The Debt Trader.com in conjunction with The American Collectors Association presents

"About the ACA"

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#	To	From	To#	Message
1	Audience	The Debt Trader		Welcome to today's chat. We will be starting very soon.
2	Audience	Andrea		Did I come here at the wrong time?
3	Audience			I think they are getting ready
4	Audience			Must be atmospheric problems
5	Audience			HOPE NOT
6	Audience	The Debt Trader		Our Speaker will be with us in moment.
7	Audience	Mike Walter		How is everyone doing today? I would like to welcome everyone to this chat session on the American Collectors Association, Inc. Hi, my name is Mike Walter and I am ACA’s Director of the Asset Buyers Program and ACA’s Government Services Program. I am here today to give you more information on ACA and to answer your questions about the leading credit and collections industry association.
8	Audience			Mr. Walter will be right with us. 1 minute please.
9	Audience	Mike Walter		Are any of you members of the American Collectors Association already?
10	Audience			Not I
11	Mike	Thomas	7	What and who is the ACA?
12	Audience	Mike Walter	10	Are you familiar with our organization?
13	Audience			How many members do you have?
14	Audience			Not very familiar
15	Audience	Mike Walter	11	The American Collectors Association, Inc. represents a growing and diverse industry of collection and accounts receivable management professionals. As the business and regulatory environments become increasingly complex, we provide a voice for critical issues and a pathway for transition--and assurance to our members that change creates new opportunities. We are headquarted in Minneapolis and have been around since 1939.
16	Audience	Jeff		Are you a lobbying body?
17	Mike	Frank	11	What are some of the unique things done by the ACA that they can put their name on? (i.e. legislation, educational courses, etc.)
18	Audience	Mike Walter	13	About 5,000 members worldwide. Ranging from over 3,500 collection agency members. Over 1,000 members as part of our creditor division. And over 500 attorney members and 100 affiliate members.
19	Audience	Mike Walter	16	We have a lobbyist in Washington, plus our members are activitely involved in contacting their legislators and ACA coordinates those efforts.
20	Mike	Jeff		Is there any current federal legislation in process?
21	Audience	Mike Walter	17	We have many educational seminars taught around the country. Topics range from effective telephone collections to skiptracing to FDCPA to FCRA issues
22	Audience	Steve		Mike, how will the raise in intrest rates effect the purchase price of debt?
23	Audience	Mike Walter	20	We are currently lobbying for amendments to the FDCPA to limit frivilous lawsuits. We also are playing a role in reviewing the Gramm Leach Bliley Act and how it will affect debt buyers
24	Mike Walter	Andra		I'm a member of the Debt Buyers Association is there be any benefit for me joining ACA?
25	Mike Walter	Miguel		I am new to the business here in Puerto Rico and want to know if ACA has a chapter here?
26	Audience	Mike Walter	24	ACA not only tackles the needs of its members that purchase debt but looks at the collection industry as a whole. Since we have creditors and collection attorneys as members we have a very broad view of the industry.
27	Audience	Steve	25	ACA has a very informative web page at www.collector.com. check it out
28	Audience	Mike Walter	24	What are you looking for in an association? One thing that I forgot to mention is that our members have access to affordable insurance.
29	Audience	Mike Walter	25	Miguel, please contact our Membership Department to inquire about that. I know we have members from Puerto Rico. Our phone number is 952-926-6547 and ask for membership.
30	Audience	Mike Walter	22	That's a good question, we will watch this closely.
31	Audience	Steve		Mike please share with us your position on purchasing receivables VS contingency collections?
32	Mike Walter	Andra		Let me rephrase that...Does the ACA cover the same aspects of the industry as The Debt Buyers Association.
33	Audience	Mike Walter		How many of you are located in the San Diego area? Currently we are holding our national Convention at the San Diego Hyatt. Programing begins tomorrow. There will be a debt buying session on Friday. David Rosenberg from Unifund and Walt Collins from Collins Financial will be presenting for us.
34	Audience	Mike Walter	32	I believe we cover many of the same aspects. However the DBA, as I understand it, is more focused on the debt purchasing industry than ACA is. Our Asset Buyers Program is a subset of the ACA membership and tries to tie in ACA membership with the debt buying industry
35	Mike Walter	Tom		Does ACA enter into the commercial side of the business? Does its paid employees have jobs competitive with its members?
36	Audience	Mike Walter	31	Each has it benefits and drawbacks when compared to each other. When you purchase the debt there is more risk involved because you now own the debt. But this can also lead to rewards. Some of the best advise that I have heard is to continue specializing in what you collect now. For example, if you collect auto loan collection, I would wait until you can purchase auto loans, because you know how quickly you can liquidate the accounts.
37	Audience	Mike Walter	35	ACA is strickly a trade organization. We do not purchase or do any collections. We provide educational resources, legislative support and insurance coverage to our members
38	Mike Walter	Tom		What are some of the ways the ACA is working to curtail the fraud in the industry?
39	Mike Walter	Tom	38	I should add..."with out government intervention or involvement."
40	Audience	Mike Walter	38	We have a strong code of ethics which our members must adhere to. ACA has a grievance system in which we process compliants from consumers, clients and other members of the industry. We have a review committee that can and does revoke membership if violation to either the code of ethics or violation of laws are found. We also have many certification programs which try to raise the level of professionalism based on strong education. In addition we have a compliance department which aides our members in understanding and complying with federal and state laws.
41	Mike Walter	Tom	37	Do any ACA paid employees have jobs competitive with its members?
42	Audience	Mike Walter		Have any of you read Collector magazine? If you would receive a copy please send me an e-mail after the chat is over at walter@collector.com and we will get one out to you.
43	Tom	Donna	38	RE your fraud question - are you referring to consumer fraud ?
44	Mike Walter	Andra		I just tried to find the convention schedule on our website but was unable to locate it. It was a bit confusing. Could you provide the address?
45	Mike Walter	Andra	44	Sorry about the typo, it should have been your website not our website.
46	Audience	Mike Walter	44	Andra, please go to the education page on our website. If that doesn't work, please e-mail me and I will gladly fax you a copy
47	Mike Walter	Miguel	42	Thanks for the magazine offer.
48	Audience	Ryan Pfenninger		I'm sorry I'm late for the chat. If you haven't already, could you please explain who is eligible for ACA membership?
49	Audience		37	No our paid employees are not competing with our members. We are here to help them. We have volunteer leaders from collections agencies and our board is made up of members.
50	Audience	Mike Walter	48	We have many membership catagories...from collection agency members to affiliates members to attorneys to creditors. Just about everyone involved in the industry is eligible for membership. Please contact our membership department at 952-926-6547 to see where your fit is.
51	Mike Walter	Paul		If any of you are coming to the San Diego Convention, don't forget your shorts, golf clubs, surf boards or just bring money and you can have it all!! The weather is great!!!
52	Mike Walter	Dan		Will you be at the convention?
53	Audience	Mike Walter		Are there any other questions? If I don't get to something today, I would be more than happy to answer it in the future. My direct phone line is 952-928-8000x 142. You can also ask questions via e-mail at walter@collector.com. I would also encourage you to check out our website at www.collector.com.
54	Audience	Mike Walter	52	No, I will not be attending this year. But we have many great staff members already out in sunny San Diego.
55	Audience	The Debt Trader		Well it looks like that about wraps its up for this session. We would like to thank Mike Walter with the ACA for taking the time out of his busy schedule to be with us today. We would also like to thank all of you members for your time and participation. If you have any questions for Mike Walter or of the ACA you may click through to the ACA site via the banner above. Thanks again for attending The Debt Forum!!!
56	Mike	Jeff		Thanks
57	Audience	Mike Walter		I would like to thank everyone for participating today. As I mentioned before, please feel free to contact us at ACA if you have any questions on the association.
58	Mike Walter	Tom		Thanks Mike, that pretty informative.