A report by the Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) suggests student loan debt is a growing problem for graduates as well as academic institutions and lenders. “Student Debt and the Class of 2015,” an eleventh-annual report, was published on October 18, 2016 with statistical analysis about recent graduates. The 24-page study finds “wide…
Some US industries can still thrive on accounts receivable systems that amount to an empty cigar box with a slit cut into the lid — financial services is not one of them. In the November-December 2016 issue of Collection Advisor magazine, British expert Steven Preston writes: “technology is the ‘must have’ commodity [and] investment in…
Petaluma, Calif. (November 18, 2016) — Optio Solutions, an accounts receivable management firm, has donated 85 turkeys to COTS (Committee on the Shelterless) to feed hundreds of community members on Thanksgiving Day at the Petaluma Kitchen. This is the sixth consecutive year that employees have contributed to the program, bringing the total weight of turkeys donated since 2011 to…
Some finance directors are convinced that handling all business functionality in-house is the best approach. After all, if one wants something done right, they do it themselves — correct? For others, especially those concerned with external breaches in data security, it’s a matter of keeping things close to the vest. Meanwhile, a third group of…
Perhaps inspired by David Letterman’s longstanding “Top Ten List,” a British firm recently compiled a list of common excuses offered by businesses for late and non-payments. The information is a distillation of statistics from a related survey and has enjoyed viral fame since being published on September 19. As one journalist pointed out, the content…
Fans of the “insane” legendary magazine harpooning everyone and everything in America will certainly recognize the quote in the title. While the publication’s mascot may carry a devil-may-care attitude, the concept of the Internal Revenue Service outsourcing collection efforts to private debt collection agencies may send chills up the spine of anyone who has encountered difficulty…
It’s 5:00 AM, Tuesday and the operations manager of a small credit union is clutching her mug of coffee while reviewing Google News. Much to her chagrin, a headline with her company’s name is among those in the local news section: “Acme Credit Union Sued for $30 M Over Debt Collection Mistakes.” Assessing potential vulnerabilities,…
As fixtures of American pop culture, superheroes have been idolized by people of all ages since the 1930s — from kids sneaking comic books into class, to adults viewing newspaper comic strips on New York City subways. Their origins have been traced to the gods of Greek and Roman mythology that formed the foundation of…
In late July, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released an outline of its proposal to tighten up the highly regulated debt collection industry. These recommendations are mostly targeted at the debt buying industry where debt can be bought and sold many times over, thus moving it further and further away from the original debt…
In the dark ages of debt collections, some agencies had to be pulled kicking and screaming from the depths of questionable business practices. Things have changed. The face of the modern agency now reflects a commitment to debt collection compliance with all state and federal regulations. It has taken enormous resources to reach the current…