strategy of providing a diversified one-stop solution for our clients.”

Credit Control will continue to be acquisitive of ARM companies and distressed consumer asset portfolios.

For more than 20 years, Credit Control, LLC has been a nationally licensed, full-service receivables organization providing customized solutions to meet the individual revenue cycle needs of each of our clients. Credit Control has continued to focus on partnering with clients to collect their past-due accounts receivable balances and develop strategies to further maximize their financial results. Credit Control’s history in the collection industry started in 1989 and currently serves over 450 clients. Credit Control, LLC was formed in 2006 by purchasing a 17 year old agency.

Professional Recovery Services, Inc. (PRS) is a privately held company offering debt collection and accounts receivable management services nationwide. PRS’ corporate offices are located in Voorhees, NJ. In addition to PRS’ corporate offices, PRS maintains Branch offices in Vineland, NJ and Las Vegas, NV. PRS primarily services the following stages of delinquency: early out / pre collection servicing, primary and secondary charged off portfolios. PRS has a long established reputation providing services for the banking and financial services industries with a focus on credit card, consumer loans, auto, mortgages, student loans, commercial and government accounts.

Corporate Advisory Solutions, LLC (CAS) is an advisory firm and merchant bank that strategically partners with clients to build, grow and sell successful businesses. CAS’ suite of services includes capital raising, sell-side and buy-side representations, valuation, compliance and strategic advisory services. Members of CAS are registered representatives with the FINRA Member broker-dealer StillPoint Capital LLC, Tampa, FL. CAS specializes in the outsourced businesses services (OBS) sector, with particular expertise in the accounts receivable management, revenue cycle management and customer relationship management industries. The CAS deal team has completed over 70 transactions representing nearly $2 billion in shareholder value for a variety of clients – from small family businesses, to Fortune 500 companies, to various financial investment firms. CAS operates from two offices based in Philadelphia, PA and Washington, DC

Credit Control, LLC Acquires Professional Recovery Services, Inc.
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Accounts Receivable Management

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The Evolution of Debt Collection Industry Conferences

January 30, 2014 By admin Leave a Comment

Mike Ginsberg

The ARM industry conference schedule is heating up and we’re not even out of January yet. With the Polar Vortex in full effect on the East Coast once again, a little heat would be nice right about now.

For many of us in the ARM industry, the Debt Buyers Association’s annual conference marks the first conference of the year that we typically attend. But this year, I have already attended two industry conferences, including the International Association of Commercial Collectors Annual Convention in Miami and insideARM’s Large Market Participant Summit 2014 last week in Washington and I noticed a few themes developing that I wanted to share.

1. The smaller conferences tend to attract the owner/operators. The IACC announced they had record attendance levels of slightly more than 200 participants. I noticed that the vast majority of those in attendance at IACC were agency owners. I guess having the conference in Miami in January doesn’t hurt attendance levels. One of the most popular sessions was a peer-to-peer discussion about hot topics in which owners shared their viewpoints on their own operational challenges and technology advancements. At the insideARM Summit, there were also a large percentage of owners in attendance. The hot topic of regulation attracted the interest of many decision makers who are trying to make sense of this dynamic marketplace.

2. The attendees tend to stay in the sessions. A lot of times when I attend national conferences, I notice the hallways and exhibit halls are a lot more populated than the speaker sessions. This is not typically the case at the smaller conferences. The sessions are very well attended and the level of audience participation during the sessions is quite high. Networking is reserved for the breaks and cocktail receptions. On the second day of the iA Summit, there was a diverse panel that consisted of representatives from a number of consumer advocacy groups, the CFPB Advisory Board and an Associate Professor of Law from the University of Connecticut. This was a very popular session as evidenced by the number of questions raised and the volume of Tweets, which leads me to my next point…

3. Twitter has become an important communication tool at conferences. Contrary to what my teenage sons might think, I don’t live in the Stone Age. I realize that Twitter had a very successful public offering last year and boasts having hundreds of millions of users every day. I am one of them (@mike_ginsberg) although I find that the vast majority of the ARM industry is not comfortable using social media to communicate. What I noticed at the insideARM Summit was the active usage among attendees who were tweeting noteworthy points made during the sessions. Others retweeted these points from their desktops to their following so the connection was made at many different levels. You can check out the posts with #iasummit2014 for yourself. Here are some of the tweets from the IA Summit last week :

NARCA ‏@NARCA_DC – DKaminski moderating panel of consumer advocates at #iasummit2014 – should be interesting!

Mike Ginsberg ‏@mike_ginsberg – CFPB operates with the assumption that all debtor complaints are truthful and accurate #iasummit2014

Dalie Jimenez ‏@daliejimenez – Collector reports that moving to 24hr cooling period between calls led to a record yr; advises firms to look at own data #iASummit2014

Conferences have certainly evolved due to technology advancements but the benefit of human connection at live events is still a compelling reason why many of us continue to attend conferences. Both are worth exploring.

The Evolution of Debt Collection Industry Conferences
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Accounts Receivable Management

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Executive Change: Scott Baker Joins JJL Process as Head of Operations

January 30, 2014 By admin Leave a Comment

JJL Process, a technology and compliance leader in the process serving industry, is pleased to announce that Scott Baker has joined the company. Scott Baker’s responsibilities will be to head up operations nationwide implementing operational process and procedural improvements.

Scott Levine, President of JJL Process, said “We are thrilled to have an experienced collection litigation executive like Scott Baker join our organization to bring us to the next level.”

Scott Baker has extensive experience from his previous responsibilities at TRAKAmerica and Zwicker and Associates, P.C. JJL is currently active in twelve states and is expanding nationwide.

With 25 years of industry experience, JJL Process Corporation is a Process Serving Agency that specializes in serving collection papers. Through advanced proprietary technology and forward thinking, JJL has established itself as the technology and compliance leader in process serving. The difference between JJL and the others is JJL continues to develop advanced proprietary technologies which allow increased client efficiency while offering a level of compliance to clients that are not available with traditional Process Serving agencies. JJL is SSAE-16 and SOC-1 certified and is in compliance with the Process Serving Standards Summit standards. JJL presently services Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Tennessee and Washington State with JJL owned and operated offices and continues to expand nationwide.

For more information on JJL Process, please contact Joel Rosenthal at (561) 312-7602 or visit www.jjlprocess.com.

Executive Change: Scott Baker Joins JJL Process as Head of Operations
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Accounts Receivable Management

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Economy Grows at 3.2 percent Rate in Fourth Quarter of 2013

January 30, 2014 By admin Leave a Comment

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 according to the “advance” estimate released Thursday by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). In the third quarter of 2013, real GDP increased 4.1 percent.

The combined growth in the last two quarters of 2012 represented the most robust six-month period of economic expansion in two years. The growth rate for Q4 2013 was roughly in-line with analyst and economist expectations.

The BEA said that the main drivers of growth in the fourth quarter was consumer spending and business investment. Consumer spending – the largest single factor in GDP measurement — jumped 3.3 percent while business investment grew 3.8 percent led by a 6.9 percent surge in equipment investment.

The main drags on economic growth were residential investment, which fell 9.8 percent, and federal government spending, down 12.6 percent compared to the third quarter.

The price index for gross domestic purchases, which informs inflation rates, increased 1.2 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with an increase of 1.8 percent in the third.

During 2013 real GDP increased 2.7 percent compared to 2.0 percent during 2012. Inflation slowed in 2013 with the price index for gross domestic purchases increasing 1.1 percent during 2013, compared with an increase of 1.5 percent in 2012.

Economy Grows at 3.2 percent Rate in Fourth Quarter of 2013
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Accounts Receivable Management

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Take insideARM’s Annual Operations, Compliance and Technology Survey; Get $5

January 30, 2014 By admin Leave a Comment

insideARM.com is conducting an annual survey of Collection Agency Owners & Executives, Collection Operations Staff, and Compliance Professionals to better understand their current economic and compliance challenges; plus their technology needs and requirements. Now in its second year, this year’s survey presents a terrific opportunity to compare results from the 2013 survey to get year-over-year trends in Accounts Receivable Management and chart a course for ongoing trend analysis.

All qualified respondents — Agency Owners & Executives, Collection Operations Staff, and Compliance professionals submitting a business e-mail address (no gmail, Hotmail, etc.) — who complete the questionnaire will receive a $5 Amazon gift code, courtesy of our partner on the survey, BillingTree.

Please take a few minutes to complete the survey. Click here to start right now. But hurry; the survey will close February 28, 2014.

Participants supplying their business email will also receive a benchmark study from insideARM that highlights the results of the survey and provides insight on the top priorities for operations professionals in the collections and debt purchasing business.

Because the survey is being limited to agency owners, executives, compliance, and operations professionals, your individual reply is most important to its success.

Take the survey now at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2014insideARM

Your answers will be kept confidential and will be reported only in aggregate with those of the other survey participants.

Take the survey now and get your $5 Amazon gift code!

Take insideARM’s Annual Operations, Compliance and Technology Survey; Get $5
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Accounts Receivable Management

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insideARM.com Launches TCPA Resources Page for Debt Collection Industry

January 30, 2014 By admin Leave a Comment

Today we are announcing the launch of the latest portal page designed to help the ARM industry navigate the current legal and regulatory environment: TCPA Resources. The TCPA Resources area joins our recently launched FDCPA and CFPB resources pages as one-stop shops that drill down on a specific compliance topic.

The new section features important decisions in court cases claiming violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, documentation from the law’s enforcement agency — the FCC — and the full text of the TCPA. We will be adding plenty more to the section in coming weeks, and if you have any suggestions, please let us know at editor@insidearm.com.

The TCPA presents a very tricky issue for debt collectors. The law was not written with debt collection in mind, rather, it targets telemarketing calls. But due to the fact that collectors use sophisticated telephony products, the industry has been ensnared in the requirements of the law.

Compliance with the TCPA is, unfortunately, a moving target. As we’ve documented for more than a year, consumer attorneys are focusing more and more on TCPA lawsuits against collectors as jurisdictions make contrary rulings.

Did you know that the FCC took a definitive position on autodialer use by debt collectors, only to have a court rule to the contrary only months later? That information and a lot more is on our TCPA Resources page.

We would like to thank LexisNexis for their generous support in underwriting the TCPA Resources section. To make navigation to the page as seamless as possible, we will be displaying the banner below on each article we run on the TCPA. Click on it to go to the TCPA Resources page:

insideARM.com Launches TCPA Resources Page for Debt Collection Industry
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Accounts Receivable Management

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insideARM Summit Keynote Draws Blueprint for Debt Collection CMS

January 23, 2014 By admin Leave a Comment

In her keynote address at the insideARM Large Market Participant Summit Thursday, Linda Gallagher, Managing Director and Global Head of the Consumer Protection Practice at Promontory Financial Group, said the rush towards compliance in the debt collection industry is the fastest she’s seen in her 30 years in the financial services sector. As the industry moves at a breakneck new pace to keep up with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and new regulations, the key elements to look out for in building an effective compliance management system are governance and the substantive components of the CMS. There’s a big difference between consumer protection and consumer compliance.

When developing a CMS, create a top-down framework for building accountability. Gallagher stressed how this framework must include board members and agency employees with business acumen.

“I fear that when there’s meetings with boards and training of boards, it’s very technical and they’re not going to get in to those details because it’s painful,” Gallagher said. “Give them context so they’d understand: it’s not just you, it’s everyone.”

When it comes to the substance of compliance, the CFPB has a multi-modular exam manual that explicitly states what they look for at a debt collection firm. But Gallagher says that even the CFPB’s manual is incomplete and doesn’t cover all of what she sees as the six “sticking points” for compliance: learning from customer complaints, assessing risks, testing compliance performance, driving sustainable change, developing compliance expertise and independent audit oversight.

“There is a war for talent in the compliance space today; the compensation norms for compliance talent have just gone crazy,” Gallagher said. “It’s that much harder to get compliance talent in your audit function. It’s a step removed.”

Finally, smart strategies in areas that support your CMS are critical to giving comfort to your business partners and regulators. Creditors and regulators want to know that collectors base their actions in the marketplace on compliance with applicable laws, and that they can prove it.

The insideARM Large Market Participant Summit – generously underwritten by FICO, Interactive Intelligence, and RevSpring — is running through Friday. Check back on insideARM.com for updates throughout today and tomorrow and follow us on Twitter under the hashtag #iasummit2014.

insideARM Summit Keynote Draws Blueprint for Debt Collection CMS
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Accounts Receivable Management

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insideARM Summit Kicks Off with Talk on Debt Collection Rulemaking

January 23, 2014 By admin Leave a Comment

The second annual Large Market Participant Summit 2014, hosted in Washington, DC by insideARM.com, began Thursday morning with a presentation and Q&A session from Tom Pahl, Managing Counsel in the Office of Regulations at the CFPB.

Pahl will be a key member of the legal team that oversees debt collection rulemaking after the Bureau’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) comment period closes. He discussed the process for debt collection rulemaking and why the CFPB chose this path over other methods of regulation.

First, Pahl noted that rulemaking for debt collection was discretionary for the CFPB under Dodd-Frank, unlike mortgage rulemaking — for example — which was mandated by the legislation. But Pahl said that the Bureau decided to pursue new debt collection rules because consumers have no choice in their dealings with the ARM industry and complaint volumes support additional rules. He also noted that technology gaps between the current environment and the FDCPA, passed in 1977, lends itself to additional clarification.

The process for new rules for the collection industry was laid out. Although no specific timetable was given, Pahl said that after the ANPR comment period closes, his team will be writing regulatory text that will be issued in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR), which will also be subject to a comment period. The NPR should contain specific new rules.

In addition to the input from comments, Pahl said the CFPB will be using complaint data, prior government efforts (specifically, the reports issued by the FTC), and consultation with state regulators and enforcers to guide their regulatory language.

Tom Pahl addresses attendees at the insideARM Summit

After his remarks, Pahl took questions from the crowd of around 100 gathered at the W Hotel in downtown Washington.

One participant noted that the concept of “strict liability,” which often gives rise to lawsuits over technical violations, was not addressed in the 160+ questions posed by the CFPB in its ANPR. Pahl said that while that was true, the actual rules resulting from the process would indirectly impact strict liability and should help collection agencies with technical violation accusations.

For example, he noted, if the rulemaking process results in standard language for validation notices, as long as ARM firms use the language, there would be “fewer possibilities of technical issues” in the area of validation notices.

Another question dealt with the costs associated with the “shotgun approach” used by the CFPB in civil investigative demands (CIDs). Pahl said that while he is not in the enforcement office of the Bureau, he did spend time in that capacity while at the FTC. He conceded that the CID process could be more targeted, and that the collection, verification, and responses to consumer complaints will help the CFPB become more targeted in its investigations.

insideARM Summit Kicks Off with Talk on Debt Collection Rulemaking
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