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Tax Season and the Stimulus Package: What are we going to see?

Last month was tax month and if you weren't able to pay your bill you might be getting a call from a collection agency.

Open Source Telephony in Your Organization

If the trusty PBX that you've owned and operated for years continues to serve you well, you find yourself wondering why you should "fix something that isnt broken."

Rising gas prices stress US consumers

With gas prices rising above $4 per gallon in some areas, what lies in store for the collections industry as we approach travel seasons?

Optimizing Collections Processes

Present economic conditions dictate that the collections business process be fully optimized in order to secure prompt repayments of outstanding debt. A number of conditions and indicators in the current market require the best use of training, data collection, operations management and the interaction software that brings it all together.

The Credit Crunch and Managing Rising Delinquency Levels

Delinquency and credit debt rates are on the rise. The Washington Post reported over two years ago that most of that debt is due to spending on basic essentials like food, gas and home mortgages and not luxury items [Washington Post]. That trend has continued and will likely worsen if the economy enters a recession.

Health Care Uncertainty

With a presidential election on the horizon every candidate has his (or her) own new health care plan. Still, there is a lot of concern over increased health care debt from both insured and uninsured individuals.

Mortgage Default Issue Gets Worse

U.S. foreclosure filings have jumped 12 percent compared to a year ago as owners have struggled with declining home values and higher adjustable mortgage rates.

Forecasting Consumer Behavior

Albert Einstein has a famous quote, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." I often think collection centers are the same — they think, "Let's collect the same way we always have and our delinquency levels should improve." Or not.

Moving the Needle on Collections Performance

What is Performance Management? What does it mean in Collections? Should we care about it? Absolutely — it can help align operational performance to corporate strategic goals and bridge the management gap between contact center managers and supervisors and agents. Performance Management helps ensure that contact center employees are focused on the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that help drive strategic success across business processes.

New Report Forecasts Rising Delinquencies into 2008

Rising unemployment and falling credit quality will produce higher rates of credit card delinquencies in 2007 and 2008, forecasts a report from Bernstein Research.

Web Based Collections

The face of collections is changing. This has been driven by the internet and its availability 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. Customers are more demanding and expect more — better customer experience, more access and better offers. Pushing debt collections to an online forum is a logical next step in the evolution of the collections business process.

Forecasting Consumer Behavior

Collections Business Process

The Federal Reserve Board reports that total outstanding consumer credit stands at more than $2.1 trillion. That figure does not include mortgages and debt secured by real estate, though it does include $800 billion in credit card and other revolving debt, as well as $1.3 trillion in installment debt such as car loans. Mortgage debt is over $9 trillion.

Job Outlook for Collectors

The debt collection industry is a vital part of the American economy, protecting jobs and access to credit for businesses and consumers. Third-party collection agencies returned $39.3 billion to businesses in 2005, representing a 22 percent reduction in private sector bad debt, according to a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Dialing Cell Phones

Collections regulatory compliance continues to be a hot button issue across all industries. In 2005, consumers filed 66,627 complaints about third-party debt collectors with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), up from the 58,698 complaints filed in 2004. This is in addition to 23,605 complaints filed about in-house collectors last year. These complaints represent 19% of all consumer complaints filed with the FTC, making the collection business the single most complained-about industry in the country, according to the FTC.

Customer Experience for Outbound Contacts

Increased competition for consumer wallet share has led to those consumers demanding more flexible options and offers from the companies they do business with. They expect quality service when they want it and on their terms. This phenomenon has forced companies to align their business strategies to drive revenue growth through nurturing customer relationships and delivering positive customer experiences.

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Aspect Expert

As a subject matter expert on the collections process, Allyson is responsible for understanding the needs of the market, identifying drivers and trends for future growth and applying this insight to help create value-added products for Aspect customers focusing on the collections process. Before joining Aspect, Allyson served as an officer for NationsBank. Among the projects she managed while at NationsBank included: creating and implementing the analysis of outbound predictive dialer strategies and daily operations for the collections departments, collections of delinquent credit card accounts and developing and coaching staff supervisors and associates on the collections process, as well as design and implementation of automated fraud detection solution for credit card security area.

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