collection letter printing

ARM Debt Collection Letter Compliance: Why Every Detail Matters

The practice of sending out your debt collection letter is standard in the accounts receivable management (ARM) industry. It’s a central channel for communication and collection letter printing can help balance your efforts of maintaining customer goodwill, ensuring compliance, and collecting past due money. You most likely outsource the process of statement printing and mailing, but is your mission-critical communications provider doing all they can to protect you from noncompliance? How do they respond when regulatory changes occur, and you submit new content?

ARM Organizations Prioritize Collection Letter Printing Compliance with the FDCPA

As you know, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is the legislative body that dictates the mandates of debt collection communication via the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). When you develop the content for your debt collection letter printing, you ensure that it meets the required guidelines. With new CFBP debt collection communication rules proposed, you may already be considering the workflows of developing new templates and sending them to your vendor.

The new proposed rules are expected to be finalized this year and should:

  • Provide the ARM industry with ground rules for communicating with consumers in digital channels and how required disclosures will be handled within a collection letter.
  • Clarify consumer protection requirements for disclosures, such as providing itemization of debts in plain language for consumers.
  • Establish clear, bright-line rules regarding call attempts and phone conversations.
  • Ban the threat of lawsuits and reporting to consumer reporting agencies (CRA) regarding time-barred debts. Should a debt collector report to the CRA, communication to the consumer would be required prior to doing so.

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As soon as these rules become official, you’ll have to respond quickly, which will require the help of your vendor. You need to know they can implement your new templates and assist you in remaining compliant with new rules, no matter the form of communication. How confident are you that they have your back and will keep you protected?

Does Your Collection Letter Printing Provider Give You Compliance Peace of Mind?

Beyond ensuring your statement printing templates are updated on-demand, there are multiple other considerations when it comes to debt collection letter compliance. These requirements must be met by your vendor so that you’re aren’t exposed to litigation or fines.

Mis-Mailings

Sending the wrong letter to the wrong person is more than a mistake; it could land you in court and lead you to lose customers. Most providers highly taut 99.6% accuracy, which sounds near perfect, except it’s not. It equates to 36,000 errors out of every one million records. That’s a long way from being perfect, and something you must consider when choosing a collection letter printing provider. Do you want to be part of that .04%?

Security and Privacy of Information

Consumer privacy regulations require sensitive data be secure at all times—during transfer to your vendor and while with your vendor. How do you know that your print and mail vendor is taking every precaution?

You can start by asking these questions:

  • How is access controlled to the facility?
  • How is data transferred, and what type of security is in place?
  • How is your data protected while at you vendor’s facility?
  • Is the organization fully compliant with standards like FISMA, HIPAA, HITRUST, and SOCI & II?

Tracking of Communications

Does your vendor provide a tracking platform that allows you to monitor statement printing of debt collection letters? If not, you won’t be able to track every step, from the time you upload the data until it hits the consumer’s mailbox. Why does this matter?

Timeliness is of the essence in debt communication. Without having access to tracking information, it’s hard to defend yourself against claims of noncompliance. Take the story of Stoneleigh Recovery Associates. The company was hit with a lawsuit alleging they did not mail a communication within the required timeframe. Because they had access to trackPCI, a turnkey mail tracking tool, they were able to quickly run a report that provided the mail and delivery dates, proving their case.

General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer Kelly Knepper-Stephens said of the experience, “Without the report I received from PCI Group, I probably would not have been able to conclusively prove that we followed the law and avoid a costly lawsuit.”

That’s the kind of compliance peace of mind every organization deserves to have.

Compliance Is Never a Question with PCI Group

To ensure you never falter on statement printing compliance, trust the experts at PCI. We’ve spent decades developing proven processes and workflows, merging technology with expertise, serving over 100 clients in the ARM industry. With us on your side, you’ll enjoy:

  • 9999% accuracy, ensuring near perfection in delivery so you can avoid disruptions caused by consumer complaints and lawsuits.
  • 100% secure and compliant facilities (SOCI & II, PCI-DSS, FISMA, HIPAA, and HITRUST)
  • Encryption of collection letters throughout the production process
  • Unmatched commitment to compliance with a full-time Security and Compliance Officer
  • New letter templates and modifications to your made within days
  • Tracking of every letter from submission to us to landing in your customer’s mailbox

Don’t lose any more sleep wondering if your statement printing provider is upholding their end of compliance adherence. Learn more about how we help the ARM industry today.