Takeaways from some of Monday’s education sessions, which offered solutions to legal risks, insights into how you can influence the CFPB’s debt collection rule and more.
7/16/2019 9:00
Attendees of ACA International’s 2019 Convention & Expo in San Diego packed the education sessions on Monday to learn more about trending industry topics and ways to improve their businesses.
Here are some tips and insights we gleaned that you can put into action today:
Make Sure Your Collectors Aren’t Trying to Predict the Future
In their session “Real World Strategies to Manage & Lessen Legal Risks in Collections,” Jessica Klander, attorney at Bassford Remele, and Ernest (Skip) Kohlmyer, partner at Shepard, Smith, Kohlmyer & Hand P.A., stressed that the intricacies of the health care market require collectors to have a sophisticated understanding of medical billing practices, insurance and more. But in situations when they genuinely don’t know the answer to a consumer’s question, collectors could put your agency at risk if they guess or speculate. Remind them that it’s better to say “I don’t know” or “Let me pass you to my supervisor; she will be able to answer that,” instead of giving a response they aren’t qualified to give.
Think About E-SIGN Before You Email or Text That Legally Required Written Disclosure
In a session that was livestreamed, Rozanne Andersen, vice president and chief compliance officer for Ontario Systems LLC, and David Kaminski, partner at Carlson & Messer LLP, unpacked everything debt collectors need to consider when building text, email and chat programs to communicate with consumers. One key takeaway: the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN) applies to legally required written disclosures, documents or notices you may want to email or text to a consumer, but it doesn’t apply to the more informal debt collection messages you may send.
Tell the CFPB What It May Have Missed
The inquisitive and engaged crowd in a standing-room-only panel addressing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposed rule for the debt collection industry had a lot of questions about how the rule would apply to very specific situations they see in their collection businesses. Panelist John McNamara, assistant director of consumer lending, reporting and collections markets for the CFPB, had one consistent response to these questions: put it in writing and send it to the CFPB. The comment period on the proposed rule will be open until Aug. 19, and he urged all accounts receivable management industry participants to hop over to the CFPB’s comment portal and describe not only what debt collection scenarios they believe the proposed rule doesn’t account for, but also how long they think it would take their company to implement the changes called for in the proposed rule—and at what cost. Here’s how you can submit your comments to the CFPB.
If you weren’t able to make it to San Diego for this info-packed event—or if you were there but missed a session because you couldn’t be in two places at once—don’t worry! Most sessions are being recorded. To purchase, you can order online at www.playbackaca.com.
Pictured: Nita Sinh, of ABC Telecommunications, and Andrew Madden, ACA’s vice president of government and state affairs.