Tips to Combat Consumer Complaints

Complaints from consumers recorded by the Federal Trade Commission regarding third party debt collection agencies increased 185 percent from 2007 to 2009.

It is important for collection agencies to guard against the impact of frivolous complaints and directly address serious ones. Here are some steps ARM companies can take to protect themselves against complaints:

• Obtain correct location information from skiptracing efforts – calling the wrong party over and over can result in a “harassment” complaint.
• Always verify identity when on a call (SSN, DOB, etc.) When you encounter incorrect contact information, confirm it and remove it from your system or flag the account as potentially having incorrect contact info.
• Always stay calm – Never get baited into raising your voice or saying something you shouldn’t.
• Managers: record all calls – if a consumer files an incorrect complaint against your firm, have evidence to support your claim. In addition to providing a valuable backstop against complaints and lawsuits, call recordings make excellent training tools.
• Collectors: remember that you are being recorded.
• Structured compensation programs should include bonuses for compliant behavior. One metric could be a running tally of calls without a complaint that resets annually.
• Managers: fire verified repeat offenders…without hesitation, and regardless of collection performance.
• Collectors: expect to lose your job over verified complaints, regardless of collection performance.