Bud Says
Consumer Comments Below
While NCO Financial has earned
what seems to be a permanent slot in our exclusive list of America's
Worst Collection Agencies, it's really difficult to classify them when
held up to others in the industry.
On one hand, NCO aggressively
peruses and takes over other collectors in a bid to be the world's
largest.
Meanwhile, corporate collection
policy seems to sway daily, depending upon the wind. One call
might bring threats to our active duty military personnel and their
families, on a level reserved for terrorists. The next call will
be gentlemanly, helpful and not-at-all like the NCO of old. You
never know which one you'll get.
On some occasions, NCO takes the
debtor into court, scratching and fighting for pennies and spending
thousands to get it. On others, they fold like a paper tiger at
the hint of consumer counter activity.
Perhaps the giant is learning
from the mistakes of the past. Perhaps the sting of some many
fines and penalties caused stockholders to crack the whip. We do
know that two years ago, our email box and phone were overflowing with
NCO complaints. At that time, every other complaint was about NCO.
Now they just trickle in.
What's lacking in this big
agency is a resolution department. If they had a team of 3 people
to handle consumer complaints, put out public relations fires and
resolve problems - someone with the authority to make decisions - they'd
not only disappear from our list of America's worst, they'd do
themselves much good.
