Posts Tagged ‘collection agency’
Laws That Ban Cell Phone Use Don’t Seem To Be Cutting It
It was recently revealed in a study that laws that ban cell phone use while driving don’t seem to be reducing crashes. According to the new Highway Loss Data Institute, there have been no reductions in crashes since cell phone bans have come into play.
This information was obtained by a comparison among insurance claims for crash damage in four United States jurisdictions both before and after these bans.
Month to month fluctuations in the rates of collision claims in the jurisdictions with bans were taken into account and it was found that there was no difference between either area. Despite the fact that the cell phone bans have diminshed hand held phone use, several studies have established that talking on the phone increases crash risk. It has been determined by two independent studies that people who use cell phones are four times as likely to crash.The information that the HLDI uses doesn’t identify drivers using cell phones when their crashes occur. But the reductions of observed phone use have been so large, one would suspect that crashes should be reduced as well.
“So the new information that we have collected doesn’t match what we currently know about the risk of talking on the cell phone and texting while driving,” An expert points out. “Obviously, if crash risk increases with phone use and there are less people using cell phones, we would expect to see a decrease in crashes. But we aren’t seeing it. Nor do we see collision claim increases before the phone bans came into play. This is surprising, too, given what we know about the growing use of cell phones and the risk of talking on the cell while driving. We’re currently gathering data to figure out this mismatch.”
There some of factors that could be dwindling the effects of hand-held phone bans on crashes. One fact is that drivers in areas with cell phone bans might be switching to hands-free phones because no state forbids any type of these phones. If this was happening, crashes wouldn’t go down because the risk is about the same whether the phones are hand-held or hands-free. D.C. and twenty one states do ban beginning drivers from using hands-free phones, but these laws are hard to enforce.
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Two Powerful Prosecutors Go After Debt Collection Agencies
In recent news it was revealed that top legal prosecutors in Louisiana and Washington made announcements of actions they had taken against accounts receivable management firms and their owners and managers.
Louisiana’s attorney general James Caldwell announced on Friday that his office had gotten a hold of injunctions against two collection agencies and their owners. On the same day, Rob McKenna, Washington’s Attorney General said that his office had settled charges with a collection company that had promised to stay on the straightened arrow. In a press release, Caldwell’s office said that in late December they had obtained an injunction against Bush and Kennedy, Inc, a Baton Rouge based collection agency. The order he won placed restrictions on the business, banning them from operating further, and specifically, ordered that two of the firm’s principals, Quay W. Pattott Jr, and William S. Fesguson were banned from conducting business together.
Late last week, a judge slammed Ferguson and Parrott with added injunctions as per the request of Caldwell’s office. Ferguson is banned from using unfair and deceptive practices and acts at his current place of business, Franklin, Grant and Associates Incorporated, a collection company based out of Metairie Louisiana. Parrott is completely restricted against conducting any new business at his new place of work, Metairie based Halsey and Associates, LLC.
McKenna’s Washington office said that Topco Financial Services Inc, a Washington based collection agency agreed not to threaten, harass or curse out consumers as part of a settlement. The collection company must pay around $38,000 in legal fees and penalties. An additional $82,000 in fees and penalties were suspended pending that the company agrees with the settlement terms.
In accordance with their agreement, Topco is prohibited from harassing, intimidating, threatening and embarrassing debtors, including using profanity. They are restricted from implying that failure to pay a delinquent bill will result in suspension, a revocation, or impairment of the debtor’s driver’s license. They are banned from threatening debtors with impairment of their credit rating. However, the company is allowed to legally report debts to credit reporting agencies.
Mallory Megan works for a debt collection company. Also she composes stories on business, finance, consumer spending and collection agencies. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
Bad Debt- Getting The Monkey Off Your Back
Bad debt can be likened to a monkey on your back. It is always on your mind, and sometimes the stress associated with it can be crippling. You may be able to take solace in the fact that you are not alone. There are thousands of people just like you in the United States that are going through the exact problems.
Filing for bankruptcy might seem like the best choice at the moment, helping you to get around loan payments. But before you jump the gun, think long and hard. If you end up filing for bankruptcy, this will stay on your credit report for ten years and any attempt to improve credit, obtain a job or residence, or car are futile.
Something to consider is professional help to take care of your credit card debt. This is important, so do some research. Check the internet, talk to financial agencies and ask for recommendations from others who have gone through the same problems. Be sure that your debt settlement agency is legit. Many tout promises of debt annihilation but will merely tell you to file bankruptcy and charge you to do it.
After you find the perfect debt settlement agency, work with them step by step. One of the beautiful things about this is that the company will work and communicate with the bank or card company for you. That means no more phone calls from the banks or collection agencies.
Also, debt settlement corporations have a professional relationship with the banks and other establishments that can aid you. They will let the creditor know that you are on the verge of bankruptcy and that they will not collect anything if this is going to happen. The creditor will surely work out a re-payment plan.
So, now you can see why considering help from a professional to settle your debt makes a huge difference. You could use this way to obliterate all of your credit card liabilities; one at a time from the card that charges the highest quantity of interest to the card with the lowest.
Mallory Megan works for a debt collection agency. She also writes articles on business and finance, consumer spending and collection agencies.
Bleak News About Foreclosure Rates Revealed By Recent Report
Recent research by RealtyTrac Year-End 2009 Foreclosure Market Report reveals that 3,957,643 foreclosure filings were reported on 2,824,674 U.S. properties in 2009. This includes scheduled foreclosure auctions, default notices and bank repossessions.
That’s a twenty one percent increase in properties from numbers in information collected in 2008, and a one hundred and twenty percent increase in total properties from 2007. The report also showed that one in forty five housing units, 2.21 percent, had at least one foreclosure filing during 2009, up from 2008′s 1.48 percent and 2007′s 1.03 percent.
In the month of December alone, 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. However, even though there was an increase in December, foreclosure activity in the fourth quarter of 2008 has decreased by seven percent.
Out of every state, Nevada took the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate; more than ten percent of housing units received at least one foreclosure filing in 2009. That marks 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.
The debt collection industry has obvious concerns. Recent trends have shown that consumers are pumping up their credit debt and low balling their assets to receive lower payment plans. The fact that they are maxing out their credit cards to receive lower payment plans does not look promising for the future.
Mallory Megan works for a debt collection agency. Also she writes articles on business, finance, consumer spending and collection agencies. Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory
Irish Gang Branches Out Into Bill Collection
And you thought your bill collections agency was bad enough. It has been recently disclosed that a gang boss in Ireland has made a new career move – debt collection. This criminal genius has been linked to twelve murders; a threat even more serious than a collections letter.
Usually, legitimate creditors who aren’t criminals will hire out third party bill collectors to retrieve debts. Collection agencies work on commission, where they receive a portion of the amount of money that they collect. Frequently collection companies will purchase debt from the creditors so that they can collect the whole sum of money owed.
It appears that the Irish hoodlums have borrowed inspiration from this practice, but the likenesses end there. The head of the notorious gang has made his own collection agency, buying debt and using his reputation to bully his way into gathering the money owed. The unfortunate debtors are drug users who are unable to repay dealers.
Lawful collection agencies will generally start with a gentle “reminder letter.” If the debtor is hostile or evasive, the letters will become sterner. Phone calls are used as well to remind those who owe money to pay up. If these tactics fail, the agency has the right to report a debt to credit bureaus, or file a lawsuit.
On the other hand, the Irish gangland bill collection agency will utilize its reputation as a group of ruthless murderers and crooks to intimidate debtors into paying back drug money. Thankfully, the head of this operation has been arrested, and the Justice Minister of Ireland has promised to do everything in his power to guarantee that the accused will be brought to justice.
So next time you get a telephone call from a bill collection company, try to keep things in perspective. And if you are ever in Ireland, it is probably not a good idea to take out a loan with a heartless gang.
Mallory Megan is employed by a debt collection agency. She also writes articles on business, finance, consumer spending and collection agencies. You can get a unique content version of this article from the Uber Article Directory.
In The Poor Economy, Bankruptcy Rises
Pay cuts and Layoffs put more people into bankruptcy last year, and researchers allege that the situation will not be likely to improve until the unemployment problem is resolved. In Wisconsin, bankruptcy filings raised to 30 percent in 2009. This came on top of a 35 percent increase in 2008.
Bankruptcy lawyers claim that not only is it layoffs and firings that are motivation to file. It’s the losses of once-regular over time pay and full time status that have left consumers unable to keep up with monthly payments that in the past were not a problem to take care of.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court records illustrate that there were 27,413 bankruptcy petitions filed in Wisconsin in 2008. More than eighty percent of these cases were Chapter 7 cases. Chapter 7 takes out medical bills, credit card balances, and other types of debt. Recent Research by The Associated Press illustrated that more than 1.4 million bankruptcies were filed in 2009, an increase of about 32% from 2008.
And although bankruptcy takes care of the looming debt and gives debtors a fresh financial start, consumers often remain unemployed and are not able to find any new type of employment to get an acceptable income again.
As if that wasn’t enough, unless the economy gets good enough for industries to start hiring again, there isn’t much reason to believe that bankruptcies will go down in 2010. Analysts have mentioned that home foreclosures will continue to pile up in 2010 because people who previously had adequate credit have lost employment and cannot keep up with payments.
Bankruptcy could seem like a good option to get a fresh start, but it has a negative effect on your credit report for ten years, leaving you unable to get a car, place of residence, or employment. Before declaring bankruptcy, it might be a wise decision to speak with your creditors and see if some sort of repayment plan can be worked out.
Mallory McGuinness works for a debt collection agency. Also she writes articles on business, finance, the credit industry and collection agencies. Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory
Cash4Gold – Beware
We’ve all seen them – the flashy “Cash4Gold” commercials, at times they feature people on the street dancing, or at other times, M.C. Hammer promising fast cash in turn for your old, unused jewelry. Although human nature makes us want to unconditionally trust the dancing person or even with his track record, M.C. Hammer, it turns out that Cash4Gold may not in fact be too legit to quit.
In recent news, Representative Anthony D. Weiner fingered Cash4Gold because of their bad business practices. Making a speech in front of jewelry appraisers that were legitimate, Weiner requested consumers to take their business to a place that they knew was valid as opposed to the shady mail in gold exchange.
The way that Cash4Gold works is that consumers use special envelopes to mail jewelry and gold to the company’s offices in Florida. According to the advertisements, the company will provide customers with a quick appraisal of the value of the items they have sent, and then they will mail them a check for that amount.
Apparently customers are given a twelve day period in which they are able to return their check and get the jewelry back. Yet according to research by Rep. Weiner and Consumer Reports, Cash4Gold paid out only 11 to 29 percent of the actual value of valuables sent to them, and they often refused to send jewelry back when it was asked to do so within the 12 day period.
Weiner proposed that the Federal Trade Commission should do some research the whole Cash4Gold problem, adding that he wants to introduce laws that would regulate companies that use mail to exchange cash and jewelry.
This legislation would put fines on companies that melt down gold without the owner’s permission or before a return period has been passed. It will make companies allow enough time for consumers to request a refund and make sure that companies actually insure the jewelry they are returning to consumers.
Mallory Megan works for a debt collection agency. Also she writes articles on business, finance, the credit industry and collection agencies. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
Your Small Business Is Not Alone In This Economy
You would have to be living under a rock if you don’t know that we’re in the worst financial crisis in our lifetimes in the USA. If you find yourself worried about your business and what can happen next, you’re certainly not alone.
As I write this, the next few days bring great uncertainty about what the government is going to do to try and help bail out the failed banking system in the US. While it’s not clear what form the assistance will take, it appears almost certain that the US government will have to do something to fix the mess created in the financial system by rampant greed. What is going to happen? Who knows! What is obvious is that the vast majority of Americans are very unhappy with the situation and quite angry about spending billions of dollars to bail out an industry known for greed.
The fact of the matter is, a bailout is not the end of the troubles for those of us who run small businesses. The United States economy is in deep, deep trouble and this will not be fixed very quickly. All the major news outlets have commentaries about what’s happening and what to expect. It seems the consensus is that it’s unlikely we’re going to experience a level of unemployment seen during the Great Depression. That’s the good news. The bad news is that things are ugly and their likely get much worse before they get better. And if that wasn’t enough, things are probably not to get better in the near future.
Small-business owners are unlikely to be able to get the credit that they need in order to expand their business in the near future. So what can you do? No one can tell you what you need to do in your particular business, but I’ve always been a strong supporter of the low-cost direct marketing style in my businesses. I suggest you start rethinking all the creative ways you can seek out more revenue at a minimum cost. This means not only getting new customers at minimum cost, but equally important, you need to try to sell more services to the customers you already have.
The situation is more complicated than simply not being able to obtain credit, but it is also going to be difficult for many business owners to even make it through the next several years. There has already been a big drop in consumer spending in the United States, and getting new customers as well as maintaining the ones you already have is going to get more difficult. That is why this is the time to get yourself back to the basic and most important task which is to get your business well marketed. There is nothing more important for your business in difficult times such as these than your marketing efforts.
Mallory McGuinness is employed by a collections agency that works with a debt collection lawyer. She also does stories on business, finance, consumer spending and collections agencies. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
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What To Look At When Looking For A Collection Agency
When scouting for a Business Collection agency, it is critical for businesses to find a collection agency that services their specific needs. Some corporation’s may rely on collection agencies more than others. For example, a freelance graphic designer may only need to use a Collection agency’s services once during his or her entire career. However, a larger company, such as a credit card company, may require the services of a Collection agency more repeatedly.
There are a few things that companies should look for when making a choice for the right Business Collection agency. These include:
Price. Not all Collection companies will charge the same rate or the same way. Almost all Collection agencies do, however, set their rates based on a percentage of the total amount of the monies to be collected. For example, a collection agency may charge ten percent of the total collection amount to the business that hires it. Some collection agencies also charge only once funds have been collected, while other collection agencies charge an upfront fee for their services.
Reliability. Not all Collection agencies are alike when it comes to reliability and effectiveness. One of the most excellent ways to determine how reliable a Collection agency is likely to be is to run a simple background check on the agency through an search thought the Internet or search with the Better Business Bureau. Also, many Collection agencies will offer references or have a list of clients that they have provided services for that new clients may check before hiring the agency.
Contracts. Some Collection companies offer contract work or retainers for their clients. In such a case, the agency may work a fixed number of hours each month for a set fee. Companies need to be sure that they require a Collection agency’s services before they sign a long-term contract or retainer contract so that they can be sure that they get what they pay for.
Methods. It is important to ensure that a Collection agency is able to use a variety of methods when contacting non-payees. For example, Collection agencies should not only be able to approach a non-payee diplomatically through letter writing and phone calls, but the Collection agency should also be able to use legal courses of action, if necessary. May Collection agencies are part of law firms, which enables them to file legal cases easily and quickly, if necessary.
Mallory McGuinness works for a collections agency that works with a debt collection lawyer. Also, she writes articles on business, finance, consumer spending and collections agencies.