The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the primary federal law regulating third-party collection agencies, protects consumers from unfair and abusive collection practices. This piece of legislation includes an intricate collection of dos and donts that small business must abide by in order to comply with federal guidelines. Running a business is complex enough, but understanding these rules can be more than a company can handle. Thats why collection agency services have become an integral part of operations. Small Business Brief writer Joel Walsh highlights a few of the critical aspects of the FDCPA worth mentioning:
• Forbidden Practices. Such as collecting more than the actual debt, pursuing debts in dispute, contacting the debtor during disputes or depositing post-dated checks
• Forbidden Communications. Such as posing as a government agency, sending non-legal forms, threatening arrest or posing to sue without the authority to do so
• Forbidden Disclosures. Such as giving incorrect credit-related information, sharing debt information with non-involved parties or contacting other parties more than once
Collection Agency Partnership: Empowering the Process
There are several key practices any small business can do that will help the business collection agency do their job better–activities that can grease the wheels of the collections process so that valuable resources arent wasted. Business Know-how writer Barbara Brabec reveals a few of them:
• Setting the Ground Rules. Explicitly outline the payment process, including what is expected of clients and customers
• Establishing a Contract. A formal statement showing payment expectations and consequences for non-payment
• Providing Positive Communication. This may include emails, phone calls, and hardcopy letters as reminders of pending payments
The bottom line is that the process of collections is precisely that–a process that proactively handles any situations that could hamper timely payment. After all, the reputation of the business and the customer is at stake.
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