Consumer Credit Collector News - Return to Menu

Debt collection pays off for right person

Unsavory as it may seem, profession can be rewarding for those with right skills, drive

By IEVA M. AUGSTUMS

The Dallas Morning News - Apr. 11, 2005 - As consumer debt rises, so does the demand for persuasive, telephone-savvy workers. Collection agencies are seeking professionals who can call and collect past-due loans, credit-card charges, utility bills and accounts.

While being a debt collector may sound tedious, it can be a rewarding profession financially and professionally for those with the right skills and competitive drive.

“No one ever says, ‘I want to grow up and be a bill collector,’” said Harry Strausser III, president of ACA International — the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals. “People just find out they are good at it.”

Recruiters say that jobs are opening up with third-party collection agencies and hospitals — even the Internal Revenue Service.

Government agencies also are making more use of collectors on everything from parking tickets to child-support payments and past-due taxes.

“There’s no doubt that the increasing amount of debt has made for more work,” said Kit Ladwig, editor of Collections & Credit Risk, a trade publication for the collections industry. “The debt-buying industry is also growing.”

In fact, federal labor data indicate that the collection industry is poised to grow for the next few years.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the industry had 413,000 collectors in 2002 and will grow between 21 percent and 35 percent by 2012, spurred by companies that are now placing greater emphasis on collecting bad debts sooner.

CMI Group in Texas is adding staff. “We’ve been hiring collectors,” said Linda Wright, CMI’s vice president of human resources. “There are also opportunities in human resources and information technology.”

Other positions within the collections field include business administration, customer service, sales, marketing, legal services, management, skip-tracing and technical support.

Experts say the entry-level job of collector does not require formal education; however, most agencies require a minimum of a high school education.

It’s also helpful to have part-time training or an internship at a bank or credit bureau.

Candidates seeking managerial positions typically have a college education, Wright said.

Experts say the job is good for single parents and college students because it allows for flexible schedules. Most agencies provide on-the-job training for new employees.

“I was able to work and go to back to school part-time for a business administration degree,” said Wright, who started with CMI 10 years ago as a collector.

“With experience and training, a capable collector may be promoted to collection manager or take on another role within a company,” she said.

Because they track down and call customers whose accounts are delinquent and try to get the bill paid, collectors need to be good negotiators and have great communication skills.

It’s important to be organized and computer-savvy because agencies use automated systems.

It’s also necessary to know federal and state laws that govern the industry. Collectors usually receive a base salary plus commission.

As of January, the median annual salary for a consumer loan collector was $28,032, according to Salary Wizard. With five years of experience, the median is $36,085.

Total compensation depends on how much money is collected by the individual and sometimes the company.

“Debt collectors are very motivated by money. They are usually competitive and aggressive people,” Wright said. “They are very much into watching their stats.”

Online group helps with Deadbeat parents.

Deadbeat Hunters is an onling group dedicated to helping with Deadbeat parents. Our Nation is more than aware of the need to crack down on "Deadbeats." Unfortunately, we have seen little done to enforce this Federal Law. We at Deadbeat Hunters are trying to change this.

(I-Newswire) - Our Nation is more than aware of the need to crack down on "Deadbeats." Unfortunately, we have seen little done to enforce this Federal Law. Why haven't we fixed this? The criminals are winning, and the children are losing. Unless the custodial parents have medical insurance, they are going without adequate medical and dental care. All the while, the offenders who have caused these deplorable conditions are drinking, eating, socializing; all the while the custodial parent is struggling to support their children.

We can no longer look the other way. We need to intervene because to ignore this is to ignore our children, knowing the suffering it is causing them. We're better than that. We can find these deadbeats and make them accountable.

The idea that an offender can break the law by ignoring the court's order by hiding is to reward the deadbeats for their lawlessness. Law enforcement apprehends other criminals whose addresses are not generally known. Why not these criminals? The loot they have stolen is public record.

The law should exert all the power it needs to help the most vulnerable segment of our society. When someone steals from a random victim, it is horrific; when a parent does so, it is unconscionable.

As a start, we can use the government's resources to find these individuals and incarcerate them because they have broken the law.

"No child left behind" is a wonderful concept, not only for education, but their rights to a better lifestyle, and opportunities that can only be enhanced when both parents are financially
responsible in raising this child. What are the lawmakers going to do about this? CHILD SUPPORT IS THE LAW!

We DEMAND that child support be enforced! There are laws in place that are supposed to hold high penalties for Criminal Nonsupport, why are these laws being ignored and NOT enforced? What good is a law, if it is not enforced? It means nothing and it accomplishes nothing. The laws need to be fixed, and fixed now!

The Federal Office of Child Support in the Preliminary Statistics for 2003 reports that $100 Billion in accumulated unpaid support ( up from $92 billion in 2002 ) is due to 18 million children in the United States. The government child support agency collection rate, the percentage of cases receiving one or more payments was 50%, which is down from 68% in 2002.

We are a group of parents from all over the United States that are not collecting child support from our deadbeat ex's because the laws do not work. We are working hard to convince lawmakers to immediately drafting Federal Legislation that immediately ends this travesty for all custodial parents will once and for all.