Collection News

Defusing The Consumer Debt Timebomb Before It Explodes

2009-07-13T08:03:47-07:00

Henley-on-Thames (Vocus) - Portrait Software, a leading provider of insight driven customer interaction software, has demonstrated a cost-effective solution - Pre-Delinquency Management (PDM) - that allows lenders to predict potential delinquency, help customers manage debt and reduce levels of impaired debt as a result.

In a three-month analysis for an A-list credit card business, Portrait demonstrated a 2% reduction in the number of defaults, a 2.5% reduction in default rates and a 15% reduction in the default value. These results equate to millions of pounds of added value in terms of reduced collection costs and enhanced debt recoveries.

PDM is a methodology which identifies 'at risk' customers at an early stage, helps identify and monitor appropriate treatment strategies, and helps customers who are getting into trouble get a grip on their debt before it escalates or turns bad. As the recession bites, financial institutions have seen more and more of their customers get into financial difficulty and, at the same time, have come under increasing pressure to demonstrate that they are providing as much assistance as possible by treating customers fairly in these difficult times.

"Most organisations have recognised that many of their customers facing difficulties are not the 'usual suspects' but rather prime customers who have every intention of meeting their obligations but need to reshape their finances in order to survive the credit crunch," comments Neil Skilling, Client Services Director, Portrait Software. "By implementing a Pre-Delinquency Management strategy, organisations can now address the growing numbers of customers facing financial difficulty," he added.

The objective of Portrait's recent study was to use PDM to reduce the number of defaults and also the total value at risk. Using its analytics software the study identified a group of 100,000 customers likely to have difficulty meeting their credit card payments in the next three to six months. Identification criteria included increased credit limits, balances reaching the credit limit and changes in spending patterns. 80,000 customers were sent a communication offering assistance to help ensure their situation remained stable, 20,000 were not offered any help and served as a control group. Respondents talked to advisors who discussed their situations and captured additional information on current circumstances. Portrait's PDM solution collated all of this information and determined the most appropriate treatment options such as changing direct debit dates, setting up minimum payments or reducing credit limits.

After three months analysis showed:

Reduced defaults by 2 percentage points (representing a 20% reduction compared to the standard 10% default rate)
Defaults were at the full outstanding amount
Customer feedback was very positive
Reduced default rates by 2.5 percentage points (representing a 25% reduction against the base default rate)
Average default value reduced by 15%

"Few organisations have been able to implement PDM as a 'business as usual' process," adds Neil Skilling. "This is not the result of a lack of will on the organisations' part, indeed many are running costly paper based programmes. However, other solutions lack the flexibility to bring together analytics, decisioning and automated workflow in support of the customer process. Instead they simply manage the account or the outstanding debt. Portrait's PDM solution can be implemented to work seamlessly with existing customer systems and data, without the need to embark on a major systems project or to create new databases of information - we work with what is already there and in use - and will deliver dramatically improved results."

About Portrait Software
Portrait Software enables organizations to engage with each of their customers as individuals, resulting in improved customer profitability, increased retention, reduced risk, and outstanding customer experiences. This is achieved through a suite of innovative, insight-driven applications which empower organizations to create enduring one-to-one relationships with their customers. The Portrait suite seamlessly integrates the world's most advanced customer analytics, powerful inbound and outbound campaign management, and best-in- class business process integration to drive real time customer interactions that communicate precisely the right message through the right channel, at the right time.

Our 300 + customers include industry-leading organizations in customer-intensive sectors. They include Merrill Lynch, Lloyds Banking Group, US Bank, Dell, Nationwide Building Society, T- Mobile, Telenor, Fingerhut, Bank of Ireland, Bank of Tokyo and Fiserv Bank Solutions. For more information on Portrait Software, please visit: www.portraitsoftware.com.

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Commercial Debt Collection Agency In Plano, TX Does Booming Business Turning Overdue Bills into Bills Paid

2009-07-13T08:03:46-07:00

Plano, Texas -- While companies across the nation are searching for ways to stay alive, business couldn't be better in the collections business.

Executives from commercial debt collection companies based in Plan, Texas believe the recession has created business, but the approach to collect has changed.

Burt & Associates CEO Jerry Curtis said he doesn't like the recession but the fact remains: it's good for business.

"I've been through several economic downturns, but this is unbelievable. We're seeing companies that have never had trouble collecting money before coming to us asking for help," Curtis said. "The fact is, companies that owe money aren't getting paid by the companies that owe them. It's the worst cash crunch the collection industry has ever seen."

Curtis said companies that he considers solid are experiencing more problems with their customers. It's a domino effect.

According to the latest numbers from the Commercial Collection Agency Association, a record $14.3 billion in business accounts nationwide were placed in collection in 2008, a 23.2 percent increase from $11.6 billion in 2007.

With all the new business, Curtis decided it was a good time to overhaul his website and begin offering free quotes. The new design features a more professional appearance, a free downloadable report covering the top mistakes made by businesses in the collections process, and easier access to get a quote for services.

"I really think this new look will help our prospects find what they're looking for faster," says Curtis. "They all have primary concerns about using an agency to help them collect money, and our new Web site really talks to those concerns and gives them the answers they need," Curtis continued.

According to the Commercial Collection Agency Association, which Burt & Associates is a member of, business bankruptcy filings are up 41.6 % compared to June 2007. This means that business accounts will be harder & harder to collect on, as more businesses struggle in this economical climate.

For that reason, a report such as the one offered on the Burt & Associates Web site might be helpful in directing a business manager on how to modify the collection practices to be more effective.

"Overall, the biggest change we've made on the Web site is making it easier for our prospects to get a quote. When a business needs to turn an account over, it should be as simple & effortless as possible… the last thing they need is more hassle or red tape," Curtis said.

To get a first hand look at the new Burt & Associates Web site, visit http://www.burtcollect.com. You can also contact Jerry Curtis at 1-877-740-7839 for more information about their commercial collection services.

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DebtGoal.com Helps Consumers Tackle $800 Million of Consumer Debt

2009-07-13T08:03:46-07:00

San Francisco, CA - GoalSpring, a leading provider of online solutions for consumer debt reduction, today announced that its flagship product, DebtGoal.com, is now being used by 14,000 consumers to manage $800 million of debt. DebtGoal (http://www.debtgoal.com) is an online platform that helps consumers get out of debt (http://www.debtgoal.com) in a proven, healthy and sustainable way. DebtGoal also announced plans to raise additional capital in the coming months.

Debt reduction is a top priority for a majority of Americans - the average household's debt-to-income ratio is more than 130%, with perhaps as much as $2 trillion of excessive debt in American households. "DebtGoal.com's rapid growth speaks to the seriousness of the problem we are solving for our users," said Scott Crawford, CEO and co-founder of GoalSpring. "Getting out of debt is a complex endeavor for which there has been no do-it-yourself solution, but the DebtGoal platform now makes it simple and easy for consumers to systematically manage and reduce their debt. We're excited to be helping our members reach their financial goals."

One user summarizes her experience with DebtGoal by saying "I understood I needed to pay down debt, and I had a basic understanding of interest rates, payment schedules, and terms for each of my credit cards but I had difficulty making real progress…DebtGoal has given me a manageable plan and great suggestions to help me accelerate it."

DebtGoal.com also announced several product improvements, including AccountLink -- the ability for users to automatically download their latest financial information into the DebtGoal platform.

"This helps our users easily keep their information up-to-date and understand their current status, progress, and next steps with a single glance," says Crawford.

Crawford added, "The current economic crisis has demonstrated how unsustainable our debt levels are at an individual and macro level. Deleveraging at the individual level is going to be part of the economic landscape for years to come. We're capitalizing on this market need and are looking forward to rolling out additional features that make paying down debt easier and more efficient for the nearly 50 million American households who have a debt problem."

About GoalSpring
GoalSpring was founded on the premise that although there are many financial products, there are actually very few solutions that directly tie to consumers' goals. GoalSpring's first product, DebtGoal, is an online platform that helps consumers get out of debt in a proven, healthy and sustainable way. The company received funding from NewCycle Capital, who work with entrepreneurs to address unmet needs and affect positive change. Reducing debt was the #1 personal goal for 2008 and 2009, according to CNN and Franklin Covey. http://www.debtgoal.com

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FDCPA Lawsuit Volume Picks Up Steam in June

2009-07-13T08:03:46-07:00

The total number of lawsuits filed by consumers against accounts receivable management firms claiming violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) increased nearly 30 percent from May to June this year.

According to data provided by WebRecon, LLC, there were 848 lawsuits filed in federal courts by consumers seeking compensation for violations of the FDCPA, up 29.6 percent from May. There were an additional 108 lawsuits filed that claimed violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

WebRecon offers a subscription tracking service that identifies consumers and consumer attorneys that engage in FDCPA litigation.

In the second half of June alone, there were 77 different plaintiffs that had filed suit under the FDCPA and FDRA in the past. Combined, those 77 plaintiffs have filed about 532 lawsuits since 2001.

Filings by state followed population statistics, as the states where the most lawsuits originated – California, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Texas – are the most populous in the country.

Through the first half of 2009, there have been 3,654 FDCPA lawsuits filed in the U.S district courts, a pace that will far exceed the total filed in 2008 ("FDCPA Cases Brought By Consumers Creates New Market Aimed at Collectors,” June 22).

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1H09 M&A Deal Volume in the ARM Industry is Up but Deal Value is Down Substantially from Last Year

2009-07-10T07:34:06-07:00

Rockville, MD – It remains an active market for mergers and acquisitions in the debt collection / accounts receivable management industry overall, however larger transactions have been hampered by the credit crunch and economic recession, according to Kaulkin Ginsberg, the industry’s leading M&A and strategic advisory firm. In the first half of 2009, there were 21 announced transactions with a total deal value of $103 million – compared with 15 deals valued at $1.43 billion at this point last year.

The major discrepancy in deal value is due to three large transactions that closed in the first half of 2008; industry buyer NCO Group acquired Outsourcing Solutions, Inc. for US$325 million; Investor AB purchased 50 percent of Lindorff Group for US$558 million; and Exponent Private Equity LLP acquired Lowell Holdings Limited for an estimated US$394 million.

So far, 2009 deal activity has been almost completely driven by larger ARM companies acquiring smaller ones, whereas 2008 deal activity in the first half of the year also included first-time strategic and financial buyers making initial platform acquisitions. Of the 21 transactions completed in 2009, only two involved a financial or strategic buyer – the rest were industry buyers, defined as larger ARM companies, former owners, or current/former executives.

“The numbers don’t reflect the level of interest in the market,” said Mark Russell, Director at Kaulkin Ginsberg. “We are seeing a consistent level of seller and buyer interest, but many of the deals are dependent on the buyer’s ability to obtain debt financing – which has been difficult in the current market – and on the seller’s willingness to accept some form of deal structure in order to bridge the gap between the seller and buyer’s value expectations.”

Liquidation rates have declined in all market segments over the past year, impacting the financial performance of some ARM companies and thus affecting deal value and/or terms. In addition, most small transactions are not publicized and involve companies generating less than $1 million in annual revenues. Russell added that ARM companies that are in distress still present good acquisition opportunities for larger ARM companies, and that is driving interest from industry buyers seeking to obtain new clients or personnel, gain a time zone, or to expand into a new vertical market.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2009, Russell anticipates more of the same. “Most deals will involve industry buyers, as first-time strategic and financial buyers are just going to be even more selective and take longer to close deals.” He noted that there might be a slight uptick in strategic and financial deals closing in Q409, because sellers already in the market will be motivated to close before the end of the year to avoid the potential increase in capital gains tax.

About Kaulkin Ginsberg
As the leading strategic advisor for the accounts receivable management industry (ARM), Kaulkin Ginsberg has completed over 125 M&A transactions valued at over $3 billion. For ARM service providers, services focus on analysis, growth, and exit strategies. For credit grantors, the focus is on optimizing receivables management strategies. Kaulkin Ginsberg's media division, publisher of insideARM.com, is the worldwide leader in providing timely news and insight on the recovery of debt in all industries. Read more about Kaulkin Ginsberg at www.kaulkin.com.

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Medical Data Systems Announces Operations Expansion and Opening of its Primary Collections Operations Office

2009-07-10T07:31:19-07:00

Vero Beach, FL -- National healthcare receivables industry leader, Medical Data Systems, Inc. (MDS), has announced the opening of its Primary Collections Operations office. After a two-decade tenure in healthcare receivables management, focusing on aged receivables recovery, MDS has expanded its services to include Primary Bad Debt Collections for the hospital/healthcare industry.

"Many of our clients expressed repeated interest in collections offered earlier in their revenue cycle. Given our experience and success collecting on aged receivables, in most cases after an extended business office vendor and primary collections vendor have made attempts to collect, it was a natural progression of our service offering. Requests for MDS to offer its services earlier in the revenue cycle, to collect on their accounts sooner and impact bad debt recoveries earlier, in a more collectible timeframe, became a common request during client service visits/calls" said Estelle Welte, Senior VP of Client Services and Business Development.

Having recently signed clients, for Primary Bad Debt Collections, in Florida, Texas, South Carolina, and Arkansas, it became clear that there was a need, in the industry, for a Proven, Trusted, and Innovative partner in healthcare collections. "In an age when agencies are closing or cutting back…MDS is positioned for growth and continued innovation. We have expanded our technology, tools and system integration internally, recently added some key leadership positions, and we have enlarged our business development division to include sales staff in key territories of growth. With all of this, MDS continues to expand on its 24 year history in healthcare collections, and proven results for clients, nationally," said Gene Schneider, COO.

Serving 425 hospitals, MDS is prepared to dedicate tools and resources to offer its Primary Collections Service to hospitals nationwide. MDS' business is dedicated solely to the hospital/healthcare industry, and 100% of its work is handled in the United States. Offering Extended Business Office, Primary Collections, Secondary Collections and Professional Fee Billing Services, positions MDS to provide a continuum of revenue cycle solutions to hospitals and healthcare providers throughout the country.

For additional information on the expansion and growth of MDS, or any other MDS related information, please contact Estelle Welte (ewelte(at)meddatsys(dot)com) or visit www.meddatsys.com.

About MDS
MDS is a proven, trusted and innovative leader in revenue cycle management. For 24 years MDS has successfully partnered with multiple hospitals and respected health systems across the nation. We understand the specific demands and concerns of the provider community and it is reflected in our unparalleled client service and performance value.

Founded in 1985, MDS (Medical Data Systems, Inc.) pioneered Secondary Collections. Offering a full suite of revenue cycle services, MDS offers: Professional Fee Billing, Extended Business Office and Primary Collections, and Secondary Bad Debt Collections.

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Ask the Experts: Effectiveness of Dialer Campaigns

2009-07-09T11:54:04-07:00

Question: How can I gauge the effectiveness of my dialer campaigns?

Answer: (from Louis Summe, CEO of LiveVox)

The recession has forced credit and collection organizations to review all technology and processes. Dialers are no exception. Recently, several publicly traded debt buyers announced they were able to increase collections during a down economy by doing just that.

Tracking system productivity:

Post-campaign analysis of dollars collected is the traditional way of measuring performance. Better performance can and is being realized through dynamic tuning of dialer campaigns. Right-party connects per agent per hour coupled with talk time indicate that the dialer is running well. Dollars collected per agent is a measure of personnel quality. Collection organizations should be shooting for a ratio of 60/20/20 — 60% of an agent’s time on a dialer should be speaking with consumers only, not machines, compared with 20% or so of wrap-up time and 20% or less of actual waiting/ready time.

Answering machine strategies:

Answering machines make up about half of all calls and 70% to 80% of all billable calls. Some agencies might believe agents are talking all day, when in reality, they spend most of their time leaving messages on machines. Agents need to talk to consumers. Let machines talk to machines.

Otherwise, this costs an agency twice. First, agents cost about $0.30 a minute, and automated systems can leave these messages for less than a nickel. For every 10,000 messages left by agents, an agency has overpaid by at least $2,500. Secondly, this is time agents aren’t speaking to consumers. In the 10,000 message example, you’ve lost more than 160 hours of true agent productivity.

Capacity requirements and cost:

Because consumers are harder to reach on the phone, dialers with fixed telephony can be less effective. LiveVox analyzed the connected call data of collection industry clients and found they need on average 7-10 lines (sometimes less, sometimes much more depending on portfolio or time of day) or they won’t hit talk time of 60% without processing machines.

If your agency is off that mark, calculate the total cost of expansion, including seat licenses, maintenance and telephony infrastructure like T1s/DS3s and compare the total with other solutions.

Telecom fees:

Telecom costs come right out of the bottom line. Review your detailed bills to check if you’re unknowingly paying minimum durations or short duration charges. You should see calls of 0.1 minutes on the itemized call portion of your bill and per call charges of 10% of your variable rate. If your lowest durations is 0.3 or more, or if your carrier has a minimum charge of one cent per call, as many do, your telecom bills are needlessly inflated.

Louis Summe, after a career of developing and managing communication technology, co-founded and is the current CEO of LiveVox, a leading provider of hosted dialing services to the credit and collections industry.

TCN Analyzes Agent Login and Predictive Dialing Vendor Performance

2009-07-09T07:11:23-07:00

St. George, UT -- Picking a dialing vendor is a lot like interviewing potential best friends (à la Paris Hilton) or vetting Supreme Court candidates: there is no shortage of relevant variables or people clamoring that their perspective is best. In the case of dialing technology, a plethora of variables, competing claims, different pricing models, and different terms for the same thing confuse the analyst. Business 101 classes attempt to pound home the conventional wisdom, the secret formula, the question that will cause the crystal ball to reveal the truth: ROI, Return on Investment. But can it be so simple? The hard sciences have heeded Occam's Razor for hundreds of years, and in the words of a sage, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." ROI is always and everywhere the key to such analysis.

"Sure," you may be thinking, "this from a dialing company." Akin to listening to the horse trader about how to judge horseflesh? Maybe. But TCN believes that there is a relatively simple and very defensible method for determining ROI. And our own criteria can be used against us; we will not plead the Fifth. Follow these three simple steps to determine a standardized ROI that will allow you to judge between horses and camels, turning all your potential vendors into comparable apples:

1. Cost per Right Party Connect. If your collection software is incapable of providing you the number of actual Right Party Connects (RPCs) (not just live contacts, linkbacks, or connectbacks), be sure your vendor can. Simply divide the total cost of the test campaign by the number of RPCs to determine the Cost per RPC.

Cost per RPC is so important because it is the metric that instructs how much bang you get for your buck. Agencies use dialing technology only to locate and converse with debtors; this goal should be accomplished with as little cost as possible. If some fancy but expensive functionality gets you one or two more RPCs per campaign but doubles the Cost per RPC, be unimpressed.

2. Cost per Agent Minute. With the data provided by your vendor, tally the total number of agent minutes during the test campaign. This is the number of minutes an agent was actually speaking with a debtor (or with a live party, if RPC information is not available). Then use this number and divide it into the total cost of the test campaign.

Cost per Agent Minute is important to consider separately from Cost per RPC because this metric tells you even more about what's "under the hood," technology speaking. If a vendor is competitive in the Cost per RPC metric but is behind in Cost per Agent Minute, it suggests that answering machine detection, for example, may be inferior. Cost per Agent Minute is also the most vital part of standardizing pricing models across companies: whatever each company's philosophy, the actual Cost to the agency per Agent Minute will eliminate ambiguities. The number of lines needed to keep agents busy (i.e. the quality of the dialing product) will also be reflected in this metric.

3. Operation Costs. This metric is more subjective, but is just as important as the first two. For example: if a vendor is competitive in metrics one and two, but their interface and product operation are slow; if adding new agents or conducting other administrative tasks in onerous; if the operation of the dialer requires more personnel resources than others; if upload time is long; if campaign speed throttling is opaque or non-existent; these are actual costs that come out of the agency's revenue.

Computing this metric is typically more of a self-survey than a math problem. Several test campaigns will be sufficient for the analyst and the operator(s) to discern where the Operation Cost of a vendor stacks up against the competition.

These three steps standardize the results from a testing experience and put the agency in the driver seat, enabling informed decision making. With this simple process, the agency need not attempt to normalize different pricing models with different minimums, different prices per minute, and different linkback costs. This process is like finding the common denominator among many different fractions to more easily compare numerators.

Finally, be sure that all test campaigns are conducted while holding as many variables as possible constant between vendors: randomly-assigned accounts; same time of day; same mix of accounts; same number of collectors of comparable ability; etc.

For more information, for a demonstration and for a free, no-obligation trial, please call 1.888.235.3149 or visit www.tcnp3.com.

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Industry Friendly CollectOne Stimulus Plan Announced

2009-07-09T07:11:22-07:00

Simi Valley, CA – Leading collection software solutions provider CDS Software announced its CollectOne Stimulus Plan today. The Plan is designed around assisting debt collection organizations with efficiencies and recovery rates in the challenging economy. The CollectOne Stimulus Plan includes industry friendly offers such as no obligation efficiency analysis, credit for existing software, free data conversions, and deferred and no interest payment options.

“In our almost 40 years in the debt collection industry we’ve brought a number of timely solutions to market and we believe the CollectOne Stimulus Plan to be another,” said Mark Bergmann, Vice President, Sales and Marketing. “The proper debt collection software is at the heart of an efficient, well run collections organization. CollectOne is a proven solution and our clients have had broad based success in effectively leveraging CollectOne to navigate the current environment. With that being said, our CollectOne Stimulus Plan offer makes CollectOne even more so the solution of choice,” said Bergmann.

CDS Software projects recovery rates to continue to improve as we move closer to 2010 and encourages collections organizations to properly position themselves now. “With the historical levels of debt, slowed recovery rates and unprecedented changes in the global economy that we’re facing, collection organizations that are proactively leveraging industry best practices and a strong technology mix will lead the way. We hope our CollectOne Stimulus Plan offer makes these important decisions even easier,” said Bergmann.

About CDS Software
A proven leader in collection software solutions, CDS Software has been an innovator in the accounts receivable management industry for almost 40 years. Developing the industry’s first collection software solution in 1970, it revolutionized the way accounts were managed. Its award winning CollectOne software is a single source debt collection solution that provides the flexibility to manage multiple debt categories and the scalability to eliminate the necessity of upgrading software applications to meet growing business needs. To learn more about CDS Software, CollectOne or our Stimulus Plan offer visit www.collectone.com or call 888-816-3333.

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LiveVox Study Reveals Unattended Messaging is an Inefficient By-Product of Agency Dialer Line Starvation

2009-07-09T07:11:22-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO — LiveVox Inc., the leading provider of hosted-dialer solutions, today announced an analysis of collection industry clients has revealed that the use of unattended broadcast messaging during late-stage collections is a symptom of dialer line constraints.

Discussions with LiveVox clients uncovered that agencies have adapted unattended “message blasting” strategies because they lack the dialing capacity needed for agents to contact growing account volumes comprised of increasingly difficult to reach consumers. This is consistent with previous findings from LiveVox showing 7 to 9 lines are needed to keep agents busy. Record low liquidation rates further compound the problem. Agencies have to maximize agent productivity to mitigate this.

“Unattended messaging fails to leverage the power of analytics and work-flow prioritization in outbound call strategies. It’s really the exact opposite of skills-based routing,” said Michael Chamberlain, President and Chief Executive Officer, Asset Management Outsourcing Inc., a Norcross, GA-based receivables management firm. “Agencies best positioned to weather the recession will be those that take full advantage of every precious contact. Cutting-edge technology like LiveVox can provide the flexibility and scalability needed to protect operating margins and improve client service.”

Because LiveVox provides unlimited capacity, unattended messaging has become an insufficient and unnecessary approach to the great majority of collection efforts. Unattended may have limited use for early stage, self cure accounts, but not for late stage collections where agencies need to find ways to always optimize agent productivity.

“The more I speak with agencies the more I realize that nearly every premised dialer process is shaped by constraints, not best practices,” said John McNamara, Chief Marketing Officer, LiveVox. “Why would an operator not want an agent to speak with a willing consumer? Unattended campaigns are a relic of the past when not enough lines meant high agent wait times.”

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Collection Agency Shifts to Site-Premised Dialer After Succeeding With IAT Hosted Predictive Dialing

2009-07-09T07:11:22-07:00

Salt Lake City — After consistently increasing revenue with IAT’s hosted predictive dialing, Medi-Comm Services of Lubbock, TX, has chosen to purchase IAT’s site-premised product, CT Center.

Medi-Comm Services, a full-service collection agency with eight agents, concentrates mainly on medical debt. The company started using hosted dialing technology in March 2008 to combat a revenue downturn that began in 2007.

“Since we implemented dialing technology, we’ve increased our business every month compared to before using it,” Kyle Touchstone, Medi-Comm Services President, said. “I don’t think it’s totally coincidental.”

IAT, a Utah-based company founded in 1986, specializes in dialing technology for the collection industry and provides both site-premised dialers and hosted solutions, with predictive dialing and IVR Messaging (broadcast messaging) capabilities. CT Center, IAT’s site-premised product, combines predictive dialing and IVR messaging on a single Windows®-based platform. Touchstone expects using both functions together will work nicely in his collection agency.

Initially, Medi-Comm Services used a hosted broadcast messaging service, but switched to IAT’s hosted predictive dialing a few months later. “I’m really impressed with IAT’s dialing technology knowledge and the product’s good quality,” said Touchstone.

With IAT hosted services, agencies are charged per month based on how much they use the service. Touchstone determined it would be most cost-effective to purchase a system, based on the number of accounts his agency contacts each month. And, he figures he can pay the system off in one year.

“Agencies who make a lot of contacts each month frequently benefit most from having a site-premised system,” Ray Fowler, IAT National Sales Manager, said. “IAT provides both site-premised products and hosted services, so we can give agencies the right solution for their needs. We’re excited for Medi-Comm Services to transition to using CT Center and enjoy the benefits of having the system in-house.”

About IAT
IAT provides predictive dialing and interactive communications contacting solutions for the collection industry and related markets. Their products are installed in hundreds of organizations throughout the U.S., Canada, and South Africa. Using their cutting-edge product offering, CT Center, their Predictive Dialer and Outbound/Inbound Interactive (IVR) Communications systems can operate simultaneously on a single Windows platform. In addition to site-premised systems, CT Impact, IAT’s Hosted Broadcast Messaging and Predictive Dialer service, increases debt recovery without an initial capital investment and no setup fees. By developing innovative and reliable products and services, and providing outstanding customer service and support, IAT helps customers become significantly more productive and profitable. Founded in 1986, IAT is a privately held company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. To learn more about IAT, CT Center, and CT Impact, visit www.iat-cti.com, send an email to info@iat-cti.com, or call 800-574-8801

About Medi-Comm Services
Medi-Comm Services is a full-service medical collection and billing service company located in Lubbock, Texas. Founded April 1990, the agency has eight collectors with a combined experience of more than 160 years. Medi-Comm Services focuses on helping medical practices in Texas and New Mexico recover bad debt. The agency is a member of both ACA International and ACA of Texas. For more information about Medi-Comm Services, contact 800.658.2688 or visit them online at www.medi-comm.com.