Drum Roll Please...

Finally! Our new website is up and running. We are very excited to share with our clients and consumers our new and very functional website. 

Our office is proud to present Cascade Credit's new website: www.cccibend.com

 

 

Our goal was to create an informative and interactive website that both clients and consumers alike could access. Clients can login to check the status of their accounts with Client Access Web; and consumers can now login to see what accounts are owing through our newest collection tool, Pay Stream.

Pay Stream is our latest addition to the many products and services we already offer our clients. Now with Pay Stream, consumers can securely login anytime, anywhere to view and pay their accounts. Even when our office is closed, we are still collecting on our client's accounts!

All information available online through our website is secure and all users are required to validate authorization before given access to the data. All functionality, whether on the client or consumer side,  is delivered through Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) using 128-bit encryption. All data, received, viewed or transferred is secure.

Please visit our website and let us know what you think!

 

How To Get Payment In Full

Often our clients will ask us how we are able collect on the accounts they assign to our office. They wonder, when a patient or consumer pays their balance in full with our office, "What did they do differently?" Or "Why didn't the customer pay our office?"

 

It can be frustrating to work with a consumer or patient for several months; just for them to blow you off in the end. Here are some of our tips for asking and collecting payment in full.

1. Review the account. Read all the notes including insurance information. Make sure insurance was billed properly. Often times a service incurred at one facility involves multiple medical providers who bill separately. If you do not have insurance information available, and unable to get information from the patient, try contacting the other providers involved. Did they receive the insurance information? Also check online data bases to see if the patient has state insurance.
2. Check for property. This is a very fast and easy step. Most assessor offices have information available online. Search for the county assessor's website online and determine whether or not the customer owns property. Property can be an indicator of the ability to pay in full.
3. Contact the customer as soon as possible by telephone. Don't assume the monthly statement you are sending out is being read or even opened. We often hear people say "I never received a notice." By telephoning the customer directly we can avoid the "I didn't know" scenario.
4. Expect payment in full. Often times we unintentionally give customers a way out of paying their balance in full or within a timely manner. We simply ask the wrong questions. Always assume the patient or customer wants and can pay their balance in full and ask questions that get "yes" answers.
5. Ask customers to use a credit card. Immediately after you identify yourself and the debt owed to the customer ask the customer if they would like to put his or her balance on a credit card. Explain that putting the balance in full on their credit card will save them time and hassle in the end. If insurance is pending, reassure the patient that once insurance pays, they will receive a refund.
6. Suggest refinancing their property. If you locate property suggest that the customer refinance in order to pay off outstanding debt and most times reduce their monthly mortgage payment at the same time. Let them know that when they refinance and consolidate their debt, they will actually be paying out less money each month and saving money to pay additional or unexpected expenses.
7. Advise of credit reporting. When customers pay their balances in full they are protecting their credit. Explain that in the event their account is sent to collections their credit report could reflect a negative reporting of the debt you are calling about. This negative report could prevent them from purchasing items on credit or result in them having to pay a higher interest rate.
8. Family and Friends. If the customer cannot pay in full on their own or with a credit card suggest they talk to family or friends for help. Most people have someone they can turn to when they need to borrow money.
9. Ask about liquidating small assets. One very good resource for quick cash is a garage or yard sale. Everybody laughs at this suggestion, however we've seen many people pay their accounts in full using this easy and effective method. Everybody has old stuff they don't need or use anymore and consumers may not realize that they can sell their old stuff to get money. A yard sale can easily generate $200 to $1,000 in only one weekend making it a worthwhile venture. Consumers can also utilize pawn shops to sell old guns, tools, musical instruments and DVDs.
10. Suggest they borrow the money from a bank or other lending institution. Refer patients with a good income and assets to their bank for a debt consolidation loan. Consumers often don't realize what they are asking when they ask to make payments. They are asking you, the creditor, to act as a bank lending them credit. Unless you are going to charge interest, we wouldn't recommend this. It is far better for the consumer to borrow the money and protect their credit.
11. Find out if the consumer is making a car payment. If the consumer only owes a couple of hundred dollars, deferring their car payment is an easy way for consumers to find some extra money to payoff a debt. Many loan companies allow the customer to defer ONE car payment a year without it affecting their credit rating. The customer should contact their loan company first and ask about deferring the current payment due to the end of their loan. This allows customers to "skip" a car payment and free up money to pay off their account. Not all companies allow this so it's important that the customer discuss with the loan company first.
12. Offer to adjust the balance. Sometimes all it takes is a little cooperation to get the consumer to pay their balance. If the consumer seems upset and angry, writing off part of the balance can help resolve the dispute in a quick and efficient way. If you have the ability, offer a 5%, 10% or even 15% write off if the customer pays their balance in full. If you add interest or late fees, offer to write those off.
13. Get rid of objections. Many times customers won't pay because they believe a third party, such as insurance, is obligated to pay. Educate the consumer and let them know what has already been done and what can be done now. Making things easier for the patient or consumer will result in faster payment from them or their insurance company.
14. Hang tough! No matter how hard we try, or how many concessions we make, we cannot please all consumers or resolve all disputes. However, when we've provided all the information and done all we can to assist the customer, sometimes the best course of action is to simply hang tough. This means not giving in too soon. It's okay if you are not able to make an arrangement on the first telephone call. Gather as much information you can, advise the customer of the debt and then end the conversation. Let the customer think about it and follow up in a couple of days. You may be surprised at how many people call you back with payment in full.

 

The Value of Past Due Accounts

Did you know time is the safest refuge for any debtor?

 

 

 

The more time that is allowed to pass without payment being made the less likely the consumer will actually pay their account in full. Time is of the essence with past due receivables and the longer a creditor waits for payment, the more difficult the account can be to collect when finally assigned to collections. Don’t wait to assign your accounts to an outside collection agency. If effective collection efforts are not applied shortly after 90 days past due accounts rapidly become noncollectable. As illustrated in the graph below, after 90 days the value of the account drops drastically and unpaid balances should be referred to collections for immediate action.

 

Why does the value go down? Consumers have many reasons why they cannot pay their bills. Some of the main reasons accounts lose value include some of these factors:

ü  Loss of Income

ü  Marital Problems or Loss of Spouse

ü  Chronic Illness

ü  Lack of Health Insurance

ü  Relocates to another State

ü  Other Creditors moving more quickly

ü  Accident (disabled, litigation)

 

The sooner our agency can get started on collecting an account the sooner the account will be paid in full. The time it takes to collect an account balance is directly linked to the age of the account at the time of assignment. Don't wait too long - assign your unpaid accounts to collections today!

Quick Tips for Better Communication

Today it seems like every call is either a stall or a complaint. At Cascade Credit Consulting we are constantly working to sharpen our communication skills when dealing with these type of calls.

When dealing with consumers who have disputes or complaints, billers and collectors should always remember the following:

• Don't be afraid to engage with the upset consumers - they can be turned around.
• Don't judge consumers too quickly.
• Stay calm. If consumers raise their voice, lower yours. Don't add fuel to the fire.
• Listen to consumers and let them vent.
• Use empathetic phrases such as, "I understand," "I'm sorry," and "I'm here to help."
• Don't rush the conversation. Take time to build rapport with consumers and ask questions.
• Take personal responsibility for any problems. Admit any mistakes, be humble and offer to make it right.
• Never say "no" or "I can't." Instead, tell consumers what you can do.
• Find a way to compliment consumers.
• Don't overwhelm consumers with too many facts or figures.
• Always follow through with complaints in a timely fashion and keep promises made.

Lemons into Lemonade -

Complaints and angry calls can be hard to take, but sometimes they can have positive results. By developing a comprehensive complaint and dispute resolution process, companies can turn disgruntled consumers into loyal clients, identify any compliance weaknesses and diffuse problems before they escalate.

Training and Seminars

Did you know that Cascade Credit Consulting offers  training and seminars for their client's employees?

Our agency offers an array of training material to our clients so they can learn some of our highly effective skills and expertise and then apply those same skills to their own accounts receivables. We want to help our clients reduce their past due accounts receivables. In addition to training material, we offer specialized seminars for our clients.

 

 

~ How to Ask Patients For Money

 

~ Steps to Effective Collection Calls

 

~ How to Take Control of the Call (and get payment in full!)

 

 

Call us today at (541) 330-1574 to find out how to schedule a seminar for your business or medical practice. In the near future we will have training material available for our clients to download on our website. Stay tuned!

 

 

New Website Coming Soon!

We are creating a new and improved website!

Currently we are putting the finishing touches to our new website. Our new website will feature a welcome page and ask clients and consumers "How Can We Help?" For clients this means easy access to the accounts they assign; for potential new clients the website will provide an introduction to our outstanding service and for consumers it means they will be able to login into our secure network to view accounts assigned to our office, make a payment plan, send us a message, dispute an account or make a one time payment online.

All of the funtionality of our website is delivered through Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), using 128-bit encryption. All data, viewed or transferred, is secure.

Welcome to Cascade Credit Consulting's new blog!

We are super excited to get started! Here we will discuss a variety of topics covering the ever changing collections industry and information to help assist our clients maintain control of their accounts receivables. We will include information on new laws, collection techniques, news and information pertaining to accounts receivables and collections. Thank you for visiting our blog.