No one likes collections calls. Whether you’re the one receiving the phone calls or making them. Collection agencies have been given a bad rap for harassing people in an already stressful time.

Reps are famous for giving a customer incorrect information about the amount they owe, calling at all hours of the night or day, and pre-emptively threatening legal action. There is no law governing the number of calls one can make, however harassing over phones is not allowed.

Perhaps there is an assumption that you have to be mean in order to get the customer to pay back what they owe. This is because of the notion that people take a loan to fund their education, buy their dream house or a car like the 2016 Chevy Equinox – and then just don’t want to pay while having the money.

While this may be true of some people, that’s not true for everyone. It’s important for customer service representatives of collection agencies to be polite and professional. If you’re such a rep, what if it was you on the receiving end of your call? How would you like to be talked to?

Collections customer service is about relationships

In many countries, states and/or provinces, there are laws governing such behavior of collection calls. But good business ethics should be applied here. According to YB Collective, "Customer service is about building relationships."

Not with the banks and loan companies on behalf of whom you’re calling, but about the human beings on the other end of the line. Your relationship with that caller will definitely affect the future relationships and impression of that caller about the bank or loan company you’re working for.

While you may not represent the company or bank directly, in the customer’s mind you are and they will forever think badly about their experience with you and with that bank or company.

Long-lasting impact of collections customer service

Your behavior will influence whether or not they actually do pay the debt or, at the very least, make an effort to. Their relationship with you can have a profound and long-lasting effect on their credit report and credit score.

Regardless of the reason for your call or the attitude you may receive from the recipient of your call, respect still needs to be maintained. Below are 8 customer service guidelines for collections agents.

1. Don’t call before 8am or after 9pm in the customer’s time zone unless they’ve requested that you call them at a different time.
2. If a customer requests that you not call them at work (unless it’s a business-to-business relationship), then you must respect that.
3. You may contact a customer via phone, letter, email or text, but you must identify yourself as a debt collector. In many countries it is against the law to impersonate someone else to collect money from a debtee.
4. Avoid calling numerous times in one day. Calling five or six times within a 24-hour period, for example, is considered harassment and is illegal in most countries, states and/or provinces. If you have to leave a message, call back after a couple of days.
5. Remember, you may not...

• Threaten or use profanity during a collection call.
• Imply that failure to pay a debt is a crime.
• Threaten violence or harm.
• Publish the names of people who have refused to pay their debts outside of providing that information to credit reporting agencies.
• Claim that you are an attorney, government representative, or work for a credit reporting company.
• Tell a customer they owe more than they actually do.
• Tell a customer that you’re sending them legal forms if there actually aren’t legal forms and vice versa if you aren’t sending legal forms.

6. Furthermore, you may not:

• Attempt to collect interest, fees, or any other charge on top of the amount owed that is not already included in the contract or allowed by local law.
• Attempt to deposit a post-dated check early.
• Threaten to arrest a customer for not paying their debt.
• Threaten to seize, attach, or sell property or wages unless legal action has already been taken and permission has been granted by law.
• Threaten legal action against a customer if such action would actually be considered illegal or if the company isn’t actually seeking legal action at this time.

7.  Also, you may not threaten to garnishee (though these specific rules may change depending on country, state or provincial legislation):

• Social Security Benefits, Old Age, Federal Pension or equivalent benefits
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits or equivalent
• Veterans’ Benefits
• Civil Service and Federal Retirement and Disability Benefits or equivalent
• Military Annuities and Survivors’ Benefits or equivalent
• Federal Emergency or Disaster Assistance monies or equivalent

8. Once you have called a customer about their debt, within 5 days you must send a written notice detailing the amount owed, the name of the debtor, any actions or schedule of payment the customer has agreed to try to repay the amount owed, and explaining what options the customer may take if they believe the collection action is in error.

We hope these small guidelines will help you tackle customers in a better manner. Also, it is recommended that providers check credit and other such information before giving loan.