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How do I contact American Credit Bureau? |
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American Credit
Bureau, Inc.
1200 North Federal Highway, Suite 200
Boca Raton, FL 33432
Voice: 800. 750.9422 Fax: 800.361. 3888
www.americancreditbureau.com
info@americancreditbureau.com
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Is American Credit Bureau a member of the American Collector’s
Association? |
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Yes. We frequently
attend their seminars and have utilized many of their guidelines
and training programs in an ongoing effort to conduct our
affairs in the most professional manner possible.
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How long have you been in business? |
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Since 1992.
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Is American Credit Bureau governed by any Federal laws? |
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Yes, we are
regulated by the (FDCPA) Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and
the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Part of our orientation
program for new members is to make certain they are familiar
with all aspects of these regulations.
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How would you describe your goals and mission? |
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The mission of
American Credit Bureau is to maximize collections in a
professional and ethical manner while protecting the reputation
and integrity of our clients. To achieve success using
well-planned strategies and techniques that are not only
effective, but ethical as well. To provide exceptional customer
service by being accessible, attentive and results-oriented.
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What percentage of debt do you recover for your clients?
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In our 13 years of
business, our average rate of recovery has been between 55% and
60%. The American Collectors Association reports the national
average for collection agencies is 18%.
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How is it possible that ACB has such a successful collection
record? |
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We normally
receive outstanding balances when they are 60 to 120 days past
due because the member know they will only be charged a flat
rate. They do not have to pay the normal 35% to 50% commission
collection agencies charge. Therefore, creditors are not
reluctant to let us intervene on their behalf before the
accounts gets too old. We encourage our clients to submit their
accounts in the early stages of delinquency when the opportunity
for successful recovery is greatest.
In contrast, the average account
is placed with a collection agency when it approaches eight
months past due. The older the receivables, the more difficult
they are to collect. Debtors move, lose their jobs, file for
bankruptcy or perhaps become sick or disabled. Any or all of
these factors make it increasingly difficult to recover your
money.
We know that most of the old-line collection agencies will only
work larger accounts and those debtors who live nearby, thus
holding down their overhead. With our system, we will work all
accounts of any size in any part of the country.
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When should I send you the debtor names to start the blemishing
process? |
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The sooner the
better! We recommend once a receivable is 60 to 90 days past due
that you fill out the Begin Blemish Process form and send it to
us. There is a dramatic decrease in collectibility once an
account is 90 days or older.
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How do I get started? |
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After we receive
your Sign Me Up form, we will call you to verify your
information and schedule you for a live training. A Starter Kit
will be mailed to you on that day.
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What’s in the Starter Kit? |
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Everything you
need to begin using your American Credit Bureau membership. For
example, there is a 5.5 x 8 inch membership sign in you starter
kit. This sign will tell your patients that you are a member of
the national credit bureau system – Equifax, Experian and Tran
Union. Without you saying a word, your patients will realize
there is a consequence for non-payment.
Also, there are (4) forms in your kit. They are the Begin
Blemish Process, Change Debtor Status, Address Search and
Request Credit Report forms that you will be instructed on how
to use. Information can be sent to us via regular mail, fax or
the internet.
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What are the next steps? |
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We will write a
letter to your debtor warning that unless payment in full is not
received by you within 30 days (or a satisfactory payment plan
entered into), we will blemish his credit file at Equifax,
Experian, Dun & Bradstreet and/or Trans Union, the nation’s four
largest credit reporting services. If the debtor does not
respond to the warning, after 30 days we mail a final letter
informing him that his credit file is in process of being
blemished.
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What if the debtor sets up a payment plan after receiving the
first letter? |
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Use the Change
Debtor Status form, check “Suspend” and we will not mail the
final letter. However, if the patient fails to adhere to the
arrangement, check “Resume”, send the form back to us and we
will send the final letter and blemish the debtor’s credit file.
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Do you remove the credit blemish once the debtor has paid? |
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No. The
entry remains on the debtor’s credit files for seven years from
the date it entered past-due status. Once it’s paid in full,
the entry reflects a zero balance. The only reason we can
remove a blemish is if the creditor had reported the account in
error.
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What percentage of the recovered money does American Credit
Bureau receive? |
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None. As
we explain elsewhere on this website and in our printed
material, all the money goes directly to you. We simply charge
a minimal fee to cover the cost of preparing and mailing both
letters and maintaining the blemish on the debtor’s credit file
each month for up to seven years.
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About how long must I wait to be paid? |
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It depends on a
number of factors, e.g., the age of the account, the amount
outstanding, etc. However, our clients generally receive
payment within 35 to 45 days from the time we mail the first
warning letter. Obviously, it will take longer to collect from
those hard-core debtors who ignore the warning letters, whose
credit files have been blemished and whom you have turned over
to Phase II. But even the great majority of these difficult
cases pay within an additional 90 days.
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I have several debtors who have moved and left no forwarding
address. How can I contact them? |
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If you want to
send them another statement, fill out the Address Search Request
form in your Starter Kit and we will search through more than
200 databases nationwide. About 90% of the time, we will find
the new address within 24 hours. Or, if you are sending in the
debtor for blemishing, check the box at the bottom of the form –
Bad Address, Conduct Address Search.
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What if the debtors fall into that small group for whom you
can’t find a new address? |
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We can still
blemish a credit file under the old address, as long as we have
a correct social security number.
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When should I run a credit report on a client? |
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The Credit Report
Generator is a very useful tool. If you have someone who asks
that you extend him credit, it’s a good idea to pull a credit
report. Also, if a debtor has refused to pay your invoice, even
after a negative entry has been recorded on his credit file and
you are considering legal action, you may well want to use the
Credit Report Generator. Why spend time and money taking a
debtor to small claims court if he has no assets?
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Do I need the individual’s signature in order to pull a credit
report? |
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If you’re
extending credit, yes. Most medical practitioners now have a
doctor-patient financial agreement that includes a paragraph
authorizing the creditor to pull a credit report. More and more
small and mid-sized businesses have similar written contracts
with their customers.
However, once this person or business becomes a debtor and has
ignored your repeated demands for payment, you may order a
credit report without obtaining a signature.
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I know that you
stress you are a credit bureau, not a traditional collection
agency, but what about debtors who ignore the blemish process
and still owe us a sizeable sum? |
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We have an
arrangement with a team of recovery specialists who routinely
recover debts others had deemed “uncollectible”. They are
professional in their approach and yet very aggressive while
hewing to all aspects of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
Neither they nor we at American Credit Bureau will ever write or
say anything to your debtor to alienate him in the process of
recouping your receivables. When necessary, we have the support
of a law firm specializing in collection of outstanding
receivables.
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Is there an additional charge to use their services? |
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Yes. Because these
are what are termed “second placement” debtor accounts, thus
much more difficult to collect, we must charge our members 10 to
50 percent of the total recovered. There are no additional fees.
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You mentioned newsletters and other services in your brochure.
Can you tell me more about them? |
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As American Credit
Bureau has grown in the past 11 years, we have developed several
methods of communicating with our members. One is a newsletter,
Paid in Full, a copy of which was included in your Starter Kit.
You’ll receive this on a quarterly basis and find a number of
articles and tips to aid you in the collection process.
We will also mail or fax you occasional informative memos from
our very own News Flash Man that will update you on new
procedures, legal opinions affecting the collection process and
other matters that will help your practice to recover more
money.
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