When We Don't Know What We Don't Know

By Tom Hamilton

Recently, the ALQ hosted a webinar on “Surviving in the Compliance Jungle of Consumer Collections”, presented by Harry Strausser III, president of Remit Corporation. Harry and his parents have been in the collection industry for decades and along with being the president of the ACA from 2004-2005, Harry presently serves on many credit and collection boards and committees. Having Harry share his knowledge and experience was a very informative and valuable opportunity for our listees, associates and friends in the industry.

Over the past couple of years, the ALQ has been delighted to bring in speakers on a quarterly basis to present webinars on a variety of sales, marketing, operations, and human resource issues. When Harry was asked to give a presentation on the compliance issues that agencies and attorneys face when handling consumer claims, to tell you the truth, I wasn't quite sure how my commercial collection associates and friends would receive it. But to my incredible surprise, we had several hundred people register and attend the presentation.

Subsequent to the webinar, we were contacted by many who attended to tell us that the webinar gave them a better understanding of the challenges of doing consumer collections. Not that handling consumer claims is an easy task — far from it, and as the title of the webinar indicates, it can be a jungle of compliance requirements. But like every product and service that a company desires to launch, it takes a great deal of careful planning, and it is especially helpful to identify the potential difficulties prior to commencing with the business. As one attendee mentioned to me, "at least now I know what I don’t know."

Several reasons were expressed for the interest in the webinar. Some said it was because they have been looking for new sources of creditor rights work to supplement their commercial collection business. Others indicated that some of their existing clients sell to both companies and consumers, and they are looking to place their claims with one office or agency that will be a one-stop-shop collection partner.

So if you have ever considered handling consumer collections but have been unsure because of all the compliance requirements, you may want to take a listen to Harry's presentation by clicking the following link:

https://alqlist.com/webinar.asp

At least you'll come away with a little better sense of what you do or do not already know.

This article has been edited by Steven Gan of Stellar Risk Management Services, Inc.

All Rights Reserved