The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered Westlake Services, LLC and Wilshire Consumer Credit, LLC, an auto finance company and its subsidiary, to pay $44 million in refunds and balance. The CFPB claims that the company tricked consumers by contacting them under false pretenses and using fake caller ID information. Representativea then threatened to refer borrower’s criminal investigation, and...
Today’s business market demands that merchants be able to provide credit card processing for customers. Unfortunately, high risk merchants have a hard time finding payment processors to handle their accounts. Most banks will outright reject high risk business applications. This reality seems backwards to high risk merchants as most provide critical services such as credit repair and debt collection. Now...
Medical collection agencies are always looking for new ways to raise their collection rates. A great collection agency must find new and innovative ways to create positive relationships with their clients and increase profits. If you own a collection agency, know that you don’t have to settle for call lists or mail notices. Technology has made it easier for collection...
Updated license requirements have reached the Illinois Collection Agency Act along with a 10-year expansion of the Act itself. The new laws will stay into effect through Jan. 1, 2026. There were some major changes that occurred for the legislation that may make ripples throughout the industry. Some major changes to note: all references to debt collectors were removed from...
Running a successful collection agency takes determination, strong management, leadership, and an understanding of state and federal laws. Today’s collections environment is extremely competitive and managers must find and exploit any competitive advantages they can find, like online payment processing, that can quickly process checks paid by clients. EMB is the #1 source for check processing for collection agencies that...
A recent Government Accountability Office report states that the IRS’ uncollected tax debts rose 23% to $380 billion, while collection staff fell 23% after budget cuts. The report infers that the agency has too few controls over its tax collection process. It depends greatly on the Inventory Delivery System (IDS) which is the automated tax collection process. The IDS organizes...
Creating a successful debt collection business involves researching and implementing a variety of state and federal laws, setting up a tax structure, and building a sustainable customer base. In order to maintain a thriving business, debt collection merchants must provide electronic payments. Without this ability, the number of ways to collect debts are extremely limited and will almost guarantee failure....
Every merchant needs a merchant account. From car dealerships to e-cig sellers to even collection agencies, every business needs to safely accept and process plastic card payments. While some businesses have an easy time finding a merchant account, others, like collection agencies, do not. There is a stigma in the industry with this business, and they have labeled it as...
Debt collections scams are on the rise, and it was recently announces that nearly 95,000 victims will split an estimated $4 million US dollars in damages. The Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on these scams, which seem to be more prolific these days. From small schemes, to the recent Honda credit repair scam, merchants and consumers need to heed...
There is word out there that many debt examination processes have continued for months or years and that some are yet to be concluded. Could the debt collection industry be lost? The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has come out to defend the agencies claiming that they are still learning, which is a reasonable argument. But the big question on...
