Most collections firms double as collection agencies. Though the names are similar, the difference is huge. A collection agency simply employs a bank of people who call debtors and attempt to have them pay their debts. These calls are governed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which dictates how and when the calls may be placed, to whom, and what may be said during those calls. These rules are very strict, and are aggressively enforced. Even the smallest violation of the FDCPA can subject the contacting party and their client to harassment suits, which may lead to significant penalties, including court costs, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees.

At McClure Law, we streamline the process by dispensing with the “agency” portion entirely, moving directly to the legal process. The FDCPA requires us to send a demand letter to each debtor, explaining what they owe, and giving them 30 days to respond. After the expiration of this statutory period, if we have not heard from the debtor, we file suit. It has been our experience that this results in the recovery of more money, more efficiently for our clients, and with little to no risk of harassment claims by debtors. Another advantage we have found to our method is that, when the lawsuit does not follow weeks or months of telephone harassment, people tend to be less combative when they do call to settle their case or make payment arrangements. To put it plainly, we are able to make the court be the “bad guy”, and generally maintain a civil relationship with debtors.

In keeping with our overarching philosophy of providing great service to our clients, we provide our clients with their own portal, so that they may keep track of all their cases without having to call or email us, and so they may send new accounts to us and receive instant confirmation of receipt without having to send sensitive client documents through the mail.