New Home | ACA of Texas - southwest Collector Connector · 2020. 9. 2. · Paul Nagy, Austin (2018-2019) Robert Ridgeway, Esq., Sherman (2016-2019) Laura Hirsch, Coppell (2017-2020

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PERMIT #372AUSTIN, TX

INSIDE:• 2019 Southwest ACA Conference & Expo

• Federal Debt Represents Biggest Market for ARM Companies

southwest

The Official Quarterly Publication of the American Collectors Association of Texas • Vol. 32 No. 2 • Spring 2019Collector Connector

CONSUMER COMMUNICATION AND PAYMENTS SOLUTION

Letters and Statements

Digital Communication

Analytics

Payment Portal

Inbound IVR

Cybersecurity

www.revspringinc.com

Harness the power of RevSpring’s multi-channel consumer communication and payments solution to maximize outcomes.

Email [email protected] or call 248.567.7300.

aca of texasASSOCIATEMEMBER

features

President’s Letter ............................................................................ 5

Executive Director’s Comments ............................................................ 7

Legislative Update ..........................................................................15

Professional Education and Development...............................................23

CollectPAC ...................................................................................25

Collection Marketplace .....................................................................33

Index to Advertisers ........................................................................34

departments

southwest collector connector is designed by Joseph Moreno, ArtJam Productions, Inc.

Cover Photo: The Texas Capitol as seen from the north side. In the forefront is the view into the Capitol Extension. As the Capitol became overcrowded, the decision was made over 20 years ago to add the extension and it was put underground to preserve the view of the Capitol. The Extension is two floors deep and houses offices for Senators and Representatives and staff for the various committees. Also located in the Extension is the Capitol Grill which is very busy any day the Legislature is in session (like now).

INS IDETHIS ISSUE

SPRING2019

The Sales and Leadership Corner: Three Things That Sell ........................... 9 Terry Sumerlin

5 E-Sign Myths Dispelled – Must Know Requirements ................................11 Rozanne Andersen, Esq.

Federal Debt Represents Biggest Market for ARM Companies ......................13 Mike Ginsberg

9 Words to Stop Negative People .........................................................17 Mark Murphy

ANNOUNCEMENT: 2019 Southwest ACA Conference & Expo ........................19 Info on Sheraton DFW Airport Hotel & Irving Highlights

PRESIDENTRick V. Anderson, Esq.,

ShareholderRoberts Markel Weinberg Butler Hailey

2800 Post Oak Blvd., 57th FloorHouston, TX 77056

[email protected]

PRESIDENT-ELECTJordan Freytag

VP, DevelopmentGila, LLC

8325 Tuscany Way, Bldg. 4, Austin, TX 78754

[email protected]

VICE PRESIDENTLisa True

Managing MemberSecured Resolutions, LLC

2113 Hampton CourtCarrollton TX 75006

[email protected]

TREASUREROPEN

PAST PRESIDENT Steve Whigham

Director of OperationsMcCreary, Veselka, Bragg & Allen, PC

700 Jeffery Way, Suite 100Round Rock, TX 78665

[email protected]

NATIONAL DELEGATESMike Ryalls (2017-2020)Greg Mason (2017-2020)

Darlene Mead, Fort Worth (2018-2021)

STATE DIRECTORSPaul Nagy, Austin (2018-2019)

Robert Ridgeway, Esq., Sherman (2016-2019)Laura Hirsch, Coppell (2017-2020

Joanie Carpenter, Garland (2017-2020)Scott Hearn, Houston (2018-2021)

Stephanie Rifenberg, Amarillo (2018-2021)

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORThomas G. Morgan

305 S. Broadway, Suite 706Tyler, TX 75702512-458-8666

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]





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President's Letter

Image – How Important Should it Be?

Welcome to Spring, with trees blooming, flowers sprouting and our landscapes filling out with bright green grass, the occasional weeds and those naturally beautiful Texas Blue Bonnets. Oh, and who can forget the weather, ever changing and unpredictable atmospheric phenomenon that we call tornadoes, the flash floods and everything else that comes along during this beautiful and chaotic season.

Being that it is a Legislative year here in Texas, it has been Spring in the Texas Legislature as well. The association has been deeply involved in making sure we as members are made aware of all bills introduced into either chamber that would affect us both in our business and personal life. If you have not been paying attention to the news lately, Property Tax reform and School funding have been at the top of the list, but there have also been a couple of other bills that also impact all of us members, one of which brings me to the title of this quarter’s letter to you, Image.

Your association, along with other associations in the ARM space have been fighting to correct language in a House Bill introduced for the sole purpose of changing the Statute-of-Limitations (“SOL”) on so called ‘Zombie-Debt’, or debt that is out-of-statute and how it can be collected upon afterwards. The intent, in essence, is to abolish its collectability upon the expiration of the SOL.

So, what does SOL and Image have to do with us, you may ask! It’s all about our industry image. We all know how the news media portrays us as an industry; well let’s say that they are not the only ones that see us in a less than favorable view. Most of us are very aware of this and tackle it in our daily interactions with the consumers we service with a very high rate of satisfied consumers. What most of us do not know is how this image impacts us behind the scenes. To highlight this fact, here is an example that we must take to heart, which happened during a recent attempt to have language changes to this particular house bill on S.O.L. During some of the meetings, one in particular, our association representative was told “you are all the same”, referring to collectors in general, good and bad. This begs the question about our image out there. But, as the old saying goes, “the squeaky wheel is the one that gets the grease”. It’s time that each one of us starts thinking about how to grease the other wheels too, the ones that by not squeaking make us look the right way; that we actually care, are a vital part of our financial economic industry and that we provide the means to maintaining a healthy credit economy.

We as a community of law-abiding citizens, business owners providing ethical collections to our clients, need to start campaigning to the news media, the members of congress and our state legislature; and through any other avenue that we can send a message through that, “Not all collectors are the same”. If each and every one of us took a moment out of our busy days, invited one reporter, or one Legislator (federal and/or state) to our place of business, introduced them to our staff, showed them how we do things the “Right Way”, we should be able to reap the benefits of passing this knowledge to the rest of the world we live in, that most of our interactions are very positive and really help consumers.

It is not the same to say, “We collect debts that are duly owed”; than it is to say, “We help consumers pay debts with options they didn’t know they have”. This is the image we’re missing here, a positive one we all know we have, yet the world doesn’t see because we don’t take the time to show it.

Regards my fellow members!

E. Felipe Ossa, President, ACA of Texas and Chief Operations and Compliance OfficerAssets Recovered, LLC

“Shortly after submitting this ‘President’s Letter,’ Felipe

Ossa submitted his immediate resignation as President of ACA of Texas due to pressing business

demands with his company. Felipe has served this association

faithfully over the past several years. He has been an engaged

and participating member, board member, officer and President and he will be missed. Please

join the board in wishing Felipe continued success.”

Spring 2019 Southwest Collector Connector 5

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executive director’s comments

The Legislative Session is about to End and Other Important Items

First, before I go any further, it is with great regret that I must announce the resignation of Felipe Ossa as our president. Due to pressing business demands, Felipe needed to be able to devote his full attention to his company. Felipe is a strong and valued asset for this association and his presence on the board will be missed.

As I write this, the legislative session is rapidly coming to an end. As of midnight yesterday (5/9) a large number of House bills that did not make it out of committee are ‘dead’. The House is reportedly 3 days behind on their calendar to bring bills to the floor for debate. Once on the floor a bill goes through a series of two votes; the first on ‘second reading’ when most of the debate occurs and a final vote on ‘third reading’ which is when a bill either passes or fails. Once a bill is passed by the House it goes to the Senate where the process starts all over again. The process works in reverse for bills that start in the Senate, if passed, they go to the House. The process alone keeps many bills from ever becoming law (not a bad thing). For an update on bills that could potentially impact our members, see Paul Nagy’s Legislative Update on page 15.

Adding to the slowdown (in both houses) is a continuing debate over property tax reform (and relief ) as well as ‘fixing’ a major school finance problem (again high taxes). These three items were among the top priorities as stated at the start of the session by the Governor, the Lt. Governor and the Speaker of the House. As the session progressed there arose differences in just how to fix these and other issues as the dollars are HUGE. Again, as I write this, both houses are still working on these issues. I have no doubt that the legislators want to achieve some final solutions because, if they don’t, it would be almost a certainty that the Governor would call them back to Austin for a special (30 day) session.

Moving on from the legislature, our Spring issue contains expanded information regarding the 2019 Southwest ACA Conference & Expo that will be held at the Sheraton DFW Airport Hotel in Irving, TX, October 14-16, 2019. FYI, the Oklahoma unit will officially be joining us as a part of the conference. As we have in the past, ACA members in AR and LA are also invited to join us as well as other state ACA members.

In this issue we have some detailed information regarding our host hotel and our host city, Irving. We are fortunate to be able to hold our conference in such a nice city and at such a great hotel. Mark your calendar and make plans to attend. More detailed information will be available later this summer and also in the Summer issue of this magazine.

I would also like to call our reader’s attention to the Hiring Our Heroes ad on page 15. We have been running this ad for some time now and, as a veteran (USMC), I believe this is an important effort to support our returning veterans and their spouses. Below is the official statement of purpose from the HOH website. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes (HOH) initiative launched in March 2011 as a nationwide effort to connect veterans, service members, and military spouses with meaning ful employment opportunities. Working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s vast network of state and local chambers and strategic partners from the public, private, and non-profit sectors, our goal is to create a movement across America in hundreds of communities where veterans and military families return every day.

As we do every quarter, we try to have interesting, informative and educational articles in each issue. I would urge you to check them out for yourself. Rozanne Andersen dispels “5 E-Sign Myths” and Mike Ginsberg shares some important information on “Federal Debt” as a business opportunity. With the retirement of Paul Morrow, we are starting a new column, “The Sales and Leadership Corner” with Terry Summerlin. And, on a lighter note, see the “9 Words…” article.

Got comments, questions or concerns regarding this issue, the articles or other material included? Feel free to send me an email. We welcome “Letters to the Editor” especially regarding a topic you would like to see addressed.

As always, thank you for allowing me the privilege to serve as your Executive Director. If I can assist you in any way, please do not hesitate to give me a call or send me an email.

Sincerely,

Tom Morgan,Executive Director



Everyone sells! Perhaps you’ve never sold in a professional sense. However, have you ever sold an idea such as your choice of restaurants for the evening? Have you ever sold someone on the idea of marrying you? It’s all persuasion, transference of feeling - selling. It goes on throughout the day, every day, for most of us. It ranges in importance from the mundane to the momentous.

Some people are better at selling than others. Children are especially good at it! So, we wonder what are some effective ways to sell ourselves, our ideas, our products or our services? However, before looking at three things that sell, let›s exclude an approach that sells but should not be used.

Though selling is sometimes done through manipulation, it›s a poor method. As one who specializes in ways to connect with others, I would never encourage or endorse any sales approach that takes advantage of another person and thus creates disconnect. That would be contrary to the first, and most important, characteristic of good selling - integrity.

INTEGRITY

Integrity is where selling must begin. It›s the foundation for everything else. But what is integrity? «Honesty,» you might say. Yes, that›s certainly a big part of it.

There is definitely a need for honesty to return to many segments of society. The fact that it is often called «old-fashioned-honesty,» speaks to that. However, it needs to return not as a matter of style or policy, but as a matter of character. In this connection, I love what speaker and author John Maxwell says about integrity: «(It›s) doing what you said you would do, when you said you would do it, in the manner in which you said you would do it.” This provides a very good reason for someone to buy what we are selling. We’re trustworthy!

However, let›s notice something about those times when others don›t trust us. It may have nothing to do with not being trustworthy. It may simply be that the other person doesn›t know enough about us. That›s where transparency and communication are needed. Understand, transparency doesn’t give us integrity. We either have it or we don’t. But what a person needs to know in order to trust us and to make us believable is conveyed through open communication. And that sells!

CONSISTENCY

Ralph Waldo Emerson said: «A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.» There is no virtue in consistency just for the sake of claiming consistency. On the other hand, there is a type of consistency that should always exist. It›s consistency of high values.

Before others completely trust us, in addition to integrity, they must know what really matters to us - our values. As part of our

values they must also know that they and everyone else matter to us.

Therefore, our behaviour must be consistent with our values. Then, our behaviour must be consistent and fair for everyone. There can be no playing favourites.

All of this is a tall order to fill. As a speaker who frequently talks about these things, I find it much easier to talk wise than to be wise. Wise words require no commitment. Wise lives do. But, through the kind of consistent commitment that we’ve just described, others are more inclined to commit to us.

ENCOURAGEMENT

Years ago, I heard a story about a 10-year-old boy who had never said a word. Tommy›s parents spent thousands of dollars on numerous specialists, but to no avail. He never uttered a word. Finally, one morning Tommy sat down at the breakfast table, slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed, “This toast is burnt!” Mom and Dad couldn’t believe it. They cried, they did a group hug, they did a happy dance. Finally, Dad said, “We spent all that money, took you to every specialist we could think of and, in ten years, you never said a word. What made you suddenly decide to talk?” The boy replied, “Well, until now everything’s been okay.”

Like Tommy, too many feel no need to talk unless they have something to criticize. Thus, some folks talk a lot - but only to the detriment of the workplace or wherever else they may be.

The general scarcity of praise and encouraging words gives reason for the positive impact that such words have on everyone. We want to cooperate with those who encourage us, we want to help them, we want to buy in, we want to spend time with them. We need them and highly value our relationships with them. Others need us to be that type of person.

The three things we›ve looked at have a prominent common thread: sincere and visible care for others. Comedian George Burns said regarding sincerity: «If you can fake that, you›ve got it made.» Though funny, I like much better what speaker and author Zig Ziglar said: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

We can take great comfort in that statement. It says that on good days and not so good, when we›ve said and done all that we can (however flawed) to make a positive difference, we can do nothing that›s more impactful than to just sincerely care.

LEADERSHIP TIP: No matter what we have to offer, sincerity positively impacts others most.

Terry L. Sumerlin is an author and conference speaker. He can be contacted via his website: www.terrysleadership.com

The Sales and Leadership CornerThree Things That Sell

By Terry L. Sumerlin


http://www.terrysleadership.com


5 E-Sign Myths Dispelled –Must-Know Requirements for a Paperless, Stamp-Free Collections Process

By Rozanne Andersen, Esq.

As most of you know, I talk with members of our industry almost daily about their compliance concerns. One topic that comes up regularly is E-Sign – it’s just something people have a hard time understanding. Frankly, if your agency has no plans to text or email consumers, then I suppose there is no reason for you to understand all the intricacies of E-Sign. But if you do plan to use these forms of digital communication to send letters and notices to consumers, you MUST nail the E-Sign requirements.

Dispelling the Myths

Here are five common misconceptions that I run into regularly when talking with clients:

Myth No. 1 – E-Sign means Email signatures.

This may come as a shock, but E-Sign does not mean email, Reg E or electronic signatures. E-Sign is the acronym for the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign) (Pub.L. 106–229, 114 Stat. 464, 15 U.S.C. ch. 96). Enacted June 30, 2000, this long-awaited Federal law, legitimized electronic documents and created a process for electronic signatures by ensuring the validity and legal effect of contracts entered into electronically. For those of you who are really into E-Sign, you can celebrate National E-Sign Day every year on June 30.

Myth No. 2 - State Laws Override E-Sign.

Although every state has at least one law pertaining to electronic signatures, it is the federal law that lays out the guidelines for interstate commerce. The general intent of the E-Sign Act is spelled out in the very first section (101.a), that a contract or signature “may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form.” This simple statement provides that electronic signatures and records are just as good as their paper equivalents, and therefore subject to the same legal scrutiny of authenticity that applies to paper documents.

Myth No. 3 – If I have the consumer’s consent to email I have E-Sign consent.

Huge no. There is a very important provision in the E-Sign Act which is often overlooked. It pertains to the type of consent you need to obtain if you intend to substitute the delivery of a legally required written notice or document to the consumer using an electronic form such as e-mail or text.

Myth No. 4 – I need E-Sign consent to send a consumer an email.

Sorry. Wrong again. You need E-Sign consent to substitute a wet pen and ink signature for a digital signature or to substitute the electronic delivery of a legally required written notice or document for delivery by first class mail.

Myth No. 5 – Rather than messing with the consent I will just tell the consumer they can opt out.

Now we are in dangerous territory. I remind people we can never say the two words “opt” and “out” together in a sentence when we are talking about E-Sign. This is because you cannot ask consumers to opt out of something they never gave, and you never had. You have an affirmative duty to provide consumers with an explanation of their rights before you can ask them for consent to provide them legally required written disclosures, notices and documents electronically.

Determining When E-Sign Consent is Required

E-Sign makes clear, when it comes to the delivery of a disclosure, notice or document that is required by law to be provided in writing, you can only do so if the consumer agrees to this form of delivery after you have provided them a reading of their rights. To place it in Hollywood terms, think of a bad guy being arrested by a cop. Before that cop can escort the bad guy into his cop car, he must read the bad guy his Miranda rights. If he doesn’t; the arrest will not hold up and the bad guy can go free. It’s the same with E-Sign. If you want to send legally required disclosures, notices and documents to a consumer that are required by law to be provided in writing; you need to read the consumer his rights and then ask them for consent.

The consumer must provide affirmative consent, meaning that it cannot be assumed that a consumer has given consent simply because he/she has not chosen the option to deny consent, or has not responded to an option to grant consent.

Consumer Disclosure

E-Sign SEC. 101. (c) CONSUMER DISCLOSURES explains the information you must provide the consumer to secure E-Sign consent. I’ve included the requirements for your reference at the end of this blog. To give you an idea of a script you and your attorney can edit to solicit the consumer’s E-Sign consent, I provide the following:

Collector: Hi Amy, I’m glad we could set up the preauthorized electronic funds transfer payments. But before we can send you your post-dated payment reminders by email/text I have to make sure you will be able to receive the information we send and understand your right. Do you mind listening for a few seconds?

Amy: No that’s ok.

Collector: Great. Sometimes the kinds of documents that we must send you require us to obtain your consent to send them electronically.

Continued on page 28



In many ways, the Federal Government (herein referred to as “the government”) resembles a large business enterprise. First, it generates revenue – primarily through individual, corporate, and excise taxes, fees, and penalties rather than sales. Second, it incurs expenses, which come in the form of labor costs, investments, interest and transfer payments, and guarantee or reinsurance claims. Much like a business’ ledger, the government’s budget can show profits (surpluses) or losses (deficits). The government also lends money to individuals and other businesses through its various individual departments and agencies, and, like many more typical creditors, it may struggle to collect on its loans or other receivables, especially when they become delinquent. As of 2017, the government retained over $200 billion in taxes receivable and more than $1.5 trillion in non-tax receivables. Although much of the accounts receivable management (ARM) industry primarily follows the Department of Education (ED) debt collection procurement developments, there were hundreds of other contracts – many of which restricted to small businesses – awarded for ARM services.

As we can see in Figure 1, the total number of government delinquencies and allowances for uncollectible amounts hovered between $115 billion and $140 billion annually from 2000 until 2007, before spiking to nearly $340 billion by 2013. This growth was primarily driven by the rapid expansion of ED delinquencies, a trend that has since continued after a fall in 2014 due to simple modifications by the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) in its calculation methodology.

Figure 1

Federal Debt Represents the Biggest Growth Marketfor Accounts Receivable Management Companies

By Mike Ginsberg

In addition to federal student loan debt, there are other government segments with considerable delinquency portfolios. Specifically, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allowance for uncollectible amounts grew over time, increasing 5.6% annually, on average, from $59 billion in 2000 to the aforementioned nearly $150 billion in 2017. The remaining major segment, non-tax and non-ED delinquencies, which is comprised of other federal agencies (e.g., Department of Agriculture or Department of Defense) presents a tremendous opportunity for collection agencies and other ARM firms. Not only is there significant diversity within this segment – a contract from Agriculture may deal with different debt than that of Defense – but it is also sizable, amounting to just shy of $35 billion in 2017. Additionally, different agencies have varying levels of collection efficiencies, with some needing large business processing efforts while others simply necessitating – and restricted to contracting with – small mom-and-pop firms.

Regardless of the agency and portfolio, the government generally has three broad options to recover receivables and delinquencies:

1. Engage in internal government-initiated collection efforts;

2. Outsource efforts to private collection agencies (PCAs); or

3. Do nothing and wait for debts to “roll off the books” due to federal statutes of limitation.

Due to Congressional mandates and to mitigate lost revenue, the government awarded a variety of lucrative debt collection contracts – most notably ED, IRS, Treasury, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to name a few – to PCAs. However, federal data indicate massive amounts of additional federal debt are not currently under collection, representing a large and worthwhile opportunity for PCAs now and in the future.

With several hundred different debt types beyond student loans and income taxes, the federal debt collection marketplace also presents an attractive opportunity for PCAs that are not

Continued on page 31

$0

$50

$100

$150

$200

$250

$300

$350

$Bill

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Federal Government Delinquencies & Allowances for Uncollectible Amounts

ED Delinquencies IRS Allowance for Uncollectible Amounts

Non-IRS, Non-ED Delinquencies



TEXAS LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Two bills are meant to address false or spoofed Caller ID’s. HB 101 passed the House but has not yet been acted on in the Senate. HB 1992 just passed the House.

HB 1182 and SB 686 are companion (identical) bills addressing financial literacy classes for high school students. Both have passed in their respective houses but neither have moved in the next house.

Updates to the status of any of these bills (and others) can be found at Texas Legislature Online at https://capitol.texas.gov/. Simply type the bill number into the Search Legislation box such as “HB 996” without the quotation marks.

We’ll have a session wrap-up in the next issue. In the meantime, contact Tom Morgan at [email protected] or me at [email protected] with any questions.

Paul Nagy

Legislative Committee Chair

We are in the final days of the 2019 legislative session ending on Memorial Day, May 27th. Here is a snapshot of bills of significance to our members at the time of publication of this issue. Even if a bill does not pass now, we can see a roadmap of issues that likely will be addressed in future sessions.

HB 996 would curtail any collection efforts after the expiration of the statute of limitations of a debt. It has language that was endorsed by the Receivables Management Association (formerly Debt Buyers Association). It passed the House but has not moved in the Senate.

HB 632 is labelled as a ‘Pilot Program’ to better identify and collect non-tax obligations due the State of Texas. A substitute bill to the original filed bill has not been heard in committee and is now ‘dead’.

HB 701 to regulate call centers that have received ‘public subsidies’ and then want to relocate the call center offshore is unlikely to pass the House.

HB 4390 is a data security bill that has been widely opposed; however, the substitute bill removed much of the objectionable language and the bill has just been passed in the House. Whether it will make it to the Senate and get passed there is unknown at this time.

There are a number of ‘balance billing/surprise billing’ bills addressing a medical billing issue (out-of-network providers working at in-network facilities, principally in the ER and billing ‘excessive’ charges). These bills could be a potential issue for members collecting medical accounts. While some are showing some late movement, not all will be headed to passage this year. The ‘Balance Billing/Surprise Billing’ bills are HB 1742, HB 2732, HB 2967, HB 3299, HB 3933, SB 866, SB 1037, SB 1264, SB 1530 and SB 1591.

HiringOur HeroesAmerica’s military are returning home and need jobs! ACA has teamed up with Hiring Our Heroes, a free program that matches employers with veterans or military spouses. Find well-trained, prospective employees for your organization. Register at ww.hiringourheroes.org.


https://capitol.texas.gov/

https://capitol.texas.gov/





We’ve all been in those meetings where most people are trying to do something positive and constructive, but there’s one person who keeps sniping and oozing negativity over every good idea. Someone says, “I think this new software will really help our productivity.” But the negative person immediately snaps “Oh please, this company never gets new technology right,” thus casting a pall over the rest of the meeting. Sadly, those types of negativity bombs are being launched more frequently these days. So, what can you do about it? Imagine you’re in a meeting and you hear someone make one of those blanket negative statements (e.g. “that will never work,” “this company doesn’t care about its employees,” “we’re just gonna get trounced by the competition,” etc.).

The 9 words you’re going to say are “I’m curious, what evidence brought you to that conclusion?”

What happens next follows a pretty typical pattern. The negative person might say “oh, you know, we’ve just never been good at implementing new technology” or they might say “well, it’s just obvious.”

But regardless of what they say exactly, they typically evidence that there’s not a lot of factual basis for their negativity. There are generally four layers in any conversation: Facts, Interpretations, Reactions and Ends (FIRE). Facts are those things that you could see, hear, videotape, and validate. Facts are objective, provable, and verifiable. But negative people don’t tend to traffic in facts; they much prefer interpretations.

The human brain is an interpretation machine. It doesn’t show us the world as it is, but rather as it’s useful for us. This is why we all have different perceptions of the world, sometimes radically so. The brain perceives a fact, and then, almost instantaneously, it sifts through all our personal past experiences and knowledge to assign meaning, or intent, to that fact. So the negative person takes a fact, like our company is implementing new technology, and they interpret that to mean that this new implementation is going to be awful, the technology won’t work, etc. They’ve left the world of facts and jumped feet first into the realm of interpretations. That means that your job is to gently force them back into dealing with facts.

When you make a negative person think through whether they have any factual support for their negativity, a few things happen.

First, it becomes clear that they don’t really have any factual support for their negativity. And if they have some facts to back them up (e.g. “well, the last software we implemented went so badly that the company paid to have it uninstalled”) you will typically still have room to push back (e.g. “that’s true, but what about the one before that? And don’t we have a different team of leaders now? Is it really true that all technology installs go poorly?”)

Second, while you’re trying to help the negative person overcome their default negativity, you’re really playing to the rest of the room. The power that negative people wield is that their negativity is contagious and can cast a pall over nearly any group. So regardless of whether you’re ultimately able to convince the negative person to become more positive, you need to show everyone else in that meeting that this blanket negativity is factually unfounded. And you do that by gently revealing the spurious (or nonexistent) factual evidence for this person’s negative interpretations.

Third, there are too few people that will directly challenge these negative people. The thinking is often that ‘someone else will handle this’ or ‘it’s just Bob being Bob.’ But whatever the rationale, someone does have to jump in and tackle the negative person head on. The danger is that if you confront negativity with more negativity (e.g. “stop being so darn negative!”) you only make matters worse.

Instead, our simple nine-word phrase, “I’m curious, what evidence brought you to that conclusion?” is very nonconfrontational. We’re just asking a simple question, from a position of curiosity, but it’s also a question that will reveal the negative person to be a factually hollow fount of ill will. But by exposing them gently, we evidence compassion while still showing the rest of the room that there’s no rational reason to be negative. And by being the one person willing to stand up to negativity, we breathe fresh life back into our meeting.

Mark Murphy is the CEO of Leadership IQ and the author of Hiring For Attitude. He can be reached at 1-800-814-7859

9 Words To Stop Negative People FromSucking The Energy Out Of The Room

By Mark Murphy



MAKE YOUR PLANS TO ATTEND THE

2019 Southwest ACA Conference & Expo (Formerly the ACA of Texas Annual Conference & Expo)

October 14-16, 2019 Sheraton DFW Airport Hotel, Irving, Texas

Situated near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, the extensively renovated Sheraton DFW Airport Hotel offers travelers to the area convenience, style and substance. After a stress-free arrival via our complimentary 24/7 shuttle, your attendees will settle into our well-designed, modern accommodations and benefit from an array of excellent onsite amenities you would more likely expect from a destination hotel. IRVING ROCKS! Irving, Texas, is your gateway to the heart of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex! Our location puts you right in the middle of the best dining, attractions, and entertainment the Metroplex has to offer. So whether you’re here for the conference at the Sheraton DFW Airport Hotel, or for the big family reunion, or simply to get away for the weekend, Irving is the one clear choice for your North Texas experience! Don’t miss the chance to see the world famous, “Mustangs at Williams Square” statue.

Also, be sure to see the Toyota Music Factory, a world-class entertainment destination as diverse as the world of music itself. Toyota Music Factory is the soul of the entire DFW Metroplex, bringing an energy that will satisfy any taste in food, music, and movies.

Program and Speaker information will be available in Summer, 2019.

Mark the dates on your calendar.

If you are looking for quality education with nationally recognized instructors at a cost you can really like,

You know you want to be here!

MAKE YOUR PLANS TO ATTEND THE

2019 Southwest ACA Conference & Expo (Formerly the ACA of Texas Annual Conference & Expo)

October 14-16, 2019 Sheraton DFW Airport Hotel, Irving, Texas

Situated near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, the extensively renovated Sheraton DFW Airport Hotel offers travelers to the area convenience, style and substance. After a stress-free arrival via our complimentary 24/7 shuttle, your attendees will settle into our well-designed, modern accommodations and benefit from an array of excellent onsite amenities you would more likely expect from a destination hotel. IRVING ROCKS! Irving, Texas, is your gateway to the heart of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex! Our location puts you right in the middle of the best dining, attractions, and entertainment the Metroplex has to offer. So whether you’re here for the conference at the Sheraton DFW Airport Hotel, or for the big family reunion, or simply to get away for the weekend, Irving is the one clear choice for your North Texas experience! Don’t miss the chance to see the world famous, “Mustangs at Williams Square” statue.

Also, be sure to see the Toyota Music Factory, a world-class entertainment destination as diverse as the world of music itself. Toyota Music Factory is the soul of the entire DFW Metroplex, bringing an energy that will satisfy any taste in food, music, and movies.

Program and Speaker information will be available in Summer, 2019.

Mark the dates on your calendar.

If you are looking for quality education with nationally recognized instructors at a cost you can really like,

You know you want to be here!


Sheraton DFW Airport Hotel4440 West John Carpenter Freeway, Irving, TX

Discover the convenience, comfort and contempo-rary style of Sheraton DFW Airport Hotel. Located two miles from the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, our hotel boasts 300 recently renovated ho-tel rooms, which blend second-home comfort with preferred amenities. Elevate your stay in Dallas by choosing a Club-level accommodation to enjoy optimal space, additional perks and exclusive access to our Club Lounge. Browse the specialty outlets at Grapevine Mills Mall, only eight miles away. After a day of business, ex-ploring or travel, savor Texas-inspired cuisine at Whis-key Tango, our hotel’s signature restaurant, workout in the 24-hour fitness center or unwind with a dip in our sparkling outdoor pool. With complimentary shuttles to DFW Airport, our Dallas hotel is the ideal choice for the 2019 Southwest ACA Conference & Expo!

“Take a peek

At our beautiful

Conference hotel!”

Look closely, you can see Las Colinas Mustangs!

20 Southwest Collector Connector Spring 2019

Our Host City - Irving, Texas

Irving is located in Dallas County. According to a 2017 estimate from the United States Census Bureau, the city population was 240,373, making it the thirteenth-most populous city in Texas and 93rd most populous city in the U.S. Irving includes the Las Colinas community, one of the first master-planned developments in the United States and once the largest mixed-use development in the Southwest with a land area of more than 12,000 acres. Las Colinas is home to the Mustangs at Las Colinas, which is the largest equine sculpture in the world, as well as many Fortune 500

companies, such as ExxonMobil, Kimberly-Clark and Fluor Corporation. Part of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport lies inside the city limits of Irving.

Toyota Music Factory is a world-class entertainment destination as diverse as the world of music itself. With its central location in Irving, TX, Toyota Music Factory is the soul of the entire DFW Metroplex, bringing an energy that will satisfy any taste in food, music, and movies. Day and night the Toyota Music Factory invites you to come for the thrills and leave with the chills.

The Las Colinas Mustangs at night

Irving Heritage House

The flower clock at Las Colinas

Downtown IrvingClock Tower

Irving Arts Center

Gondolas in Las Colinas


Matrix has proudly serviced the credit and collections industry for over 25 years. This long term industry specific experience has been invaluable to our clients in terms of offering unique products that help you collect more money and reduce overall mailing costs. What separates Matrix from our competition is our Texas production facility and our pursuit and achievement of full vertical integration. What is vertical integration? It is the process by which a manufacturer branches out to manufacture the components that it heavily relies upon and purchases outside. Vertical integration has lowered our costs, improved our quality and has afforded us ultimate control. This equates to competitive pricing, dependable delivery times and flexibility in our offerings. Visit us at booth #3 - ACA of Texas’ 69th Annual Conference and Expo Matrix Printing Solutions, Inc.Janese Olivero

35A Rust Lane, Boerne, TX 78006Phone 855-852-6168 [email protected] www.matrixprintingsolutions.com

Credit & CollectionsCompetitiveSeparation

M A T R I XPrinting Solutions










Professional Education & Compliance DevelopmentARE YOU INTERESTED IN MAKING YOUR COMPANY PROFICIENT IN DEVELOPING POLICIES, PROCEDURES, AUDITS AND COMMITTEES PURSUANT TO

FEDERAL, STATE AND CLIENT COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS FROM NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED SPEAKERS AND SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS AT A LOW COST?

The ACA of Texas Professional Education Committee is committed to assisting members with training issues, as well as coordinating professional skills development and training programs sponsored by ACA International. It is our goal to ensure that our Annual Conference brings together nationally recognized speakers and subject matter experts to present the most up-to-date information regarding the issues facing our members. Our 2019 Conference & Expo will be in the Fall. Stay tuned for an announcement shortly.

If you would like local area training, we can assist with that as well. We are here to assist our members in accessing the finest training available. Please contact the committee chair or any of the committee members directly. We look forward to serving you.

Campus ACA is the umbrella organization for ACA International’s diverse professional and educational certification programs for collectors and agencies. Resources include local and in-house seminars, on-line seminars and teleseminars, web courses, conferences and conventions, training materials and the Professional Practices Management System (PPMS). Some upcoming educational opportunities (partial list):

For more information and a complete listing of these educational opportunities,visit www.acainternational.org or contact the Education Department at 952.928.8000.

Please let us know how we can better serve your education and training needs!

Education Committee Chair: Jordan Freytag (512) 371-9995, [email protected].

Area Coordinator Info (contact Jordan directly if you would be willing to serve):

(Houston) Open

(Austin/Central TX) Open

(Dallas/Ft. Worth) Open

(San Antonio/South Texas) Open

(West Texas/Panhandle) Marci Sterling, 806-353-8691, [email protected]

(North/Northeast Texas) Open

Date Event Location/Type

5/14 Duties of Data Furnishers Webinar

5/15-16 FDCPA Essentials for Collectors Webinar

5/21 Conducting a Risk Assessment Webinar

5/22 Controls & Corrective Actions Webinar

5/23 Successful Hiring Strategies Webinar

6/4 Advanced FDCPA Issues Webinar

6/5-6 Essential Collection Skills & Techniques Webinar

6/11-12 Data Security & Privacy Webinar

6/13 Writing Effective Policies & Procedures Webinar

6/18-19 Managing the Collection Floor Webinar

7/14-16 ACA’s 2019 Annual Conference & Expo San Diego


www.appliedinnovationinc.com

[email protected]

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“Applied Innovation has been great to work with! Their ClientAccessWeb and Pay-Stream payment portal have been very beneficial to our agency! Setup was very

easy and their customer service has been great!”Brian Grimes, Credit Bureau Services of Iowa

“Product supports a strong compliance management system. No material changes to current policies or procedures required to ensure maximum compliance with consumer protection laws.” Ontario Systems Compliance Risk Category Gap & Risk Assessment

“Providing a robust client access portal is one measure that can put your agency on par with the best.

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CollectPAC NEWSWhew – thank goodness the 2019 Legislative session is behind us! Even though it started fairly quietly without much activity related to our industry, it finished with a lot of potentially-harmful legislation being introduced. And a troublesome trend has emerged where each session sees more stringent and aggressive bills introduced toward our industry. And the intent is either to add additional layers of regulation, or to impair our ability to operate our businesses. As a result, now is the time to continue strengthening our relationships with our Legislators, as well as begin replenishing our PAC funds to have available for the next elections.

Our contributions for the November 2018 midterm elections used virtually all of the funds in our PAC, so we are in desperate need of replenishing our funds. The members listed below are the reason our PAC had $14,000 to contribute to the November 2018 elections, and their ongoing support continues to be critical to our legislative successes. However, these members can’t shoulder all of the financial support if we are to continue building alliances and triumph over harmful legislation.

The members noted below have already made a generous contribution to our CollectPAC fund. But our fund is virtually out of money, so PLEASE HELP us further our industry efforts by contributing to the PAC today!

2018 - 2019 MEMBER HONOR ROLL$1,000+ $500+ $250+ $100+ $100+ $50+ Diamond Platinum Gold Silver Silver BronzeDarlene Mead Scott Concannon Carrie Finney Michele Beauchamp Ashley Campanella Andrew BrownTom Stockton Stephanie Rifenberg Jessica Hearn Beth Conklin Chad Deatherage Tom Morgan Mike Ryalls Anthony Faldetta Scott Hearn Lisa True Susan High Michelle Jeffers Lacey Kuhlmann James Lee Camile Lindsey Greg Mason Paul Nagy Felipe Ossa Eric Ross Edna Thomas J. V. Smith

To reach our goal, we need support from every member! Please mail your personal check to our Association office. Scan your credit card contribution and email it to our association office at: [email protected]. Please remember that PAC contributions cannot be made using a company check or credit card.

Thank you for helping in our efforts to promote and protect our industry!

Greg MasonChair, CollectPAC Trustees

Amer ican Co l l ec to rs Assoc ia t ion o f Texas Po l i t i ca l Ac t ion Commit teeCol l ec tPAC Cont r ibut ion & P ledge Card

Member Contribution Levels

Diamond-$1,000 Platinum-$500 Gold-$250 Silver-$100 Bronze-$50

Add my name to CollectPAC’s Honor Roll!Name: ________________________________________ Agency: __________________________________

Personal Check for $ ___________ enclosed Charge $_________ to my ___ Visa ___ MC ___ Am Ex

Name on card: _________________________________ Card #: ________________________________

Expiration date: _____________ Security Code __________ Authorized signature: ________________________

For more information or to establish a monthly or quarterly payment schedule, contact Tom Morgan at 512-458-8666 or [email protected] State law prohibits corporate checks. Mail your check and

this pledge card to: ACA of Texas CollectPAC, 305 South Broadway, Suite 706, Tyler, TX 75702

#




Do you know of old, uncollected judgments?Kaulkin Ginsberg Company is representing a client interested in ‘worthless’ commercial judgments

Germantown, MD. –Companies often sit on hundreds, or even thousands, of commercial judgments. After years of collection efforts, many of these judgments are left uncollected with little value remaining to the company. Now, however, there is a new market for generating ‘found money’ from these stale judgments. Kaulkin Ginsberg Company (KGC) represents a widely recognized leader in purchasing bankruptcy remnant assets that is looking to pay immediate cash for portfolios of old, commercial judgments, including those against defunct, dissolved, or illiquid businesses.

When asked why their client would pay cash for judgments if they are worthless, Mike Ginsberg, president & CEO of KGC, responded, “It’s a volume game for our client. The company has a long history of buying all sorts of worthless assets and its experience is that while most do turn out to be worthless, every once in a while some value emerges. Because it’s virtually impossible to identify or predict which will have any value, our client buys as much volume as possible in a variety of different categories of worthless assets, including worthless judgments.”

KGC’s client’s primary focus is to accumulate as large a portfolio as possible of remnant assets, including as many worthless judgments as KGC can find. Keep in mind, it is not interested in consumer judgments (against individuals), or single, one-off judgments. Specifically, their client is looking for portfolios with at least 25 commercial judgments.

If this opportunity is a fit for you, or if you have clients that may have old judgments and would like more information, contact Mike Ginsberg at [email protected] to schedule a confidential call.

About Kaulkin Ginsberg Company

Since 1991, Kaulkin Ginsberg Company has provided critical strategic advice to the outsourced business services industry. Our client-centric approach covers almost every stage of a company’s life cycle and enables us to maintain longstanding relationships as trusted advisors. We provide mergers and acquisition advisory, strategic consulting, valuation and financial solutions, market intelligence and analysis, as well as litigation support and expert witness.

To confidentially discuss your interests, please contact us at [email protected] or visit our website.

INDUSTRY NEWSFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Kelsey FlinkoKaulkin Ginsberg Company [email protected] May 8, 2019 (240) 499-3810




http://www.kaulkin.com

Granting consent to receive this information electronically applies to the following debt or debts (list debt(s)).

You can withdraw this consent at any time by calling us at xxx-xxx-xxxx and we will mail you the required information in the future. (Include a statement here that describes if the agency will charge or not charge a fee for obtaining this information in a paper form)

To ensure we always have your proper email address, you can update your contact information by calling us*, visiting our website* or sending us an email*. (An agency could do this via text if the agency has this ability, texting laws will apply.)

The hardware and software requirements to access and obtain records are (… – example: you are required to have Adobe Acrobat).

To confirm that you can receive the information electronically I am going to send you an email.

Please reply to me so I know this is a good address for you.

(Note: if you disclose the information via web, the consumer must confirm their ability to use the web; if you disclose the information via email, they must confirm their ability to use that email address; if you disclose the information using text, they must confirm their ability to use text.)

Amy: Ok, I received your email and sent a reply to you.

Collector: Great. Got it. We are good to go. Remember, if you have any questions for me at any time about any thing we have discussed you may call our office Monday through Saturday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. Central and 6:00 p.m. Central.

More to Come: In my next blog I will provide you with examples of disclosures, notices and documents that may trigger E-Sign. Keep in mind, one of the leading organizations in our space representing collection agencies has formally requested the CFPB to provide an exemption from E-Sign. Only time will tell. In the meantime, a prudent course of action would be to embrace E-Sign, use it to your advantage and throw your stamps away.

Words of Advice: Please read the case Lavallee vs. Med – 1. This case is on appeal in the 7th Circuit. The CFPB filed an Amicus Curia brief which clearly explains how and when E-Sign can be used in a debt collection environment. shhttps://s3.amazonaws.com/files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/bcfp_amicus_lavallee-v-med-1-solutions_05-2018.pdf

‘Rozanne Andersen is Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer for Ontario Systems.’

(© 2019 Copyright Ontario Systems LLC. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.)

E-sign SEC. 101. (c) 1) CONSENT TO ELECTRONIC RECORDS. —Notwithstanding subsection (a), if a statute, regulation, or other rule of law requires that information relating to a transaction or transactions in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce be provided or made available to a consumer in writing, the use

of an electronic record to provide or make available (whichever PUBLIC LAW 106-229-JUNE 30, 2000 114 STAT. 465 is required) such information satisfies the requirement that such information be in writing if—

(A) the consumer has affirmatively consented to such use and has not withdrawn such consent;

(B) the consumer, prior to consenting, is provided with a clear and conspicuous statement—

(i) informing the consumer of (I) any right or option of the consumer to have the record provided or made available on paper or in nonelectronic form, and (II) the right of the consumer to withdraw the consent to have the record provided or made available in an electronic form and of any conditions, consequences (which may include termination of the parties' relationship), or fees in the event of such withdrawal; (ii) informing the consumer of whether the consent applies (I) only to the particular transaction which gave rise to the obligation to provide the record, or (II) to identified categories of records that may be provided or made available during the course of the parties' relationship; (iii) describing the procedures the consumer must use to withdraw consent as provided in clause (i) and to update information needed to contact the consumer electronically; and (iv) informing the consumer (I) how, after the consent, the consumer may, upon request, obtain a paper copy of an electronic record, and (II) whether any fee will be charged for such copy; (C) the consumer— (i) prior to consenting, is provided with a statement of the hardware and software requirements for access to and retention of the electronic records; and (ii) consents electronically, or confirms his or her consent electronically, in a manner that reasonably demonstrates that the consumer can access information in the electronic form that will be used to provide the information that is the subject of the consent; and (D) after the consent of a consumer in accordance with subparagraph (A), if a change in the hardware or software requirements needed to access or retain electronic records creates a material risk that the consumer will not be able to access or retain a subsequent electronic record that was the subject of the consent, the person providing the electronic record— (i) provides the consumer with a statement of (I) the revised hardware and software requirements for access to and retention of the electronic records, and (II) the right to withdraw consent without the imposition of any fees for such withdrawal and without the imposition of any condition or consequence that was not disclosed under subparagraph (B)(i); and (ii) again complies with subparagraph (C).

This information is not intended as legal advice and may not be used as legal advice. Legal advice must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. Every effort has been made to ensure this information is up-to-date as of the date of publication. It is not intended to be a full and exhaustive explanation of the law in any area, nor should it be used to replace the advice of your own legal counsel. The author, Ontario Systems LLC and ACA of Texas assume no liability for typographical or other errors contained in the presentation and materials or for changes in the law affecting anything discussed therein.

Continued from page 11




46 Southwest Collector Connector Fall 2010

FTC Proposes New Policy Statement on Collecting Deceased Debt

On October 5, 2010 the FTC announced that it is clarifyin its position on the collection of deceased debt through a proposed policy statement.

The FTC said its proposal clarifies that it will not take enforcement action against debt collectors who communicate with a decedent’s spouse or executor, administrator and persons authorized to handle a deceased person’s estate. But the agency said the proposed policy guidelines make clear that misleading consumers about their personal obligation in paying a deceased person’s debt is a violation of FDCPA.

The FTC’s proposal also provides specific guidance on how collectors must communicate with authorized estate payers.

The proposed policy statement will be published in the Federal Register and the public has until November 8, 2010 to comment.

“Celebrity” FDCPA Litigant Slapped by Texas Judge

A Federal Magistrate Judge in Texas said this week that a plaintiff suing a collection agency for FDCPA violations filed the case in bad faith and that not only should his case be dismissed, but he should be found liable for the attorney’s fees accrued by the debt collection agency over the course of its defense.

The judge wrote that Craig Cunningham’s case against The CMI Group, Carrollton, had “no genuine issues of material fact” and should be dismissed. Cunningham sued CMI in August 2009 alleging that in the course of attenpting to collect a debt originating with Time Warner, the ARM firm had violated the FDCPA, the TCPA, the Texas Debt Collection Act and the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

“We’re obviously very pleased with the way the case has gone so far,” said Tom Stockton, Chairman and CEO of CMI.

“I hope this case further exposes the cottage industry of suing debt collection firms for profit,” said Mike Ginsberg, President and CEO of ARM advisory firm Kaulkin Ginsberg.

NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

3414 East 5th Street | Austin, TX 78702 | 512.389.1747 | Fax: 512.389.1753email: [email protected]

Congratulations

Our newest Professional Collection Specialists (PCS)

Shunte Elsworth, ProCollect, Inc., DallasShane Harris, DXMedical Business Solutions, LLC, Midland

Audriana Perrill, McCreary, Veselka, Bragg & Allen, PC, Round Rock

Credit & Collection Compliance Officer (CCCO)

Jeremy Baraff, Hampton Pryor Group, Inc., Flower Mound

Trainer Specialist Program (TSP)

Dani Brownlee, Trellis Company, Round Rock


currently federal contractors or subcontractors. Federal-sector collection opportunities constitute the largest prospective expansion opportunity for the ARM industry since the credit card market boom in 1990s, offering PCAs a substantial revenue stream as other mature creditor markets become overly saturated.

To capture these opportunities, PCAs must begin to position themselves to proactively create relationships with federal agencies. The industry must shift from a passive, wait-and-see RFP procurement approach to a more active relationship-based sales model. Fortunately, PCAs now have an ally that can guide them through every step of the federal procurement process: Fed Debt Opps.

About Fed Debt Opps - Fed Debt Opps is a membership-based business development and strategic advisory service formed to support ARM firms, tech providers, and customer care organizations in their pursuit of Federal Government contracts. Fed Debt Opps helps its members – regardless of experience – qualify, target, and secure contracts on nearly $400 billion in uncollected federal collection portfolios, and billions more through the Federal Government’s constantly expanding use of contact centers, to deliver much needed customer excellence to the nation’s residents and taxpayers.

Fed Debt Opps is a joint venture of Kaulkin Ginsberg Company and Collection Quotient Consulting. For more information, contact Fed Debt Opps at [email protected].

Continued from page 13

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Regarding an Upcoming Meeting of the Board of Directors to be Held in Conjunction with the 2019 Southwest ACA Conference & Expo

President Rick Anderson has called for a meeting of the American Collectors Association of Texas Board of Directors to convene at 5:00 pm on Sunday, October 13, 2019 at the Sheraton DFW Airport Hotel, 4440 W. John Carpenter Freeway, Irving, Texas. The Board of Directors

meeting is open to all ACA of Texas members.

ACA of Texas invites all of its members to consider how you can help your Association through volunteering to serve as an officer, director or committee member. For further information,

please contact our Executive Director, Tom Morgan. He can be reached at either (512) 458-8666 or email at [email protected] .

WELCOME NEW MEMBERSAgency Members

Nelson Cruz & Associates, LLC, Dallas


http://www.kaulkin.com/connect/2018/10/kaulkin-ginsberg-and-collection-quotient-consulting-announce-the-launch-of-fed-debt-opps/



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If you are looking to buy, sell, hire or acquire, consider advertisingin our newest feature, “Collection Marketplace”.

Contact Tom Morgan, for ad sizes and rates.Call 512- 458-8666 or send an

email to Tom at [email protected]

The magazine is published quarterly and advertisers will need to allow sufficient lead time for their ad to be printed.


If you are looking to buy, sell, hire or acquire, consider advertising in our newest feature, “Collection Marketplace”.

Contact Tom Morgan, for ad sizes and rates.Call 512- 458-8666 or send an email to Tom at [email protected]

Keep in mind that the magazine is published quarterly and advertisers will need to allow sufficient lead time for their ad to be printed.

Yes, your ad could be HERE! Call today for the Summer Issue, July 2012

NEWS NEWS

Collection Marketplace

MEMBER NEWSThe CMI Group Announces Promotionof Carrie Finney to President

The CMI Group, Inc, Carrollton, a major first and third party ARM company, recently named Carrie Finney as the company’s President. Ms. Finney assumed her new duties on January 17th, replacing Tom Stockton, who will remain as CEO and Chairman of the Board.

Ms. Finney, a CPA, is also Chief Financial Officer and she will retain that position as well. She has been with the company since 1997.

URS Acquires Enterprise Recovery Systems, Inc.United Recovery Systems Inc. said Friday it has purchased Enterprise Recovery Systems Inc., an Illinois-based debt collection agency primarily for education providers. Houston-based United Recovery Systems provides third-party contingency debt collection services and specializes in the collection for the credit card, retail and auto loan industries.

With the addition of Enterprise Recovery Systems, United will have about 1,500 collectors working at seven centers throughout the U.S. Enterprise will continue working out of its current facility in Illinois and will maintain its current leadership.

Audax Group, a Boston-based private investment firm, owns United Recovery Systems.

MEMBER SEEKS COLLECTION MANAGER

Moss Law Firm, P.C. is looking for a collections manager to join our team. Moss Law Firm, located in Lubbock, Texas, is a consumer collection law firm primarily representing original creditors. The collections manager supervises a team of 15+ collectors and compliance personnel, is responsible for hiring and firing team members, ensures that all calls are in compliance with firm and client requirements, designs campaigns to maximize collections, and works with attorneys and clients to incorporate new requirements into our collection strategy.

Required Qualifications:• High School Degree• 2+ years of management experience in a customer service environment • Strong leadership skills• Excellent customer service skills• Excellent written, verbal communication, and listening skills • Strong decision making, problem solving abilities, and be self-motivated• Familiarity with PC and Microsoft Operating Systems software and an ability to learn and interact with

new software• Ability to work a flexible schedule including some evenings and Saturdays

Preferred Qualifications:• Bachelor’s Degree preferred• Knowledge of Fair Debt Collections Practices Act

Pay is based on experience. Moss Law Firm provides competitive benefits, including health care and 401k. Please send resume to [email protected].



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Help us keep our membership records current

so that you receive the most up-to-date

information possible. This will become especially

important during the upcoming year. Contact

[email protected] or call 512-

458-8666 with updated mailing and e-mail

addresses and phone numbers. Also, be sure

to send us your website address for posting to

www.acaoftexas.org.

We Need Your

HELP

The ACA of Texas’ Southwest Collector Connector will post member announcements for anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, weddings or other significant events that occur in the lives of our members. Since this is a quarterly publication, the announcements can be in the recent past or in the future.

Please send all announcements to [email protected] and, if possible, they will be published in the next issue to be published. Include your name and a contact phone number.

Membership EventPostings Letters to the Editor

Letters [or emails] to the Editor are welcome but must be signed, please include full name and address. Not all letters can be published.

Letters that are published may be edited for space, brevity, clarity and other editorial considerations.

We look forward to your constructive criticism; let us know if there is anything in particular you would like to see us address. We appreciate the

opportunity to hear from our readers.

Unfortunately, there are no letters this quarter.



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Documents

New Home | ACA of Texas - southwest Collector Connector · 2020. 9. 2. · Paul Nagy, Austin (2018-2019) Robert Ridgeway, Esq., Sherman (2016-2019) Laura Hirsch, Coppell (2017-2020