Consumer Bill Collector Jobs

The most common form of debt collection in the field today is consumer debt collection. According to the Federal Reserve, consumer debt in 2020 reached 14.56 trillion dollars (Debt.org). Because of the sheer volume of consumer debt, consumer debt collection provides the largest opportunity in this field. There are many entry-level opportunities in consumer debt collections, where the majority of debt collectors get started in a collection career. The educational requirements for becoming a debt collector are not demanding. In most cases, a position in consumer debt collection will require a high school diploma or equivalent. Usually, all entry-level consumer debt collection job requirements will prefer a background in customer service, or related call center experience such as telemarketing. All consumer collection positions available will include training, regardless of prior collection experience, making a smooth transition for the uninitiated possible.

Entry-level debt collectors can expect to spend most of their time working on delinquent accounts, usually connected to a predictive auto-dialer, which dials the telephone numbers of accounts and passes a connection to the next available collector to begin the collection process. As a result, entry-level debt collectors can spend most of their time on the phone, in a structured scheduled shift that may include evening and weekend hours. Consumer debt collection affords a great opportunity to learn the skills and methodology behind the job. A willingness to learn and attention to detail will help anyone new to debt collection. Debt collection is not extremely difficult, but advanced job functions will require a large amount of knowledge. The law affecting consumer debt collection is the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, or FDCPA, enacted by the Federal Trade Commission to protect consumer’s rights in the collections process. While this law pertains specifically to third party collections, most originating lenders will abide by the FDCPA as well.