Archive for 'NCO'

NCO Debt Collection Agency Settles with 19 State Attorneys General

Thursday, February 9th, 2012 at 6:19 pm  
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According to a press release issued by NCO Financial Systems, the debt collection agency has arrived at a settlement with 19 state Attorneys General, agreeing to pay a total of $575,000, as well as to set up a $50,000 consumer restitution fund in each state. The states affected are Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

According to Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, consumers who are eligible to receive restitution either:

* Paid NCO for a debt they did not owe;
* Overpaid interest on a debt that was not supported by the underlying agreement between the consumer and the original debt holder or that was otherwise permitted by law; or
* Paid more on a debt than the amount NCO agreed to settle the account.

The restitution funds are available through February 6, 2015. If you think you are impacted by the settlement, you should visit your state Attorney General’s website.

According to Vermont Attorney General William Sorrel’s press release, NCO’s settlement included provisions that the company must:

* comply with applicable state and federal law;
* for debts reported to credit reporting agencies, notify the agencies within 30 calendar days of any consumer dispute;
* provide notice to consumers about their debt collection rights under federal and state law; monitor compliance, including through training employees and independent contractors and creating policies and procedures for handling customer complaints; and
* submit compliance reports to involved states every 6 months for 18 months.

Several news reports have noted that NCO must, within 30 days, notify credit reporting agencies of verbal disputes (as opposed to only written disputes) from consumers.

Major Debt Collection Agencies Targeted by Minnesota

Friday, January 28th, 2011 at 6:48 pm  
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We regularly discuss the problem of debt collectors crossing the line into abhorrent behavior. What isn’t as well-known is that some debt collectors have criminal histories. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has done an outstanding job of investigating the underbelly of the debt collection industry, and recently reported that the state’s Commerce Commission, Mike Rothman, has put debt collection agencies on notice. State law says that debt collection agencies must conduct criminal background checks on their collectors, but Rothman is alleging that some of the major players have failed to do so.

Rothman notified Allied Interstate, AllianceOne, Bureau of Collection Recovery, I.C. System, Financial Recovery Services, NCO Financial Systems, Receivable Management Solutions, and Van Ru Credit Corp. that he’s prepared to go after their business licenses, and that his office must review their screening procedures. The Star Tribune found that one in 12 debt collectors had criminal records in Minnesota.

NCO Doubles Down on Healthcare Collections

Thursday, September 23rd, 2010 at 5:00 am  
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Credit Check 1In a recent press release, debt collection agency NCO announced that it was rolling out an “end-to-end Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management Solution,” and had purchased Health BluePrints, the principals of which will take the lead in NCO’s healthcare-related consulting. The company said that its offerings will incorporate five areas, one of which is health information management. Seemingly, the company will be involved in documenting patient information relating to doctor visits, as well as collecting outstanding medical bills. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that confidential patient information doesn’t get into the hands of debt collectors.

Why It’s Important to Open Debt Collectors’ Mail

Thursday, May 6th, 2010 at 5:00 am  
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Many smaller newspapers routinely report on community issues, and publish police logs, fire logs, and even public court records. In perusing the online edition of the East Oregonian, from Portland, Oregon, we ran across a list of court actions taken on Monday, May 1. Click on the link in the previous sentence and scroll down, looking at the “Suits Filed” and “Judgments.” You’ll see that some of the biggest debt collection agencies are filing small town lawsuits against consumers. For this one day, the big dog third-party debt collectors who filed lawsuits included Midland Funding, NCO, and Asset Acceptance. Those that had their day in court and were granted judgments against consumers included Arrow Financial Services, along with (we assume) original creditors American Express, Capital One, and Discover Bank. The judgments ranged from $1,600 to $11,700, PLUS interest, costs, and attorney fees.

This is just one day in one small city in America. It brought into sharp relief just how relentless debt collectors are. More importantly, we couldn’t help but wonder whether the consumers named in those suits, and who now have judgments against them (which can lead to wage garnishment, among other things), even knew about the lawsuits or showed up in court to defend themselves.

All too often, people either avoid opening the mail when the sender is a debt collection agency. When they do open the mail, they often can’t make heads or tails of the legalese contained in some of the letters. As a result, they don’t know that they have to respond to a lawsuit. When they don’t show up in court, the judge has no option but to assume that the debt is valid and rule in favor of the debt collector.

The takeaway is two-fold. First, even though you want to avoid it, it’s important to open the mail. Second, if you’re being sued by a debt collector, it’s important to contact a fair debt attorney who can represent you. If the debt collector has violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or Fair Credit Reporting Act, the judge may throw out the case. Even if you choose not to get legal advice, definitely show up for your day in court. The judge will listen to your side of the story, and perhaps you can avoid paying an enormous debt that includes the debt collection agency’s attorney fees.

Harassment Not Limited to Those Who Owe Money

Monday, August 31st, 2009 at 5:30 am  
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As Bakersfield station KGET reported, debt collector harassment can happen to anyone. KGET notes that, for the past two years, a Bakersfield man received up to five calls per day from NCO Financial. The debt collection agency was looking for someone who didn’t live there, but no matter what the man did, the calls from NCO wouldn’t stop. It took the intervention of the TV station’s help line to convince the debt collection agency to remove the man’s number from their books. An attorney weighing on the matter opined that the consumer may be able to sue NCO for harassment under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, even though the man was not a debtor.