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.
Debt collector responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real debt collector resumes:
- 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.
- Maximize filing and procedural efficiency by collaboratively implementing FDCPA regulations, filing system and procedures.
- Handle diverse responsibilities to include quality customer service, collections and Medicare and Medicaid billing.
- Provide administrative support by the filing electronic claims to Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers for emergency and non-emergency transports.
- Prevent impeding loss and increasing profitability through negotiation and enforcement of schedule collection campaigns, consistently achieving high success standards.
- Interact with various departments within the bank to assure proper ACH accounts.
- Prepare HUD acquisition, VA loans, financial and audit reports in compliance with company and governmental procedures.
- Coordinate cleaning & securing of properties, winterize, and place on grass cut to comply with HUD and PMI requirements.
- Experience modifying and servicing mortgages with MHA, HAMP, HAFA modification programs, and informal repayment plans.
- Secure modification documents including HAMP and bank require documents.
Debt collector skills and personality traits
We calculated that 9% of Debt Collectors are proficient in Customer Service, Outbound Calls, and Payment Arrangements. They’re also known for soft skills such as Listening skills, Negotiating skills, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of Debt Collectors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 9%
Exemplified the second-to-none customer service delivery for which Bank of America is nationally renowned in all interactions with customers.
- Outbound Calls, 9%
Unscripted inbound and outbound calls require significant adaptation as each customer situation is different.
- Payment Arrangements, 8%
Contacted customers to secure payments for various companies and hospitals, negotiated payment arrangements and processed payments.
- Delinquent Accounts, 8%
Paged delinquent accounts of impending disconnection of paging services to include negotiating payment arrangement or completing disconnection of past due accounts.
- Credit Card Payments, 6%
Obtained credit card payments by notifying customers of delinquent status and developing solutions to collect payments while documenting actions.
- FDCPA, 5%
Maximized filing and procedural efficiency by collaboratively implementing FDCPA regulations, filing system and procedures.
Common skills that a debt collector uses to do their job include "customer service," "outbound calls," and "payment arrangements." You can find details on the most important debt collector responsibilities below.
Listening skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a debt collector to have is listening skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "collectors must pay attention to what debtors say when trying to negotiate a repayment plan." Debt collectors often use listening skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "communicated with customers by telephone with information and suggestions for making payment arrangements on overdue automobile loans. "
Negotiating skills. Many debt collector duties rely on negotiating skills. "the main aspects of a collector’s job are reconciling the differences between two parties (the debtor and the creditor) and offering a solution that is acceptable to both parties.," so a debt collector will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways debt collector responsibilities rely on negotiating skills: "applied skill by negotiating payment arrangements debtors can afford by adhering to all federal guideline. "
Speaking skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of debt collectors is speaking skills. This skill is critical to many everyday debt collector duties, as "collectors must be able to speak to debtors to explain their options and ensure that they fully understand what is being said." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "addressed and resolved customer overdue accounts empathetically and professionally. "
The three companies that hire the most debt collectors are:
- TD Bank7 debt collectors jobs
- AppleOne Employment Services4 debt collectors jobs
- Community Health Systems3 debt collectors jobs
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Compare different debt collectors
Debt collector vs. Recovery specialist
A recovery specialist has various responsibilities depending on their line of work or industry. In a business setting, a recovery specialist is in-charge of devising plans and strategies to protect a company or brand's networks, systems, data, hardware, and software. They primarily function to prevent damages or losses by implementing precautionary and corrective measures. Furthermore, a recovery specialist needs to coordinate with co-workers and team members, report to a manager or supervisor, and adhere to its policies and standards.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a debt collector are more likely to require skills like "credit card payments," "debt collection," "patient accounts," and "telephone calls." On the other hand, a job as a recovery specialist requires skills like "mental health," "patients," "substance abuse," and "rehabilitation." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Recovery specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than debt collectors. In fact, recovery specialists are 4.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Debt collector vs. Loan representative
Account representatives are employees who manage client accounts and act as the main contact of the clients they are handling. They maintain existing accounts by updating client details regularly. They also check up on clients to see if they are still satisfied with the products or services of the company. They also create new accounts by welcoming new clients and assisting them in their needs. Account representatives manage client inquiries and process client requests. They also address complaints and ensure that any challenges are mitigated and that clients remain with the company.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that debt collector responsibilities requires skills like "credit card payments," "debt collection," "collection efforts," and "past due accounts." But a loan representative might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "consumer loans," "corporate financial statements," "financial services," and "mortgage loans."
On average, loan representatives earn a higher salary than debt collectors. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, loan representatives earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $37,813. Whereas debt collectors have higher pay in the construction industry, with an average salary of $34,803.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Loan representatives tend to reach similar levels of education than debt collectors. In fact, they're 1.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Debt collector vs. Recovery agent
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a debt collector is likely to be skilled in "customer service," "credit card payments," "hipaa," and "patient accounts," while a typical recovery agent is skilled in "tow truck," "financial institutions," "credit card," and "local law enforcement."
Recovery agents earn the highest salary when working in the energy industry, where they receive an average salary of $45,507. Comparatively, debt collectors have the highest earning potential in the construction industry, with an average salary of $34,803.recovery agents typically earn similar educational levels compared to debt collectors. Specifically, they're 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Debt collector vs. Account representative
Types of debt collector
Updated January 8, 2025
