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In Case of Emergency

Common collection challenges that arise from the emergency room.

The health care world has many moving parts. As a debt collector, it’s your job to be the health care expert—which means it’s often up to you to explain medical bills and insurance coverage to consumers, Collector magazine editor Anne Rosso May reports in the November issue.

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Capability Statement – Universal Collection Systems

Capability Statement

Universal Collection Systems, Inc. has been providing Debt Collection Services to clients since 1981. Our reputation for success is due to almost 35 years as a nationwide collection agency. UCS is a veteran-owned, Tennessee-based, small business, with 45 employees that specialize in managed debt collection services. Our Company services Distributors/Retail, State/Local Government, and Medical Collections. UCS is not a letter service, but utilizes live and virtual agents, sends letters, works nights and weekends and takes legal action when necessary.

  • Medical and Specialized Surgery Centers
  • Government Collections for Court Cost and Fines
  • Cable and Utility Collections
  • Early Out Collections Program
  • Legal Support from our attorneys to assist and file lawsuits when needed
  • Bankrupt Accounts and Claim are filed and monitored

Insurances

Coverage:

  • $250,000 Money & Securities
  • $100,000 Computer Fraud
  • $100,000 Funds Transfer Fraud
  • $2,000,000 Data Breach

Underlying Policies:

  • Automobile Liability
  • General Liability
  • Worker’s Compensation

What sets us apart:

  • Proven track record of above average collections for over 34 years.
  • Use of the American Collectors Association for constant training and education of the latest collection tools and ever changing laws and statutes.
  • Use of the latest software to assist our team in making contact with and recovering monies owed to our clients. We use skip tracing tools to locate those hard to find consumers and when needed we use the legal system.
  • Our service is unmatched by our competitors because UCS is not a Cookie cutter business, but instead, we ask what the client’s needs are, and modify the collection program to suit client needs. UCS has a “Whatever It Takes Attitude“.

Capability Statement PDF

Federal Court Dismisses Class Action FDCPA Claim for Lack of Standing

By Sebestyen v. Leikin, Ingber, & Winter, P.c. and Paul M. Ingber, No. 13-15182, 2018 WL 3036342 (E.D.Mich. June 19, 2018)

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan granted a collection law firm’s motion to dismiss a class action complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction in a case in which a consumer claimed that the collection law firm violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when it sent her a collection letter that included the following language:

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Connect The Dots

How to decipher what a consumer is actually trying to say.
By Anne Rosso May

People don’t always say what they mean. This is often not because they are trying to be tricky or malicious – it’s just part of human nature. We’ve all told little white lies to avoid an unpleasant situation or to spare someone’s feelings. In fact, a psychology study published last year found that compassionate people are actually more likely to tell white lies than others.

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ACA Advocacy Alert

ACA International Participates In Industry Roundtable with CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney

On Thursday, Feb. 15, Maria Wolvin, ACA International’s Vice President and Senior Counsel of Regulatory Affairs, participated in an invitation-only, multi-industry roundtable meeting with Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Mick Mulvaney, and other CFPB senior staff. Ms. Wolvin was joined by Jane Luxton, ACA’s counsel from Clark Hill. The meeting was part of three roundtables the Acting Director held to further his understanding of CFPB issues.

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What we do is Important to YOU and the Community!

Keep that revenue stream flowing in 2018!

Based on data from 2016, the report details the industry’s contribution to employment, asset recovery and other fiscal categories. Since 2013, the last year a similar survey was conducted, the amount of debt collected has increased by 42 percent, which translates to a return of $67.6 billion to creditors in 2016.

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Bankruptcy and Co-Signers

In a Chapter 13 reorganization:

  1. If the debtor has filed for Chapter 13 reorganization, the creditor or collector is prohibited from attempting to collect the debt from a co-signer.
  2. In Chapter 13, the debtor is trying to re-organize and pay a portion of his or her debt through a court-approved plan over a period of time, generally three years. The automatic stay in Chapter 13 bankruptcies protects both the debtor who has filed for bankruptcy, as well as any co-debtors on claims, as the stay protects an individual who is jointly liable for a “consumer debt” as defined by § 101(8) of the Code ─ “[a] debt incurred by an individual primarily for a personal, family, or household purpose[s].”

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Medicare Beneficiaries are Facing Higher Out-of-Pocket Costs

Medicare beneficiaries are facing higher out-of-pocket costs that amount to a “substantial” share of their income, according to an issue brief from The Commonwealth Fund, “Medicare Beneficiaries’ High Out-of-Pocket Costs: Cost Burdens by Income and Health Status. ”There are 56 million people, or 17 percent of the U.S. population, who rely on Medicare, according to the report. By 2024, one-fifth of the population will have Medicare coverage. The benefits exclude dental, vision, hearing and long-term services coverage, and there is no limit on out-of-pocket costs for thecovered services, it states.

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Credit Card Debt

Thirty-nine percent of adults surveyed report their household carries credit card debt from month to month, compared to 35 percent in 2016, according to the news release. Sixteen percent of adults said they carried over $2,500 or more in credit card debt each month, compared to 14 percent in 2016.

“Interest rate increases related to the recent Federal Reserve announcement will likely add to the cost of carrying credit card debt, which could increase financial pressures on families who are unable to find extra room in their budget to offset the impact of these changes,” the NCFF reports.

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