Frequently Asked Questions For Clients

There are several benefits of using a third-party collection agency.

1)  Collecting past due accounts can become time consuming and costly.

Every business has it’s specialty. Ours is collecting past due accounts. We offer an efficient system that puts the collection of your accounts receivables first. This allows your staff to focus on other critical tasks of running your business.

With Express Collections, you get the best of both worlds, state-of-the-art technology and good old-fashioned customer service. This combination of people and technology assures that your accounts will never get lost in the shuffle and resolve your claim in the shortest possible time.

2)  Handling difficult accounts and/or mediating disputes.

In some situations, the consumer may have had an issue with services, the balance, or claim they are not the responsibile party. Express Collections has the ability to become involved in a situation that may have become adversarial without being part of the intial dispute. This allows us to become the neutral party and mediate the debt as necessary. Our collectors are trained to deal with difficult collection situations since their expertise is in the collection of past due accounts.

Client Access Web has been crafted so our clients can have convenient and secure access to their accounts whenever they need it.  Our live collection database is uploaded daily to the Client Access Web server, so the information our clients view is up-to-date and accurate. The best part, there are no additional fees or charges to use this service!

Client Access Web (CAW) allows our clients to view their consumer’s profile, check account balances, addresses, phone numbers, last payment dates and status.  While viewing a consumer’s profile, clients can report a direct payment, let us know if an address or phone number has changed, or upload an itemized statement.

Viewing and printing reports has never been easier!  The reports function of CAW makes it easy to pull a status or statistics report at any time.  While viewing reports, information can be sorted by name, balance, amount assigned, date assigned or status so the client can get a better picture of where their accounts are at in the collection process.

Listing accounts online will have more features available as well.  Once a client fills out the online listing form and submits the account, a list of the submitted accounts will be available for the client to view prior to listing.  If any corrections or changes need to be made, the client can easily pull up the submitted listing and make their changes.  Don’t want to fill out an online listing form?  Submit your own file or spreadsheet instead.  Our client file upload feature gives a great alternative for clients to send us their files in their own format.

The messaging center of CAW is a great way to stay in contact with the staff at Express Collections, or with other users for the same client.

For more information about the exciting features offered with Client Access Web, contact a sales representative or download the guide book from our client portal … click here!

Collection methods can vary significantly depending on a host of factors.

Upon receipt of placements, Express Collections will send you an acknowledgment for your file. The debtor is also notified in writing that the account has been referred to Express Collections and unless the debt is disputed, payment should be made to avoid any further collection activity.

Once a collector is assigned, a variety of measures can be taken such as, request for payment in full, formal payment agreements, skip tracing, and legal action. (please note – Express Collections will not file litigation within the first 30 days after receiving an account). Our goal upon receiving your placements is to attempt to locate and contact the consumer including those who can no longer be reached at the address or phone number given. This is further enhanced by our in-house skip tracing technology. Our ultimate goal is to provide you with a quick resolution to your collection problem.

All accounts are sent a “Validation of Debt Notice” as required by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). We then focus the next steps of collection using systematic and timely telephone contact. We believe that a telephone call has 10 times greater impact than a letter. Our staff will attempt to call the consumer during the day, evening, and weekends in order to collect your accounts. As one can imagine, with continuous verbal communication we are able to collect on debt more effectively.

Express Collections philosophy is to enhance recovery for its clients while maintaining customer goodwill.

Our Collection practices are ethical and professional, and follow all State and Federal laws. Our customer service approach is used to remind consumers of their outstanding balance and attempts to either secure payment in full, or establish a realistic payment arrangement. Our collectors maintain a customer service tone, even in the most difficult situations. Our philosophy is that tenacity and repetition is more effective than confrontation.

Bottom line… Collection of past due accounts must be done ethically, effectively, and efficiently while maintaining our clients public image. Since we are an extension of your office, our representation is your reputation.

Unfortunately, we cannot prevent a consumer from contacting you directly. If they do, we recommend you refer them back to our office. However, it is up to you. In some cases, they may have a simple question about charges or services provided. If they with to pay your office directly, contact our office first before accepting payment to make sure additional fees have not beed added (Legal Fees, NSF Charges, etc.).