ASK Dr. Debt...

Our national association, ACA International has a great site for consumers' questions. It's called "Ask Dr. Debt." There's a good section for your questions on Credit Reports and Scores. 

There is so much we all could learn from this sometimes confusing area of credit.

Give the site a try.

Patients slow to pay doctor in the year 1778

It seems that patients had difficulty paying the doctor at least as far back as 232 years ago.

Check out this recently found article from Kean University's Liberty Hall Magazine dated Fall 2007. (Kean U. is the administrator of Liberty Hall's (Historic Site) property and artifacts.

Dr. David Ramsey was a physician in Charleston, SC. He was a confidant of Liberty Hall's 18th century patriot-resident John Kean.

In the article (excerpt attached) it describes Dr. Ramsey's relationship with John Kean. Their letters to each other had many personal observations, including this one... (click to see clearly).

If you are a resident of New Jersey, or you are visiting New Jersey (Union, NJ specifically--near Newark) you are urged to visit this wonderful historic site. The house is beautiful and the grounds equally so. It's dripping with Revolutionary, American and New Jersey history. If you forget the website, just remember New Jersey's Kean University, I'm sure one could access it from there.

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At least "slow pay" doesn't mean "non-pay." BCA Financial Services, a NJ Collection Agency, would like to have helped Dr. Ramsey--but we've only been around since 1968.

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Happy Christmas!

Know your Collection Agency Rights...from a Collection Agency!

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Most of the time a person gets "abused" or upset over a collection agency's tactics, it's from a disreputable or very mismanaged collection agency. A legitimate agency will properly train their employees in all aspects of the Federal "FDCPA" or Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This act was passed by the US Congress in the late 1970's.

BCA Financial Services and their managing director was there when this act was passed and has watched it evolve (via court cases and FTC intrepretations) over the years.

Over 3000 collection agencies in the United States belong to ACA International. This very respected trade association maintains a website to help individuals know their rights. It's called "Ask Doctor Debt."

You can also find Ask Doctor Debt by going to a collection agency's wesbite. Go to BCA Financial Services Consumer Page. There you'll find the link.

Try it.

Merry Christmas.

Tantamount To Getting Invoices Paid...

...Surely is proper billing procedures.

If these aren't followed, there may be a confusion, or delay on the part of the customer (it doesn't take much!)



Mail invoices promptly: The sooner you get invoices out, the sooner payments will come in. Some small businesses send invoices out monthly. This is a mistake because it can delay some receivables by two or three weeks. Instead, try to send invoices within a day or two of delivery of your product or completion of a project.

Bill the right person: Sending a bill to the wrong person can push payment off as much as 30 or 60 days as it gets routed around a company. Talk directly with your client and ask who should receive your bill if the bill is going to someone other than your day-to-day contact, call and introduce yourself before you put the bill in the mail. If you’re sending a bill to your client’s bookkeeper or accounting department, copy your client as well and follow with a phone call.

Follow up: It is easy for a bookkeeper to ignore an invoice if there are no follow-up phone calls to check on its status. A quick check-in can confirm that your invoice was received and is being processed. If payment does not arrive by the due date, check in with the bookkeeper again to determine when the invoice will be paid and follow up weekly until you receive the money.














aca international - Member Since 1977

However, if you don't...there's always: BCA Financial Services - Since 1968.

What To Do If You Receive a Collection Notice.

Nearly everyone BCA Financial Services collects from intends to keep their payment promises when they purchase an item or service. Photo Courtesy Evermore Gallery of American Art

They sincerely wish to pay their bill, but for a variety of reasons they are unable to do so.

Working with a collection agency need not be an unpleasant experience. Assistance from collection specialists, plus determination and self-control has brought many people out of serious financial situations.

After being contacted by a collection agency, following these three suggestions may help you pay your debt.

Don't Get Angry

Your account came to a collection agency from someone who values your business. However, just as you depend on an income to pay for groceries, rent and other necessities, those who extend credit must have payment for their goods and services in order to pay their bills and remain in business.

Contact the Collection Agency

Now, your account is past due. It is time to find a solution. If you believe you do not owe this bill or have questions about this bill please let us know in writing. This will allow us to provide a response to the issues you raise.

By the bye, if your collection agency is not playing by the book (and from experience the vast majority are OK) and that book is the federal law "Fair Debt Collection Practices Act", they may be in violation of that law. After receiving your first notice from them, you have 30 days to ask them questions, like how did your creditor arrive at the balance. Or, may you have a copy of the bill showing dates, etc. But you should ask them in writing.

If you do owe the bill, let the agency know when payment can be expected, and if you are unable to pay it in full, tell them why. Whatever the reasons were for your past payment problems, to get this matter resolved you should contact them. Please read any notices or letters that they send to you carefully. They contain important information about your rights.

Let Them Help

While collecting past due accounts is their business, helping people solve their financial problems [should be] their commitment. People that staff collection agencies are experienced in credit and collections and are able to assist you if you let them. If your account is listed with a collection service that reports to a credit bureau, this could prevent you from obtaining credit when you need it in the future.

We hope the ideas mentioned here will help you, and that you’ll accept their (or OUR, see below) assistance in resolving a debt.

Remember, you can depend on our cooperation.

NOW, if you have a collection-related question from the debtor side, ask us. We'll keep it confidential but if you're uncomfortable, you do not even have to give your real name. Contact owner John Debold. He'll attempt to give you the most honest and sensible answer.

Holiday Season 2006 Collection Agency Message

BCA Financial Services Collection Agency Clients:

Start off 2007 on the right foot:

This past year at BCA we have seen literally hundreds of claims come in to our office with very little or no “back-up” information.

Remember the last time you obtained a loan at a bank? You sat there and filled out numerous boxes of information so detailed that they can tell you the maiden name of your mother. When you extend credit at your business, it’s not unlike a bank loan. While you may not need as much information as the above bank, you’ll need all the basics—plus: TRADE STYLE for business credit transactions and PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT for consumer transactions.

Protect your business – obtain information when giving credit.

Quiz of the Month

Who can tell the folks at the Debold Gallery what, or where this is? The answer will be posted on Thanksgiving Day 2006. Hint: It's in New Jersey. The winner will receive an e-mail of the beautiful fill-length picture of this art deco structure. E-mail John Debold at deboldjohn@bcafinancialservices.com

Now don't cheat by right-clicking and searching "properties" to see what Debold Gallery named the picture.

Weekend Feature: The Debold American Gallery

M.H. Roberts Obituary that appeared in the New York Times, September 21, 1957.
Please feel free to visit the Debold American Gallery. Your first stop should be the "Main Gallery." Here is a collection of some of the finest and rarest of american prints and frames. There's over 500 to view (and examine with Picasa's magnifying glass feature). You may find some of the special exhibits fun and historically informative as well. One stop you should make is the Thomas Flyer at the New York to Paris Race of 1908. Here you'll find photos of family ancestor Montague Roberts, who was the driver at the start (in Times Square, New York City). He had to leave at Wyoming however as he honored his commitment to drive in that season's French Grand Prix. I will add in the near future references to some further reading on the subject.

Below is Time magazine's Obituary on Monty. (They didn't get it quite right however, [see above re: Monty' s departure] but for that matter, neither did the New York Times-shown above.)

Time magazine Monday September 30, 1957:

Died. Montague H. Roberts, 74, mechanical engineer, pioneer automobile buff, who taught Franklin D. Roosevelt how to drive; in Newark, N.J. On Feb. 12, 1908, while thousands of waving spectators roared hoarsely, Roberts climbed into a Thomas Flyer, yanked down his goggles and dusted out of Times Square, pitted against five other massive autos in the first New York-to-Paris-via-the-West auto race. Surviving mud burials in Iowa, sandstorms in Montana, Roberts left his car mates in San Francisco, and they brought the battered Thomas—"the best car in the world in 1908"—into Paris on July 30, 26 days ahead of its nearest competitor (three of the six made the finish).
Here's what American Heritage magazine (November 1996 vol 47 issue 7) said, as was verified by two other book authors, regarding the location of his departure:

Montague Roberts had just been given the nickname Get Here Roberts when he withdrew from the Thomas team in Cheyenne to fulfill a previous obligation to drive in a trophy race back East. By then he’d driven the car for forty days, and he’d driven beautifully, knowing when to press the car forward to make time and when to take it easy to stay out of the ditches as much as possible. As he left, the Thomas had a commanding lead of a week over the Zust; his replacement was a young man named E. Linn Mathewson who was associated with the Thomas dealer in Wyoming.

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A beautifully written and detailed "must read" book on this subject is Julie M. Fenster's Race of the Century, published by Random House. I believe she was the author of the 1996 American Heritage article excerpted above.