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Debt Collectors

The work

Debt collectors, also known as credit controllers or collection agents, are responsible for recovering bad debts or late payments.

Credit controllers usually work in the credit control department of a business, chasing late payments from the company's suppliers and customers. Debt collectors or collection agents usually work for third party collection agencies, and collect money from businesses (commercial collection) or individuals (consumer collection).

The work can involve:

• contacting people or businesses by phone, e-mail or letter to ask for payment
• negotiating repayment plans
• administrative tasks such as setting up and maintaining customer files and recording payments
• visiting debtors’ homes to collect payments (usually known as field collection)
• tracing missing debtors.

When other ways of collecting the debt have failed, debt collectors follow court orders and strict legal procedures to recover the debt. They may need to work closely with solicitors and bailiffs when dealing with insolvency cases or legal proceedings.

Entry

You do not need set qualifications for debt collection work. You should check with individual employers about the qualifications and experience needed for each job. Some employers may ask for some GCSEs (A-C)/S grades (1-3) or equivalent qualifications, preferably including maths. 

You may have an advantage with book-keeping or accounting technician qualifications. See the Accounts Clerk and Accounting Technician profiles for more details.

You will find it useful to have computer skills and experience of office and customer service work.

Training

You will usually be trained on the job. Your training may include in-house courses covering telephone techniques, credit law, litigation and insolvency.

You may also take qualifications from the Credit Services Association (CSA) or the Institute of Credit Management (ICM). Holding CSA or ICM qualifications may help you to progress into more responsible roles. Qualifications include:

• CSA City and Guilds Diploma in Debt Collection
• ICM Level 3 Certificate in Credit Management - an introductory course 
• ICM Level 5 Diploma in Credit Management - a more advanced course including legal proceedings and insolvency
• ICM Foundation Degree in Credit Management
• ICM BA (Hons) Degree in Credit Management.

Like everyone else though they are required to operate within The Law. They must not make threats against your person nor must they remove or threaten to remove your property unless they have a court order allowing them to remove that property.
Debt Collection Harassment |
Debt Collection Harassment. Creditors calling, creditors letters. What are your rights and how are you protected against debt collection harassment.
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My creditors keep calling at work and late in the evening - are they allowed to do this and how would you advise I deal with it?
There are several laws which cover harassment of debtors by creditors as well as recognised guidelines which set out what is considered unreasonable behaviour by creditors.
The Administration of Justice Act 1970 S.40 makes it a Criminal Offence for a creditor or a creditor's agent (often a debt collection agency) to make demands (for money), which are aimed at causing alarm, distress or humiliation, because of their frequency or publicity or manner. Equally, a creditor will be committing an offence if they falsely imply that non-payment of the debt will lead to criminal proceedings; or the creditor pretends to be someone they are not e.g. a court official or bailiff. It is also an offence to send a person a document which looks like it has been sent from a court.
If you feel you are subject to Debt Collection Harassment then this too could be classed as a criminal offence. Harassment can be verbal or in writing and would include making repeated calls to your workplace or in anti social hours. The Protection from Harassment Act 1997  makes it a Criminal Offence for any person to pursue a course of action which they know, or ought to know, amounts to harassment of another person.
The Office of Fair Trading has produced a set of Debt Collection and Debt Management Guidelines which sets out the types of debt collection practices which   The Office of Fair Trading  considers to be unfair. The guidelines do not apply to routine debt collection but are applicable to all accounts where payments have been missed, or are in arrears. The Guidelines include a section on 'contacting debtors at unreasonable times and intervals'. Whilst the guidance does not spell out the types/times of when contact should occur, it does provide a list of examples which it might consider unfair: repeatedly calling at unsociable hours, calling places of work, or calling on Neighbours and disclosing the reason they are making these enquiries.
If you think a creditor has broken the law or has breached these guidelines- you should first raise it with the creditor or collector concerned. To start this process you will need to gather evidence. The first step is to record the times and contents of visits and calls, and to save any threatening letters. You should then write a letter of complaint informing the creditor that you are aware of the Debt Collection Guidelines and believe they are in breach of these as well as possibly been in breach of section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act. Ask them to stop what they are doing. You must however, tell the creditor how you would prefer to be contacted. If the situation does not improve you can make a more formal complaint against a creditor.
If the creditor continues to harass then you can make a complaint to the local  Trading Standards Department or go to your local  Citizens Advice Bureau. If the problem does not get resolved you could send your complaint to the Office of Fair Trading who do not usually take up individual cases but their Debt Collection Enforcement Team collects information from various sources and can use it to remove the creditors Consumer Credit Licence.
If the behaviour of the creditor (or any bailiffs or credit collection companies acting on behalf of the creditor) becomes at all violent or extremely threatening the Police should be informed immediately.