Posts Tagged commercial debt collections
Foreclosures On The Rise
Posted by Mallory Megan in Currency & Finance on July 19th, 2010
Research recently collected by RealtyTrac Year-End 2009 Foreclosure Market Report indicates that 3,957,643 foreclosure filings were reported on 2,824,674 United States properties in 2009. Included in this research was scheduled foreclosure auctions, default notices and bank repossessions.
This is a twenty one percent increase in land from statistics in data that was collected in 2008, and a one hundred and twenty percent increase in total properties from 2007. Additionally the report indicated that one in forty five housing units, 2.21 percent, got at least one foreclosure filing in the year of 2009, up from 2008’s 1.48 percent and 2007’s 1.03 percent.
Just in the month December, foreclosure filings were reported on 349,519 properties in December. That’s a fourteen percent jump from the previous month of November and a fifteen percent increase from 2008. Nevertheless, even though there was an increase in December, foreclosure activity in the fourth quarter of 2008 has decreased by seven percent.
Of all of the states, Nevada claimed the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate; more than ten percent of housing units received at least one foreclosure filing in 2009. That makes Nevada’s third consecutive year at the top of the foreclosure list. Nevada’s foreclosure activity in December increased twenty seven percent from the previous month, but still was down by twenty two percent from December of 08.
Arizona claimed the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate in 2009 with more than six percent of properties receiving at least one foreclosure filing during 2009, and Florida claimed the nation’s third highest foreclosure rate at 5.93 percent of its properties getting at least one foreclosure during the filing year.
This raises issues in the collection’s industry. Recent trends have told collections officials that consumers are purposely pumping up their credit debt and downplaying their assets to get lower payment plans. The fact that they are increasing debt on their credit cards to receive lower payment plans does not look promising.
Mallory Megan works for a debt collection company. She also writes stories on business and finance, consumer spending and collection agencies.
Credit Cards Help Medical Providers Cut Back On Collection
Posted by Mallory Megan in Currency & Finance on April 15th, 2010
In recent news it was revealed that Michigan doctors offices are requiring that, patients present and utilize their credit cards before getting any medical care. A fairly new internet based medical payment program permits medical providers to secure a credit card before medical help is provided.
Touting that it is fact that it is a way of making sure medical providers collect their pay while keeping administrative costs down, the business has been around since 2008. It works like this: upon arriving at their doctors office, patients are informed by their medical care provider what the maximum amount a particular procedure will most likely cost. The patient slides their credit card, gets the procedure done, and gets sent out of the office with a receipt and a detailed slip of services that were provided.
After that has happened the doctor will bill the patient’s insurance company. It will tell the doctor how much of the work is covered; the balance left over is charged on the card. If a deductible hasn’t been met, then the whole price of the procedure is charged.
With the increasing health care costs, more pressure has is being put on patients to pay their bills in the form of higher deductibles, out of pocket expenses and unpaid bills. With this stress that is increasing, unpaid and delinquent bills have become big issues for medical doctors.
Patient’s health care payments top the charts now to cover three hundred billion dollars a year, and that number is supposed to grow up to twice that number by 2015. From this number, fifty to sixty billion dollars of current health care debts go without being paid. The program has been shown to reduce late accounts by up to eighty percent.
But some financial experts remain skeptical. The issue of patients who don’t pay off their balance each month hasn’t yet been resolved, and this is not factoring in the problem of a patient not having a credit card.
Mallory Megan is employed by a debt collection agency. She also writes stories on business, finance, consumer spending and collection agencies.
Scranton Taxpayers May Have Received Collection Letters That They Might Not Have Deserved
Posted by Mallory Megan in 1 on March 9th, 2010
More than 200 Scranton taxpayers may have gotten a letter from a debt collection company that they did not deserve. The notices are for unpaid garbage fees that may have actually been paid. According to officials, the garbage bill itself for 2009 could be to blame for more than 200 collection notices sent to city taxpayers in error last week.
They believe the issue may have been the way that the bills were folded into the envelopes. The bill is mailed along with a perforated line above a bar code that identifies the customer, but because a crease created by the folding of the envelope, a second line under the bar code was formed, causing people to pull the bill off without the bar code.
Bills without a bar code would cause a bank not to register the payment. The mailing house that Scranton hired to stuff the envelopes was blamed. If the bill was mailed to the bank, it would be the pay stub in their payment that goes directly into a lock box. Then the stubs are scanned and the bar code is read. After that the bank sends the town a list of those who had come through based on the bar code readings.
Representatives from the collections company who sent out the letters say that they are taking every dispute from people who may have paid very seriously. Company protocol permits consumers to dispute a notice within 30 days of getting a collections letter. Additionally, representatives claimed that no bill will be collected while they are still sorting out the issue.
The agency will look into each claim from those who alleged they had paid the bill and gotten the notice. Those that they think have paid will be absolved from their debt and will no longer get collections notices and will not be pursued by the collection company.
Mallory Megan works for a collections agency that works with a debt collection lawyer. She also writes articles on business, finance, consumer spending and collections agencies.
The Scoop On How To Obtain Financial Information Of Your Debtors
Posted by Mallory Megan in Currency & Finance on March 2nd, 2010
Being able to locate a debtor’s bank account information could be very useful in your attempts to collect debt. By law, it is required that a private investigator to do the work. Be wary when you hire someone to locate bank account numbers as there are a number of scam companies claiming that they can help, and take your money with no activity in return.
Below are legal ways to obtain a debtor’s bank account number.
First, if your debtor works at a retail store buy something from the debtor and pay by check. This is a good way to find out account information by looking at your own bank statement; the bank account information will allow you to determine the debtors account number.
Interacting with a previous landlord of the debtor can be quite helpful. Ask his formal landlord if you can look at the rental application and obtain financial information. You can also subpoena the old land lord for a copy of the rental application to see where the defendant banked. Because old habits die hard, it is likely that the debtor still uses the same bank account.
One consideration that is helpful to think about is serving a Business Record Subpoena on the employer in order to get a copy of a payroll check the debtor has cashed in. The check should have the defendant’s account number and quite possibly the name of the bank on the bank.
In addition, there are a few “colorful” ways to acquire information about a debtor’s bank account. Conduct a trash search. This is an simple way to obtain bank information and a way to get to know more than you ever wanted about this debtor.
One very elaborate scheme to get the information on your debtor’s bank account is what I like to call “the fake block party.” Mail post cards to everyone who lives on your debtor’s block, and put up signs directing traffic towards his house. The debtor may get block party fever and open his garage. Scope out his items and take inventory. He may even start to sell things. At this point, buy something and give them a check.
So there you go. All of this is legal, but my advice would be to look through trash and stage a block party last, because that seems kind of crazy.
Mallory Megan is employed by a debt collection agency. Also, she does articles on business, finance, the credit industry, and debt collection.
The Skinny On Paying Your Mortgage With Credit Cards
Posted by Mallory Megan in Currency & Finance on February 8th, 2010
Whenever it is being allowed by landlords, it’s smart to pay your rent with credit cards. Not only will you have the money to pay the credit card bill right away, you can earn cash back for using your Premium Cards that offer benefit.
The cash back isn’t the only pro. By utilizing credit cards, you put off your payment by at least 30 days. That permits you to gain interest on the money while it’s put into your savings account. The more time you can put off making payments without getting penalized, you will be in a better financial position.
This is comparable to how big businesses work. A big vendor for a small company has the ability to ask for payment for goods at once; a small vendor for a large company has to provide goods on the large company’s terms. This usually means that the large vendor can wait before paying; it’s better to delay payments than to let investments earn more interest of appreciation. American Express will begin to allow card holders to pay their mortgage using their credit cards, earning points along the way.
While this may work for some people, it can be lethal for anyone who cannot afford their mortgage. If the full credit card bill can’t be paid each month, borrowers will be faced with credit interest charges on top of their mortgage interest.
Before you choose to go obtain an American Express card, remember that in order to qualify for making mortgage payments through the card, the borrower would be required to pay an enrollment fee of $395 to the lender. This fee means it will take a longer time to make rewards earned by using the cards worthwhile. It can take over a year to reap the benefits if the borrower uses American Express Blue Cash.
Mallory McGuinness is employed bya debt collection agency.
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