
The Economics of Foreign Call Centers:
Collecting Debts in the U.S. Market
I read an article written by Mark Magnier of the
LA Times titled, “As U.S. fortunes fade, Pakistani debt collectors dial
it up a notch.”
LA Times article
An interesting follow-up article would be the
economics of foreign debt collections. Some time ago, I was solicited by
an overseas call center. The primary selling point was that they could
put 4 to 5 collectors on the phone for $12 an hour.
Put another way, they are billing $2.35 –to- $3.00 an hour per
collector, and making a profit doing so.
U.S. based entry level collectors earn $8 to $15 an hour (some
with commission incentives, some without) + benefits, and high end
collectors can earn a base salary that is solid middle income or higher
+ benefits + commission incentives.
Foreign collectors produce much lower results than U.S. collectors, but
because of the reduced labor costs (salary, benefits etc.),
subcontracting to foreign call centers is often more profitable to the
U.S. based collection agency (not its clients). Many collection agencies
are willing to sacrifice results and U.S. based employment for a
potentially larger profit.
These same agencies do not typically extend cost savings to their
clients (as do manufacturers to their customers.)
In the collection field, if the agency is working for a creditor
(didn’t buy a receivables package), there is no benefit to the client.
In fact, going overseas costs the creditor in reduced results.
As it pertains to consumer collections (we do commercial), personal data
is outside of the U.S. security controls. We don’t know if the call
centers are able to protect the data.
Greed is an amazing drug. People will sell out
their country for a larger profit.
Bottom Line Collection Service Method:
Our objectives are less profit-driven and more
economic driven.
We created our company around the concept that in a recession, smart
management will recognize the value we offer, and will want to build a
relationship accordingly. Our service is designed to cut your
costs while also making a profit for us.
Keep your business in the U.S., work with us.
If you have questions, E-Mail us at:
scott@BottomLineCollections.com