Bill And Account Collectors

Bill and Account Collectors

Description

Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visit to solicit payment. Duties include receiving payment and posting amount to customer's account; preparing statements to credit department if customer fails to respond; initiating repossession proceedings or service disconnection; and keeping records of collection and status of accounts.

Tasks

Arrange for debt repayment or establish repayment schedules, based on customers' financial situations.
Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visits to solicit payment.
Advise customers of necessary actions and strategies for debt repayment.
Persuade customers to pay amounts due on credit accounts, damage claims, or nonpayable checks, or to return merchandise.
Confer with customers by telephone or in person to determine reasons for overdue payments and to review the terms of sales, service, or credit contracts.
Locate and monitor overdue accounts, using computers and a variety of automated systems.
Answer customer questions regarding problems with their accounts.
Record information about financial status of customers and status of collection efforts.
Trace delinquent customers to new addresses by inquiring at post offices, telephone companies, credit bureaus, or through the questioning of neighbors.
Sort and file correspondence, and perform miscellaneous clerical duties such as answering correspondence and writing reports.
Perform various administrative functions for assigned accounts, such as recording address changes and purging the records of deceased customers.
Receive payments and post amounts paid to customer accounts.
Contact insurance companies to check on status of claims payments and write appeal letters for denial on claims.
Notify credit departments, order merchandise repossession or service disconnection, and turn over account records to attorneys when customers fail to respond to collection attempts.
Negotiate credit extensions when necessary.

Knowledge

Customer and Personal Service: Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Clerical: Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Computers and Electronics: Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
English Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Mathematics: Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Law and Government: Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Skills

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Persuasion: Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities

Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Work Activities

Getting Information: Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Interacting With Computers: Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work: Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others: Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge: Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships: Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Communicating with Persons Outside Organization: Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Documenting/Recording Information: Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

Work Context

Telephone: How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
Contact With Others: How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled: How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?
Spend Time Sitting: How much does this job require sitting?
Frequency of Decision Making: How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?
Face-to-Face Discussions: How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
Letters and Memos: How often does the job require written letters and memos?
Importance of Repeating Same Tasks: How important is repeating the same physical activities (e.g., key entry) or mental activities (e.g., checking entries in a ledger) over and over, without stopping, to performing this job?
Work With Work Group or Team: How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?
Deal With Unpleasant or Angry People: How frequently does the worker have to deal with unpleasant, angry, or discourteous individuals as part of the job requirements?

Interests

Conventional: Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Enterprising: Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Social: Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Realistic: Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Investigative: Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Artistic: Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Work Style

Self Control: Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Stress Tolerance: Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Dependability: Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Integrity: Job requires being honest and ethical.
Attention to Detail: Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Achievement/Effort: Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Persistence: Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Independence: Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Cooperation: Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Initiative: Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

Work Values

Relationships: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Support: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Achievement: Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Working Conditions: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Independence: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Recognition: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.

Related Occupations

Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products

Insurance Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators

Licensing Examiners and Inspectors

Credit Checkers

Customer Service Representatives

Eligibility Interviewers, Government Programs

Order Clerks

Lay Titles

Account Receivable Associate

Account Resolution Analyst

Account Service Representative

Accounting Technician

Agent

Bad Credit Collector

Biller

Billing Clerk

Billing Manager

Billing Representative

Car Repossessor

Chaser

Claims Collector

Collection Agent

Collection Clerk

Collection Supervisor

Collections Agent

Collections Clerk

Collections Manager

Collections Representative

Collector

Credit Clerk

Credit Collections Manager

Credit Coordinator

Credit Specialist

Debt Collector

Delinquency Counselor

Dunner

Installment Agent

Installment Loan Collector

Insurance Billing Clerk

Insurance Collector

Medical Collector

Patient Access Specialist

Patient Account Representative

Patient Financial Service Representative

Payment Collector

Recovery Collector

Rent Collector

Repossessor

Self Pay Representative

National Wages and Employment Info

Median Wages (2008):: $15.61 hourly, $32,480 annual.

Employment (2008):: 385,890 employees