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Interesting Information
February 2nd, 2012 by John Dehring No comments »New Study Shows Third-Party Debt Collection Positively Impacts the National and State Economies
Posted on 30. Jan, 2012 by Collections Recon in Collection News, Press Releases
MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Third-party debt collection has an important impact on America’s national, state and local economies, according to a new study by ACA International and global advisory firm Ernst and Young (www.acainternational.org/impact) based on 2010 data.
“These findings reinforce the critical role the third-party debt collection industry plays as a service provider in recovering unpaid consumer debt on behalf of the public, private and non-profit sectors,” said ACA International CEO Pat Morris. “Moreover, third-party collectors are actively engaged in their local communities as employers, volunteers, philanthropists and taxpayers.”
Key national findings of this landmark survey include:
* Recovering Assets: A total of $55 billion was recovered on behalf of creditor clients. The collection of consumer debt also provides a valuable benefit to American households. Based on a net of $44.6 billion recovered, third-party debt collection efforts represent $396 in savings on average per household by keeping the costs of goods and services lower.
* Job Creation: Third-party collection agencies directly employed 148,272 people with a payroll of $5 billion. Indirectly, the industry influenced creation of more than 300,000 jobs with a payroll of $10 billion.
* Paying Taxes: Third-party collection agencies and their employees paid $495 million in federal taxes, and $509 million in state and local taxes. The ancillary impact of the industry generated a total $970 million in federal taxes paid and $1 billion in state and local taxes.
* Giving Back: Third-party collection agencies and their employees contributed $85.2 million and volunteered 652,000 hours to charitable community causes.
“Our nation was built on the premise that those who provide credit, goods and services to consumers have the expectation of being repaid,” said ACA International President Mark Neeb. “Recovering these debts helps organizations survive; prevents layoffs; keeps cost down and credit, goods and services available; and reduces the need for tax increases to cover government budget shortfalls.”
To review the complete ACA / Ernst and Young report, “The Impact of Third-Party Debt Collection to the National and State Economies,” please visit www.acainternational.org/impact.
ACA International is the comprehensive, knowledge-based resource for success in the credit and collection industry. Founded in 1939, ACA brings together more than 5,000 members in the United States and abroad, and their employees, including third-party collection agencies, asset buyers, attorneys, creditors and vendor affiliates. ACA establishes a wide variety of products, services and publications. For more information on ACA International, visit www.acainternational.org. Information on consumer rights is available at www.askdoctordebt.org.
Contact: Mark Schiffman, PR Director
Tel. (952) 259-2124 or schiffman@acainternational.org
SOURCE ACA International
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Interesting Information
January 10th, 2012 by John Dehring No comments »Largest Gain In A Decade For Consumer Borrowing
Collections & Credit Risk | Tuesday, January 10, 2012
U.S. consumer borrowing surged 10% in November, its largest gain in a decade, and a positive sign for the fragile economy. The increase was the 13th in 14 months and the biggest jump since creditors boosted lending after the September 11 attacks.
Outstanding consumer credit increased to $20.37 billion during the month, the Federal Reserve reported Monday.
Revolving credit, which mostly measures credit-card use, rose $5.60 billion, a third straight monthly increase. Revolving debt generally has declined over the past two years as consumers increasingly have paid down credit card balances and steered away from taking on fresh debt following the recession, economists say.
Non-revolving credit, which includes student and auto loans, rose a seasonally adjusted $14.78 billion in November.
Government lending to students may have been a significant factor in the increase, rising $6.4 billion. The student lending data is not adjusted for seasonal fluctuations.
Government loans to students rose 31.9% through the 12 months ending in November, outperforming any other kind of non-revolving loans tracked by the Fed, including those made by commercial banks.
However, there are some signs the surge in student lending registered since the last recession is tapering. Year-over-year increases in student lending peaked at 78% in September 2010 and have trended lower ever since.
Tip of the Month (June)
June 15th, 2011 by John Dehring No comments »Invoices:
Send out invoices immediately after a service is provided. This will keep your customer up to date on current services rendered and will help cut down on disputes.
Interesting Information
June 15th, 2011 by John Dehring No comments »Credit Scores Drop Three Points; Card Debt Down 15%
Collections & Credit Risk | Thursday, June 9, 2011
By Darren Waggoner
U.S. consumers average credit scores dropped three points to 667 since May 2010, while credit card debt plunged by 15% to $6,740 in the same period, according to data Credit Karma released Thursday.
Even though card debt is down, “prolonged unemployment can drag scores down. The poor real estate situation puts additional pressure on credit scores as more consumers evaluate their undervalued property and the decision to keep it,” says Ken Lin, CEO at Credit Karma, the San Francisco-based company that tracks both scores and household debt through its Web site, CreditKarma.com.
Consumers in Colorado Springs, Col., Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa, Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa., Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla. and North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Fla. have the highest amount of credit card debt in the country at $7,000 or more.
The average mortgage debt fell 2% to $172,957. Consumers in 13 states decreased their mortgage by more than the national average, including: Nevada and North Carolina, down 7%; Alabama, down 6%; Florida and Michigan, down 5%; and California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Montana, Ohio and Utah – all down 3%.
“As the housing market begins to double-dip and home prices plummet, it’s not surprising that homeowner debt and equity fell,” says Lin. “Banks aren’t going to enter into new housing loans or provide equity loans when home values continue to decrease.”
Consumers in California had the highest credit score amongst states at 685, while San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland residents topped the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) list at 702. Consumers in Alabama, Arizona, Kentucky Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and West Virginia have a credit score below 650, which is considered poor.
CreditKarma.com’s U.S. Consumer Credit Score Climate Report compares the credit scores of its user base with previous scores pulled at least 30 days prior and no more than 90 days prior to the stated month. The May 2011 report includes a comparison of more than 195,300 CreditKarma.com user scores.
Other key findings from the May report include: consumers increased auto loan debt 2% to $15,217; decreased home equity debt by 5% to $48,310; and increased student loan debt 5% to $29,680.
Interesting Information
May 10th, 2011 by John Dehring No comments »Foreclosure Activity Decreases 15 Percent in Q1 2011
Processing delays drop foreclosure activity to the lowest total since the first quarter of 2008.Foreclosure filings—default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions—were reported on 681,153 U.S. properties in the first quarter of 2011, according to the RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The total number of filings represents a 15 percent decrease from the previous quarter and a 27 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2010. The report shows one in every 191 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter.
Foreclosure filings were reported on 239,795 U.S. properties in March, a 7 percent increase from the previous month, but still down 35 percent from March 2010, when 367,056 homeowners received a foreclosure notice—the highest monthly total in the history of the RealtyTrac monthly report since its inception in January of 2005.
“The nation’s housing market continued to languish in the first quarter, even as foreclosure activity fell to a three-year low,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Weak demand, declining home prices and the lack of credit availability are weighing heavily on the market, which is still facing the dual threat of a looming shadow inventory of distressed properties and the probability that foreclosure activity will begin to increase again as lenders and servicers gradually work their way through the backlog of thousands of foreclosures that have been delayed due to improperly processed paperwork.”
A total of 197,112 U.S. properties received default notices for the first time in the first quarter, a 17 percent decrease from the previous quarter and a 35 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2010. Foreclosure auctions were scheduled for the first time on a total of 268,995 U.S. properties in the first quarter, a 19 percent decrease from the previous quarter and a 27 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2010. Lenders foreclosed on 215,046 U.S. properties in the first quarter, a 6 percent decrease from the previous quarter and a 17 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2010.
Nevada posted the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate, with one in every 35 housing units with a foreclosure filing, despite a 10 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous quarter. In March, Nevada’s foreclosure activity increased 35 percent from February after two straight monthly decreases.
Bank repossessions increased 26 percent in Arizona from February to March, keeping the state’s foreclosure rate the second highest in the nation for the first quarter: one in every 60 Arizona housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter.
Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in the first quarter were California, Utah, Georgia, Michigan, Florida, Colorado and Illinois.
Tip of the Month (May)
May 10th, 2011 by John Dehring No comments »Information:
When submitting an account to an agency for collection activity, remember to give your agency as much information on the debtor as possible. The more information you provide, the more success we will have.
Tip of the Month (April)
April 9th, 2011 by John Dehring No comments »Attitude: Attitude is an important factor when trying to collect on a delinquent account. You must be positive and upbeat when talking to a consumer about their past due account. You have to be firm but be polite and respectful. You will obtain better results with a positive attitude.
Interesting Information
April 9th, 2011 by John Dehring No comments »U.S. Payrolls Add 216,000 Jobs In March, Unemployment At 8.8%
Posted on 04. Apr, 2011 by Collections Recon in Press Releases
The U.S. economy added 216,000 jobs in March, after gaining an upwardly-revised 194,000 in February, another signal that the recovery marches on at a measured pace. Unemployment was down a tenth of a point to 8.8%.
Friday’s nonfarm payrolls figure was driven by gains in the private sector, which added 230,000 jobs after 240,000 a month earlier. The labor force was little changed, which contributes to the slight decline in the unemployment rate. As workers eventually come back into the labor force, the jobless rate may stagnate or even increase. The U-6, a broader gauge of unemployment that also includes discouraged workers marginally attached to the workforce, was down to 15.7%, nearly a full point lower than a year ago.
Average hourly earnings were unchanged at $22.87 in March, while the average workweek was on hold at 34.3 hours.
Wall Street was signaling a higher open before the numbers and index futures picked up a bit more steam after the better-than-expected payrolls report from the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 67 points, while Nasdaq futures gained nearly 13 points and S&P 500 futures rose almost 8 points.
Market watchers will have their eye on the exchanges, with Nasdaq OMX Group and Intercontinental Exchange offered an $11.3 billion cash-and-stock bid for NYSE Euronext, trumping the bid from Germany’s Deutsche Börse for the iconic exchange. NYSE shares were up more than 10% pre-market, while Nasdaq fell 1.7% and ICE lost 2.5%. The proposed deal would see ICE acquire NYSE’s derivatives businesses. (See “NYSE’s Niederauer: Don’t Call It A Takeover.”)
Author: Steve Schaefer
Follow Exile On Wall Street, or Twitter @SchaeferStreet.
2010 Forbes.com LLC™ All Rights Reserved
Bankruptcy Filings Ticked Up Last Month
March 5th, 2011 by John Dehring No comments »By Sara Murray
Consumer bankruptcy filings ticked up in February, but so far the rise has slowed from 2010.
The number of personal bankruptcy filings rose 11% to 102,686 in February compared to a month earlier, the American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Bankruptcy Research Center said Tuesday.
“Though consumers are striving to reduce their debt burden, high unemployment and a still-poor housing sector continue to fuel new bankruptcies,” Samuel J. Gerdano, the American Bankruptcy Institute’s executive director.
Compared to the same time a year ago, however, personal bankruptcies fell 8%. While it’s still early, data for the first couple months of the year could indicate that consumers won’t have a repeat performance of the surge in filings in 2010. More than 1.6 million consumer bankruptcy filings were reported last year — the highest level in five years.
A more tempered pace of filings is partly from consumers saving more and paying down their debts. It’s also because less credit has been available, which makes it harder for Americans to incur new debts.
