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What do Bill and Account Collectors do?
Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visit to solicit payment. Duties include receiving payment and posting amount to customer's account; preparing statements to credit department if customer fails to respond; initiating repossession proceedings or service disconnection; and keeping records of collection and status of accounts.
What are the Main Tasks of Bill and Account Collectors?
- Arrange for debt repayment or establish repayment schedules, based on customers' financial situations.
- Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visits to solicit payment.
- Advise customers of necessary actions and strategies for debt repayment.
- Persuade customers to pay amounts due on credit accounts, damage claims, or nonpayable checks, or to return merchandise.
- Confer with customers by telephone or in person to determine reasons for overdue payments and to review the terms of sales, service, or credit contracts.
- Locate and monitor overdue accounts, using computers and a variety of automated systems.
- Answer customer questions regarding problems with their accounts.
- Record information about financial status of customers and status of collection efforts.
- Trace delinquent customers to new addresses by inquiring at post offices, telephone companies, credit bureaus, or through the questioning of neighbors.
- Sort and file correspondence, and perform miscellaneous clerical duties such as answering correspondence and writing reports.
- Perform various administrative functions for assigned accounts, such as recording address changes and purging the records of deceased customers.
- Receive payments and post amounts paid to customer accounts.
- Contact insurance companies to check on status of claims payments and write appeal letters for denial on claims.
- Notify credit departments, order merchandise repossession or service disconnection, and turn over account records to attorneys when customers fail to respond to collection attempts.
- Negotiate credit extensions when necessary.
