Collectors Need a Better Way to Confirm they are Speaking with the Right Person

Many of my Linkedin friends know I’ve started a video conversation about what I see as possible solutions to fundamental challenges facing the debt collection industry. Last night I posted my third installment, which covers the super-awkward experience faced by consumers and collectors during the opening of a call.

To provide just a bit of context for those who haven’t watched, in my first video I outlined these three challenges (you can watch it here):

1. Scammers have really ruined things. Their billions and billions of calls mean that consumers don’t trust anyone who is contacting them, including debt collectors.
2. The beginning of a collection call is incredibly uncomfortable. Collectors are required by law to confirm they are talking to the right consumer before they can reveal why they are calling. But the consumer has been trained to not trust a caller they don’t know, and certainly not to provide any personally identifying information. And… collectors are required by law to tell consumers why they are calling. So there is a stand-off, and a really awkward situation.
3. Regulations and perceived risk limits debt collectors to 20^th century technology. Because of legacy rules and privacy concerns, collectors and consumers who want to jointly resolve debts are left in the 20th century, forced to communicate by postal mail and landline.

Video #2 focused on practical ways the industry could address the first challenge – scammers – by inserting mechanisms of trust back into the system. You can watch it here, or read about it here.

Click below to watch the 3 minute and 30 second video #3. This time I raise the prospect of moving to different methods of authentication than asking for the last 4 digits of a social security number or a birthdate. Please comment on Linkedin or get in touch with me; I would like to hear your thoughts.

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