Debt collector vs bill collector

The differences between debt collectors and bill collectors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a debt collector and a bill collector. Additionally, a bill collector has an average salary of $35,585, which is higher than the $33,865 average annual salary of a debt collector.

The top three skills for a debt collector include customer service, outbound calls and payment arrangements. The most important skills for a bill collector are patients, customer service, and medicaid.

Debt collector vs bill collector overview

	Debt Collector	Bill Collector
Yearly salary	$33,865	$35,585
Hourly rate	$16.28	$17.11
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	23,385	23,746
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 34%	High School Diploma, 27%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	12	12

What does a debt collector do?

Debt collectors are also known as collection agencies and are responsible for recovering past due debts. Most of them are hired by companies to collect debt either for a fee or a percentage of the total amount recovered. Also, some debt collectors buy delinquent debts at a discount and seek to collect the debt's full amount. They have many strategies to collect debts, including calling debtor's phones, sending letters, and even visiting them at their home. However, if debtors fail to pay their due, debt collectors can either update the debtor's credit report or sue them over debt. Once sued and debtors ignore court hearings and lose by default, results could either be garnishment on debtor'debtors' wages or levies on their bank.

What does a bill collector do?

A bill collector is responsible for reaching out to the customers to collect overdue payments, negotiate repayment plans, and update account information upon settling of payments. Bill collectors monitor the contact details of the customer, utilizing locator tools and software as required by the organization, and review contract terms to decide on credit advice or escalate the issue to a higher tier. A bill collector must have excellent communication and customer service skills, especially in explaining the customer's case and perform debt collection duties efficiently.

Debt collector vs bill collector salary

Debt collectors and bill collectors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Debt Collector	Bill Collector
Average salary	$33,865	$35,585
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $43,000	Between $30,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Pittsfield, MA
Highest paying state	California	Virginia
Best paying company	Mayor Ethan Berkowitz	Retina Group Of Washington
Best paying industry	Construction	Finance

Differences between debt collector and bill collector education

There are a few differences between a debt collector and a bill collector in terms of educational background:

	Debt Collector	Bill Collector
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 34%	High School Diploma, 27%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Debt collector vs bill collector demographics

Here are the differences between debt collectors' and bill collectors' demographics:

	Debt Collector	Bill Collector
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 30.7% Female, 69.3%	Male, 20.0% Female, 80.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 3.4% White, 59.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 24.0% Asian, 3.5% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between debt collector and bill collector duties and responsibilities

Debt collector example responsibilities.

Prevent impeding loss and increasing profitability through negotiation and enforcement of schedule collection campaigns, consistently achieving high success standards.
Work with FHA, obama programs at the time.
Educate customers on ways to get medical assistance such as Medicaid, Medicare etc.
Prevent foreclosure by putting people on repayment plans, submitting requests for modifications, or deed in lieu.
File Medicaid, Medicare and commercial claims consisting of PPO discounts, nurse practitioner discounts, humanitarian discounts, etc.
Maintain security and confidentiality of company and client information, following FDCPA regulations.

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Bill collector example responsibilities.

Prevent impeding loss and increasing profitability through negotiation and enforcement of schedule collection campaigns, consistently achieving high success standards.
Follow HIPPA and FDCPA guidelines to ensure legal collection practices are utilized.
Bill and collect all skil Medicare, and other insurance claims which include HMO claims denials.
Provide patients with information and resources essential to their financial needs including payment arrangements and account reminders.
Take payments by ACH and debit cards.
Collect A/R payments from medical insurance companies and customers.

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Debt collector vs bill collector skills

Common debt collector skills

Customer Service, 9%
Outbound Calls, 9%
Payment Arrangements, 8%
Delinquent Accounts, 8%
Credit Card Payments, 6%
FDCPA, 5%

Common bill collector skills

Patients, 19%
Customer Service, 7%
Medicaid, 6%
Medical Billing, 4%
Patient Accounts, 4%
Appeals, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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