Bill / Account Collectors

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.

O*NET reports this occupation under titles such as: Account Representative; Accounts Receivable Specialist (AR Specialist); Collection Agent; Collection Specialist; Collector; Debt Collector; Patient Access Specialist; Patient Account Representative; Telephone Collector

Tasks

• Record information about financial status of customers and status of collection efforts.
• Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visits to solicit payment.
• Locate and monitor overdue accounts, using computers and a variety of automated systems.
• Arrange for debt repayment or establish repayment schedules, based on customers' financial situations.
• Advise customers of necessary actions and strategies for debt repayment.
• Answer customer questions regarding problems with their accounts.
• 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.
• Receive payments and post amounts paid to customer accounts.
• Trace delinquent customers to new addresses by inquiring at post offices, telephone companies, credit bureaus, or through the questioning of neighbors.
• Notify credit departments, order merchandise repossession or service disconnection, and turn over account records to attorneys when customers fail to respond to collection attempts.
• 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.

Knowledge

• English Language
• Customer and Personal Service
• Economics and Accounting
• Mathematics
• Law and Government
• Administration and Management
• Administrative
• Computers and Electronics

Skills

• Active Listening
• Speaking
• Writing
• Reading Comprehension
• Critical Thinking
• Monitoring

Abilities

• Oral Comprehension
• Oral Expression
• Written Comprehension
• Speech Recognition
• Speech Clarity
• Written Expression
• Near Vision
• Problem Sensitivity
• Category Flexibility
• Selective Attention