Collections agencies don’t seem to get a break. I don’t think I’ve ever read an article talking about the good that collections agencies does. No one has talked to me about how good they are for society, or consumers, etc.
I think collections is an important function in society. As a business owner I like the idea of having a company I can outsource past due collections to. If I don’t collect on an agreed-upon purchase, the consumer got what they wanted I am basically paid for it. That’s not good business.
But you know, as well as I do, that collectors get a bad rap. And sometimes, with good reason. In this AP news article titled Regulators crack down on aggressive, dubious debt collectors, there are enough stats that make you want to dislike collection agencies even more. Among them:
- When it says the debt collectors insist you’ll be in “legal peril” if you don’t pay them (that’s a yucky threat)
- The two collection firms in the second paragraph “bilked” (defined: to obtain money by deceit or without justification…) using pressure tactics and “other shady practices” (which is illegal)
- The collections agents will “target people” – already a bad connotation – that are going through hardship based on the pandemic and economic crisis
- There were more than 85,000 complaints this year, and we haven’t entered the fourth quarter yet
- Nearly 50% of those complaints were because the debt didn’t exist, or the agent used abusive and threatening (read: illegal) practices
There’s more… go read the article. The cherry on top is that the two agencies got fined into the millions of dollars, but the judgements got cut by 90% for one and over 98% for another. That is, they did bad stuff, and basically got away with it. That seems to be a luxury that you would not be extended by a collections agency.
So, as we can see, in society collections agencies have a purpose, but no one likes them. They live in a regulated environment, but usually people they call don’t know what the boundaries are.
This is where Snowfly comes in. We want to help ethical, rule-abiding, and upstanding collections agencies ensure they are compliant with regulations, and be able to easily access proof that their agents were compliant, in the case of a baseless claim. The Snowfly Speech Analytics system is an awesome system for sales teams, onboarding teams, and customer support teams to understand how they are doing, and to help managers surface training opportunities. But for collections? Snowfly Speech Analytics might be the difference between getting a multi-million dollar fine and having assets frozen (see the article referenced above) or being able to continue with business as usual, because you have proof that a claim was not accurate.
Do you want federal regulators to investigate based on a he-said, she-said? Or would you rather have easy-to-access records to prove you were in the right? Furthermore, our system has tools built in to help managers recognize when violations occur and immediately act on that. Whether that means you put together new training, or you put an agent on probation, or terminate an offender, you can have immediate and accurate information about what is happening on your calls.
Wouldn’t it be a shame if you did everything you could to hire and train the best agents, only to later learn that one rogue agent got your entire company shut down, with the accompanying fines and headache?
Snowfly Speech Analytics is as important to a collections agency as any other tool. But our Speech Analytics system might be the thing that keeps you in business.
We’d love to show you how it works, and talk about how you actually can afford this technology. Our revolutionary approach and model is built for ethical collections agencies. Let’s get on a call.
