Any business owner or manager who has ever made a collections call has done first party collections, whether they realize it or not. First party collections means collecting on your own accounts, so any request for payment by phone, letter or in person qualifies as first party collections.

You\’re considered the \”first party\” because you were involved in the original transaction, while the debtor is known as the \”second party.\” A \”third party\” doesn\’t enter into it unless you hire a separate debt collection agency.

First party collections are most common early in the debt collection cycle. As soon as your regular accounts receivable staff become aware that a bill is past due, they can pass it on to first party collections without a time lag. First party collections people are often more cognizant of the need to attempt to keep on good terms with the debtor in order to get more potential business in the future.

First party collections attempts are often seen as friendlier or more understanding than activity from third party collections agencies. Your client may rely on your service or product for his business to run, and if so he will be just as amenable to staying on good terms as you are.

In addition, first party collections are not governed by the Fair Debt Collection act, believe it or not. This is because under the law the first party or its subsidiary is considered the lender rather than a collector and it means you can do some things that a third party debt collector can\’t by law. There are still state and federal laws that apply, though, so make sure you are familiar with all applicable regulations if you go this route.

The rule of thumb for first party collections no matter what the industry is to keep trying to collect for 2-3 months. When you reach that milestone and haven\’t yet collected, it\’s typically a good idea to engage an outside agency or sell the debt, which means someone pays you up front for the right to collect on the debts.

First party collections are best handled by people or a staff dedicated entirely to collections. Having other members of the staff like your sales force or accounting department is not a good idea. They won\’t have the skills, time or motivation to successfully pursue collections as well as collections professionals will.

Instead, if you\’re insistent on first party collections, hire someone whose sole job is to do that, or if you\’re large enough to support it, consider having a collections department or subsidiary. Dedicated collections professionals will know the best collection techniques, including how to find deadbeats, negotiating settlements or payment plans, and even disguising collections activity as audits. First party collections can be effective if you structure it the way a third party agency would.

David P. Montana has published extensively and served as a business consultant in debt recovery services for three decades. David gives more beneficial tips and information about outsource billing service solutions.

It’s difficult to watch ourselves age. It’s also difficult to watch our parents age. It’s even more difficult when it comes to figuring out how to help them when the time comes. This type of help can be anything from some financial assistance, a few trips to the doctor’s office, or helping them find a long term care facility they – or you – can afford. Perhaps you and your parents should have considered buying some long term care insurance years ago. But what is long term care insurance?

To be affordable, long term care insurance is best purchased as young as possible. Unfortunately, in order to find premiums that are very affordable, we are usually at an age where we feel invincible – old age is too far off to give it any serious consideration.

As we put off buying the insurance, the premiums increase and finally, for too many of us, we learn the hard way that we will be needing some type of long term care and we either find that we have huge deductibles because we’ll need to use our regular health insurance, or worse, we find out we have to pay for everything out of pocket.

However, dollar for dollar, long term care insurance is one of the most affordable insurances on the market in terms of what you get for your money. This type of insurance provides exactly what it promises – funds to pay for long term care – whether in a medical facility such as a nursing home, or even at home.

Policies differ, as with all sorts of insurance, and you can pick and choose options according to what you can afford or according to what you believe you might need. For instance, if Alzheimer’s runs in your family, you may want to get a plan that supports the in depth level of specialized care these patients need. If everyone in your family lives till 105 and drops dead on the golf course, you may decide to purchase a lesser type of coverage.

Depending on the insurance company will depend of course on your policy now, and what type of add ons and options you are able to buy at later dates. For instance, if your 62 year old husband is in a head on collision and you find that he will need extensive long term care, you may or may not be able to increase your policy to suit the current situation.

This type of policies can provide an incredible amount of financial help when the time comes. With long term facilities averaging over $500 a day, not many regular insurance plans will cover these for more than a few weeks – no matter what.

Before you go out and buy a policy go to Long Term Care Insurance, ask questions and request a long term care insurance quote. We represent 20 of the top LTCi providers. This gives you tremendous options.

If you’re in the business of of issuing credit cards, an amount of financial risk is assumed, in that some customers, if not careful, can take on large amounts of credit card balances. It is also to be expected that there will be instances when some of those customers will default on their credit card responsibilities. As a lending institution, you need in place systems to address and collect this debt owed to you. If not, then your business can suffer great financial losses. It is just that simple.

There will be times when the people you issue credit cards to will not pay back the debt that they owe. At this point, it becomes necessary to engage in credit card debt collection.

Granted, most people tend to be responsible, and they generally do not default on their credit card responsibilities. Often, there are extenuating circumstances, such as the loss of a job, medical expenses, or other unforeseen circumstances that lead to the problem.

However, the credit card issuer must engage in some form of debt collection regardless of the individuals circumstances. This is because the issuer will need the revenues to maintain the health of the business as well as the proper relationship with those that do pay their debts.

This latter point requires an additional point of clarification. When a credit card client does not pay their debts, the money must be generated from another source. In many cases, it leads to raising interest rates on other card holders. This can deliver a short term fix to the problem, but it can also lead to your good customers refinancing with other card issuers. That will have a negative effect on your business and this is why it is critical to take part in proper credit card debt collection procedures.

As the name suggests, credit card debt collection involves the proper collection of past due monies owed in an effective manner that follows the letter of the law. While debt collection can be difficult, if your institution follows a few commonly established tools for success, you can greatly improve your ability to collect the money owed to you. Here are 3 common tips to enhance your success:

1. The first step for engaging in proper collections is to send a letter to the delinquent account holder. The letter should explain the situation in a clear manner and state the exact amount that is overdue. The letter should request prompt payment while also informing the recipient that they may present any information that disputes the statements in the letter. Generally, such letters will provide a 30-day window for a response, as required by law, and since this will usually be an adequate duration for such a response.

2. If payment has not been offered after this period, you need to contact the customer by telephone within the 31-60 day time window. This call needs to ask for clarification why the debt hasn’t been paid. Then focus on, and offer a repayment plan. If success is still not effected during this period, the next 61-90 days should focus on sterner phone calls and letters letting the debtor know of the potential damage to their credit rating in the event of a default.

3. If this doesn’t solve the problem, the next important step is hiring an outside credit card debt collection agency. These agencies are very experienced at dealing with past due credit card accounts, and they can relieve your business of these responsibilities. This will allow you to focus your attention on your business’ core and revenue-generating functions. Credit card debt collection can be difficult. Some past due customers cannot pay for reasons already discussed; others simply won’t pay. However, if you take the proper steps to deal with this problem, you will find these better resolved in a more efficient manner.

It’s most important to note that time is crucial here. The sooner you can identify those difficult, problem accounts, and outsource them at a reduced cost and savings of time to those that are better experienced to handle them, the more money you will recover sooner, and the more time and money you will save. The longer a delinquent account goes, the chances of recovering any money is greatly reduced.

David P. Montana has been a recognized industry expert, commercial consultant and writer in business collection agencies services for thirty years. He offers more tips and resources on credit card debt collection.

Baby boomer health cost factors are coming more and more to the forefront of any discussion on controlling health care costs in this country. That is because this important age demographic (those people born between 1945 and 1964) is one of the largest blocks of people in this country. They are also entering their retirement years at ever increasing numbers, and will require health care more often.

Just as with everything else to do with boomers, the movement of their demographic affects our society as a whole. In other words; what the boomers want, the boomers get and this is no different for healthcare than it is for just about anything else. Consider that many boomers who were extremely active in their younger years are now experiencing certain orthopedic issues, for example.

What this means is that the physical toll that this focus on activities that were physical in nature is beginning to manifest itself in hip and knee replacements, which are becoming an increasingly large proportion of the medical procedures that are being performed on boomers as they age. A single knee replacement can cost a princely sum of money and imagine what a double knee replacement runs.

Also, baby boomers move in these demographics as a group, therefore it is the group as a whole that will affect how healthcare resources are allocated across an increasingly strained system that may be in need of serious reform very soon. Medicare, which is already basically bankrupt, will not be able to absorb the costs needed to look after the health of this huge demographic.

It also seems that the current reforms being proposed by government — depending on who you talk to — may not come close to solving this problem. In fact, one of the ways in which the government intends to fund healthcare for everybody is to reduce the money given to Medicare by $500 billion over several years. Anybody who thinks that boomers are all that eager to see that happen needs to think again.

It may be that some sort of rationing scheme will need to be implemented to ensure that everybody who is entitled to healthcare gets it, but that is only one portion of controlling the costs involved in delivering health care to boomers. The whole system needs to be looked at, starting with how we keep medical records and what is done with them when they are needed, for example.

At any rate, rising baby boomer health cost issues will not be going away anytime soon, for it is this age demographic which is continuing to flood the retired ranks and is placing an ever increasing burden on government health resources such as Medicare. It is not their fault that they are doing this, but the medical issues that the elderly bring to the table are certainly helping to contribute to costs.

For more information on how Long Term Care Insurance can help prepare us as we age. Also you can get a long term care insurance quote. We represent 20 of the top LTCi providers. This gives you tremendous options.

Your credit score is the single most important factor that decides your financial success. The process of re-establishing your credit rating after having suffered a job loss or some sort of family emergency may seem impossible, but the truth is starting from scratch is more simpler that you think. The hard part when it comes to starting over and raising your credit score is maintaining a consistent payment regimen with the credit bureaus.

Before you can start fixing your credit score, the first step is to get a copy of your credit report. Once you receive your report, make sure that you examine it from top to bottom for possible errors. Checking your report may reveal some accounts that have been paid off already, identity fraud, or even double listing of the same accounts. When dealing with erroneous charges on you report, it is more effective if you seek the advice of a credit attorney.

The second step to raising your credit score is adding some positive accounts to your report. Even if all your negative items are removed or expire from your credit report, you still need to have some positive accounts to produce a rating.

A secured mastercard or visa is one way to add a positive item on your credit report. A secured credit card works the same way as any other credit card except for the fact that your limit will equal the amount of a security deposit. In many instances some banks offer a 25% or $100 increase on top of your initial credit card limit. Secure credit cards also report to all three credit agencies without disclosing the fact that your card is secured.

The third step is a little trick which is only possible if you know someone close to you who is willing to add you on as a co-borrower. The issues with using this trick is that you must make sure that the person you ask is reliable. If your sponsor misses a payment or stops paying, your credit will also be affected.

The last step is discipline. Making timely payments consistently is very important to improving your score with the bureaus. The most important thing that creditors look at when considering credit is your current payment history. The current status of your payments reflects huge in the eyes of creditors.

The magic number for a complete redemption of a bad credit history is 2 years. Two years represents great discipline and a restored financial standing. If you continuously make on time payments for 24 months, the credit report agencies will reward you with an increase in points for every month of good payments.

In summary, to take control of your financial future, you must first take baby steps. These steps include getting a copy of your report, removing bad accounts, adding good credit history and paying your bills in a timely manner. You may also want to consider step #5; getting identity protection to protect your good credit score.

For additional information on how to order free credit report you can visit how to improve your credit score.