How long has Credit Service Company, Inc. been in business?
Credit Service Company, Inc. has been in operation since 1948. CSC is duly licensed to act as a collection agency in the state of Colorado pursuant to Title 12 Article 14 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, as amended.
Return to Top
What are some of the services that CSC provides?
Credit Service Company is a full-service collection agency and offers a complete range of services for our clients, to include:
Letter Service
Our Letter Service is designed to enable clients to confidently identify and place delinquent accounts for full collection at an earlier age than would occur without this service. The letter service introduces a third party (our agency) into the client’s collection process urging the consumer to pay the client. Clients receive 100% of all monies received through this program.
American Collectors Association Sponsorship
The American Collectors Association (ACA) is the leading source of information pertaining to the collection industry. The organization has restructured membership policy enabling creditors to apply for membership through a current member and have the ability to receive and request important industry-specific information. Only agencies that are current members of the ACA can offer this program to creditors.
Custom Programs
We can create a multitude of custom programs to meet our clients’ specific accounts receivable needs. There are a variety of possibilities including special notices, special project short-term collection work, pre-placement skip-tracing services, etc.
Client Education
Credit Service Company offers a variety of classes concerning collection-related subjects, such as collection techniques, professional phone techniques, legal process, skip tracing, HIPAA and statute compliance. Specific classes can be scheduled based on clients’ requests.
Accounts Receivable Consulting
Our Specialists are available to review all or part of your receivable systems, including collection letters, timing issues, accounts receivable management services, and effective collection techniques to help you in your own collection efforts. Depending on the need, we’re also available for a variety of outsourcing accounts receivable services, or we may be able to refer you to such sources if our office is unable to provide what you need.
Return to Top
How do you report and track placements?
We promptly send or transmit an acknowledgment of accounts placed for collection. The acknowledgment is an alphabetical or numerical listing of accounts received for any particular batch or month. The following information is provided with each listing:
- Patient name
- Dollar amount placed
- Your patient account number
- Date accounts were placed
This itemization allows verification that all information has been recorded accurately. We also provide our account number in the acknowledgment to enable your office to use it as a reference. These acknowledgments are mailed or transmitted to our clients immediately after verifying the accuracy of balances and account information.
Return to Top
How are accounts canceled and returned to clients?
Credit Service Company generates monthly reports detailing any of your accounts that have been canceled in any month. For statistical purposes, our computer system maintains this information indefinitely.
Return to Top
How are payments reported?
We remit all payments to our clients on a monthly basis, prior to the fifteenth day of the following month. The activity statement provided with the remittance check includes the following information:
- The name of the patient who paid
- Your patient account number
- Date of payment
- Location of payment- your office or ours
- The amount due you or earned by Credit Service Company
- The balance remaining on the account
We have a certain flexibility regarding the information included on our monthly client statements. In some cases, additional information can be provided. A separate statement can also be produced for transactions such as payment activity in the legal department or all payments made to your office during the month.
Return to Top
What is your system of tracking collections?
We create different disposition codes for accounts that identify the current status of collections. Our system tracks the date when an account was last worked and the date that the next activity should occur. This gives the Collection Manager the necessary tool to monitor accounts as they flow through the different phases of collections. The Collector Inventory is generated each day for individual collectors. The Collection Manager monitors the dispositions and activity dates to ensure each collector is productively working all accounts that have been assigned to him/her. The reports may be produced for individual clients so that the Client Support Department can identify problem areas for a specific client.
Return to Top
What ability does CSC have to produce custom-designed or client-specific reports?
By generating raw data from our system and importing it into spreadsheet or word processing software, we can create tailored reports to meet various needs of our clients. Using this same process we can create almost any report conceivable in any format desired.
Return to Top
Give examples of how you receive placements from other clients.
Although some clients use hard copy to list their accounts with us, we strongly encourage the use of electronic data transfer, and will assist our clients in any way possible to facilitate this. Secure encrypted e-mail and file transfer protocol (FTP) have become the transfer methods of choice throughout our industry. In addition to the media mentioned above, we have the ability to accept accounts by any of the following methods:
- 3 ½ Floppy Disk
- Via direct modem connection
- CD
We can convert your electronic media into a format readable by our database. Our IT department can work with most file formats.
Return to Top
What capability does CSC have for receiving, processing and returning placements and payments?
We can provide monthly payment files in lieu of, or in addition to, our monthly statements. This file can be custom-created allowing us to import data directly into our client’s accounting software or in a raw data format to be manipulated as needed. Transmission of this media can be accomplished in most media options.
Return to Top
What are your procedures for pursuing accounts that require legal action?
There are various criteria for an account to be submitted to our Legal Department. For each prospective legal account, we conduct an audit and determine whether or not adequate assets are available to liquidate the debt. Typically our primary concern is not whether judgment can be obtained, which is not difficult, but that we have an asset to collect on the judgment.
Our Legal Department’s process for qualifying accounts to pursue through litigation begins with a thorough review. For those that qualify, a letter is sent notifying the consumer that we are requesting legal authorization from our client and our intention is to forward the account(s) to our attorney for litigation.
When our client has signed and returned the authorization form, we proceed with the preparation of legal documents under the supervision of our attorney. Throughout this phase, accounts are monitored daily by our computer system and our legal personnel who track the status of each client’s account. This process ensures efficient follow-up and minimal delays. We pay all costs for litigation in advance, which can include filing fees, process servers, and attorney fees. Consumers are served a Summons and Complaint to appear in court; upon judgment, a garnishment is generally processed to collect monies due.
In some cases, a consumer will file an answer, and a trial date will be set. Fewer than three percent of the accounts in our legal process actually go to trial. We contact our clients to notify them of the pending trial date and request their appearance as witnesses to verify that the debts are valid. We attempt to resolve the account at each legal step in order to avoid the inconvenience for our clients of having to go to court.
Return to Top
What becomes of accounts that no longer have a good address or phone number?
As accounts flow through the regular collection phase, our collectors perform cursory skip tracing as required using electronic directory assistance and operator assistance. When these attempts are exhausted with no useful results, an account will be categorized as a skip account and will be placed in our skip tracing department for special handling.
This department has many tools available, including the most updated technology to locate consumers. Some of these tools include online databases of vehicle registrations, driver’s licenses, voter registrations, property information, professional licensing, and social security traces.
After exhausting all conventional skip tracing methods, we may still be unable to locate some consumers. Through a program offered by the credit repositories, we report selected accounts - those with high balances and legal skips - as unable to locate on the consumer’s national credit record. This status generates a report sent to us from the repository if the consumer attempts to obtain credit from a company that reports to a credit bureau.
Return to Top
Which credit repositories do you report to?
Credit Service Company reports to the three major credit repositories, Experian, Equifax, and Trans-Union.
Return to Top
How does CSC handle customer/debtor complaints and how are complaints relayed to the client?
Consumer/patient complaints fall into two categories:
- Complaints regarding our collection efforts:
Our Collection Manager personally handles all consumer/patient complaints,
and in coordination with our Client Support Manager. investigates each issue
thoroughly. Appropriate action is then taken, which may include contact with
our client for resolution approval. We find that most such complaints can be
handled effectively without client involvement.
- Formal complaints made to the Colorado Collection Agency Board:
Our Collection Manager first thoroughly investigates all transaction
information that has occurred on the account in question. The Collection
Manager then forwards the information to our collection attorney, who
prepares a response for the Collection Agency Board. The Collection Agency
Board will make a determination and provide a correspondence to our office
with their findings.
Return to Top
What standards are in place concerning acceptable levels of complaints?
Due to the nature of our business, consumer complaints are inevitable. However, we do not consider any number of valid complaints to be acceptable. Upon determination that a complaint is valid, corrective action is taken immediately.
Return to Top
What is Credit Service Company’s fee structure?
Credit Service Company normally charges for its services on a "contingency" fee basis - our client receives what we collect minus a percentage fee. Credit Service Company is primarily interested in establishing a long-term relationship with each client. To do so, we must remain price competitive, and will entertain rate negotiations to meet any competitor’s offer.
Return to Top
What is Credit Service Company’s recovery rate?
There are many variables that go into the measurement of recovery, and there is currently no one industry standard method of measuring those variables. CSC has a competitive rate that stands up to any in the industry. Our staff will work with you to identify the best way to measure the results in a meaningful way for your company.
Return to Top
