Our Head of Data Science, Richard Yeung, gave a talk at the Global Big Data conference. The talk focused on the first steps from heuristics to probabilistic model, when building a machine learning system based on expert knowledge. This feedback loop is what allowed our automated system to replace the old school call center-based model with a modernized, personalized approach.
You can find the slides here.
Recently TrueAccord has grown to the size where our compliance stance requires the addition of photo ID badges. It’s a rite of passage all small-but-growing companies endure and ours is no different.
Since I have previous experience setting up badge systems and dealing with the printers, I volunteered to kickoff this process. I’ve evaluated pre-existing badge creation software in the past and found them all significantly lacking. In a previous environment, I wrote my own badge creation software which fit the needs at the time. The key phrase being “at the time“. For tech startups, it’s not unusual to go from onboarding one person every other week, to 10 people a week in a year or two. That means every manual step for onboarding someone will go from an “oh well, it’s just once every other week” to “we need to dedicate several hours of someone’s time every week to this process.” Typically that same growth period also happens to be when your operations (IT, Facilities, and Office Admin) organizations are the most short staffed and the least likely to have the free time to do that. “Where is this going?” and “How much work does this mean for me?”, you ask? Allow me to share with you how I automated our badge system – Photoshop included.
The Startup culture has always been characterized by herd-style behavior. There is a tendency to focus on a bunch of areas that are “ripe for disruption”. After a promising / well-publicized startup draws attention to a area – be it ride-sharing, marketplace lending, payments processing, risk management, or one of many others – many more rush in, attempt to differentiate themselves and get a piece of the action.
Continue reading “It’s lonely in the Debt Collection Startups box…”
TrueAccord has been refining the debt dispute process since our inception in 2013. Offering digital disputes streamlines the conversation between consumers and collectors while also reducing compliance risk. Engagement of consumers in debt-related discussions have decreased complaints quickly leading conversations into debt resolution.
Consumers who owe debts are often confused, angry and scared – sometimes unaware of the full details of what they owe and to whom. Though the FDCPA was written to protect the average American consumer, aspects of it, including the mini Miranda and debt validation notice are written in formal legalese. As a result, consumers filing a formal debt dispute tend to skip over reading the information or misunderstand the language, leading them to miss remedies immediately available to them. For example, consumers often miss the allotted 30-day dispute window after the initial communication, during which time they can dispute the debt, while asking for additional verification.
In July of this year, I published a post about the importance of feedback – making it part of a team’s day-to-day way of functioning and investing in training on how to give, receive and take it beyond managers and direct reports. Three months later, I am reflecting on how TrueAccord is working to implement these principles.
In TrueAccord’s June/mid-year round of employee performance reviews, the leadership team debated about whether to spend time getting peer and upward feedback. We ended up doing it, though mostly over email (I find in-person conversations with the feedback-giver more effective – but it takes more time).
Continue reading “Active Feedback in Practice”
On September 9th the CFPB released consent orders for Encore Capital Group of San Diego, CA and Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRA) of Norfolk, VA following an investigation uncovering their attempts to collect debt that they knew or should have suspected were invalid. Hitting the US’s two largest debt buyers and collectors with a combined settlement of $72 million in refunds and penalties (as well as the inability to collect on an additional $128 million in debt) for using deceptive tactics, sends a clear message about best practices surrounding debt substantiation in the collections industry.
TrueAccord has been refining the debt dispute process since our inception in 2013. We’ve found that offering digital disputes streamlines the conversation between consumers and collectors while also reducing compliance risk. By encouraging consumers to stay engaged during the collections process, we’re creating an opportunity to discuss debt-related concerns. As a result, complaints decrease, leading conversations to move quickly into debt resolution.
The dispute process is as opaque to the collector as it is to the consumer. While respecting the 30-day window and not pressuring consumers to pay while the debt is in dispute, a collector is never quite sure whether a dispute is en route via the postal system. This leaves a long period – days and often weeks –in which the consumer knows that a dispute is “in the mail”– but the collector is still lawfully able to contact them. This creates an ambiguous situation that often leads to consumer complaints.
Originally answered on Quora: TrueAccord’s CEO, Ohad Samet, answers questions about debt collection. (Edited to expand on the answer, as well as to add notations and information.)
What should I do if a debt collection agency refuses to give any details (except the amount due) about an outstanding bill?
I visited a hospital in another state in 2014. By the time the hospital sent a bill to my temporary address, I had moved state. A few months later, a collection agency called me asking me to pay the dues. I called the hospital to verify the details given by this agency. It checked out, so I paid the hospital and got a zero due certificate from the hospital. One fine day, I find an entry in my credit report from another collection agency for the same hospital bill. (The due amount was different this time).
I called the collection agency and they said they don’t have any details regarding this bill except the amount and asked me to contact the hospital for more details.
I called the hospital, physician’s billing office and the insurance company for an explanation of benefits (EOB). The hospital and physician’s office confirms that there is no record of any dues against my name. This due amount does not show up anywhere in the Insurance’s EOB. Today, the collection agency has made another entry in my credit report for the same balance.
The agency continues to not give me any more information (in spite of multiple phone calls asking for more information) regarding the outstanding balance other than asking me to pay up. How should I solve this?
Continue reading “What if a debt collection agency refuses to give any details about an outstanding bill?”
Earlier this month, we launched the fourth redesign of the TrueAccord website. While brainstorming, the team agreed that the new design would address two primary goals: (1) align with the sales team’s pitch to potential clients and (2) continued iteration and refinement of the TrueAccord brand.