Our Four Phase Approach
Our four-phase debt collection process combines all of the best practices employed by commercial credit risk analysis companies, commercial collection agencies, debt collection law firms, and litigation law firms.
The four-phase approach integrates each department and allows for rapid escalation — when necessary — based on initial collection calls. This integration enables our partner law firm to view our collection attempts and avoid duplication of dispute resolution or stalling tactics. Additionally, the flexibility of our process and timeline ensure we are resolving accounts in the most effective way possible, based on the unique situation of every file.
This process results in an increase in bad debt recovery percentages and a reduction in back-end legal costs, both of which have a positive effect on your bottom line.
Phase One:
Credit Scoring & Risk Analysis
All cases placed for collection are downloaded into our ARM STONG™ mainframe system upon receipt. The files are then scored, and credit risk analysis is performed.
We obtain information about the consumer’s ability to pay, including payment history trends, state and federal tax lien information, pending lawsuits, unsatisfied judgments, creditors, collection agency action, consumer’s present and past information, trending information showing whether payment trends are increasing or decreasing, and current risk factor.
This information intelligence becomes a permanent part of the file and is available at any phase of the collection process, allowing our recovery agents to leverage this information and keep conversations centered on the consumer’s business and financial disposition.
Within 24 hours of assignment, the file will be acknowledged to our clients and a written demand for payment will be mailed.
Phase Two:
File Segmentation & Assignment
Using the credit score, credit risk analysis and balance size, files are segmented and prioritized by their predictive payment trend and balance size. Files with a high score, meaning low credit risk, are assigned to our specialized recovery agents for the initial phase of collections through Brown & Joseph.
Files with medium to low scores, meaning high credit risk, tend to delay recovery with unsubstantiated disputes. These cases will be escalated to our in-house collection attorney law office for pre-litigation collection calls, without increasing contingency fees or charging fixed attorney fees and court costs.
Phase Three:
Law Office Collections
Difficult cases are assigned to Brown & Joseph’s network debt collection law firm, which reduces litigation for our clients to less than half of 1% of all cases placed for collections.
Utilizing our litigation resources during the initial phases of the collection process increases bad debt recovery percentages, secures higher settlements, reduces litigation costs, and saves time resolving the more difficult assignments, which reduces or eliminates costly judgment enforcement and filters accounts that were non-responsive to initial collection efforts but are responsive to pending litigation for failure to comply.
As an extension of our client’s receivable management strategy, the records, notes, documentation are all transparent to our law offices resource. This eliminates any repetitive objections for nonpayment, reduces the resources needed from our client and streamlines the handling of an account at a reduced cost when compared to litigation.
Phase Four:
Litigation
As a member of the Commercial Collection Agency Association section of the Commercial Law League of America (CLLA), Brown & Joseph maintains a national network of experienced litigation law firms. When a debt is not paid, our internal collection law team will review and recommend suit, when needed, based on the factual commercial credit scores and the commercial credit risk analysis obtained in our initial phase.
The use of this credit and asset intelligence information and process greatly reduces the amount of non-profitable suits, judgments that cannot be enforced, litigation costs and costly judgment enforcements.
No-Commitment 2nd Placements
Our 2nd placement program is the perfect way to “test drive” our unique capabilities.
We will review and score all accounts returned by your first agency as uncollectible and report our findings to you at no cost, and without disrupting any ongoing or current vendor relationships.