Summit A*R has officially been in business for 30 years — and what a time it’s been! Our firm has weathered floods, multiple recessions and the COVID-19 pandemic, and has emerged from these situations stronger than ever.

In celebration of hitting this major milestone, we will go over how this incredible journey in debt collection services first started and what sets us apart as a business in the debt recovery industry. 

How the Journey Started

Summit A*R was founded by Timothy J. Turner, who had worked for companies in the debt collection field before. He wanted to found a debt collection company of his own, but he wanted to move away from the all-too-common methods in the debt collection field. These aggressive methods alienated the client from the collector. Turner believed in handling debt collection differently than this.

How so? Turner followed the golden rule: “Treat others as you would want to be treated.” So, instead of founding a business that followed aggressive tactics to recoup debt for clients, Turner founded Summit A*R with a ground-breaking approach of treating debtors with respect, compassion and care.

Bad Practices in Debt Collection

The debt collection industry has an unfortunate reputation. Many companies have used aggressive and abusive approaches to retrieve payments from debtors. This bad behavior is so common that federal and state governments have enacted rules and regulations to protect debtors. The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act prohibits actions like calling a debtor’s phone over and over again, calling at odd hours and contacting a debtor’s employer.

Our company does not abide by these bad practices. Our company complies with federal and state rules and regulations, and our agents follow the PHD strategy through every step of debt collection efforts. This is why our company has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

The PHD Strategy

When it comes to debt collection, our agents follow the PHD strategy (Preserve Human Dignity). The strategy prioritizes respectful communication with debtors and ethical debt collection practices.

By prioritizing compassion and respect in debtor interactions, our company has seen great success in collection efforts. We are very successful at recovering outstanding payments for our clients. After all, our recovery rates are nearly double the industry’s average.

High recovery rates aren’t the only sign that the PHD strategy is successful. By using our services, clients can maintain their relationship with any customers who have outstanding payments. Those customers won’t feel attacked through our debt collection efforts, so they will feel free to maintain ties with the clients long after the payments have been recovered. There is no need to burn bridges when you can build them.

Our clients work hard to forge a stellar reputation. If their customers hated their debt collection process, that stellar reputation would be tarnished in a flash. A bad reputation could lead to fewer clients, drops in revenue and losses in business opportunities. Our PHD strategy makes sure that the customer’s debt collection experience is as positive as it can be. This helps our clients preserve their good reputation in their field.

The Types of Debt That Summit A*R Helps With

Summit A*R doesn’t just handle one type of debt. Our firm’s expertise spans a wide range of debts and industries to help serve as many potential clients as possible. These are some of the collection services that we currently offer:

Commercial Debt Collection

Businesses turn to commercial debt collection agencies when they struggle with outstanding payments from B2B partners and customers. Our commercial debt collection services can help your business recoup those funds so that you maintain the integrity of your professional relationships.

Consumer Debt Collection

Businesses can also come to A*R Summit to resolve outstanding payments like unpaid bills or bounced checks from individual consumers.

Medical Debt Collection

Healthcare providers may need to turn to debt collection services to resolve unpaid medical bills. Patients often struggle with the high costs of healthcare, so our agents will be compassionate, respectful and realistic in the approach to get rates recovered. Our firm also offers pre-collection services to encourage patients to stay on top of their bills and prevent them from becoming overdue.

Dental Collection

Dentist offices are already saddled with the difficult task of getting people to book dental appointments and take their oral hygiene seriously. These offices shouldn’t have to struggle with trying to patients to pay for their appointments, as well. Our agents will work to get those dental bills paid off.

Vet Collection

Veterinary clinics may be bogged down by unpaid veterinary bills. It’s understandable. Vet bills for unexpected treatments and emergency surgeries aren’t anticipated by the average pet owner. No one expects that their dog will swallow a chew toy or eat something toxic out of a garbage can. Our agents can contact pet owners who owe your clinic funds and get them to resolve their bills in a timely manner.

Employee Reimbursement Collection

Businesses might need help recovering employee reimbursement debt. For instance, a current employee may have charged some unauthorized travel expenses to the company credit card. This is just one type of employee reimbursement that our agents can resolve.

Education and Tuition Collection

Educational institutions may need help getting tuition fees from current and previous students. Our agents will recoup those tuition costs without alienating the students and muddy their educational experience.

Residential Unit Collection

Landlords may have tenants who have disappeared from the building, leaving a backlog of outstanding rent payments. Our agents can help locate the missing tenant and resolve the payment issue.

Commercial Unit Collection

Landlords for commercial tenants may have trouble getting a business to pay its rent. If those rent bills are piling up, our agents can contact that client for you in an effort to get them to pay what they owe.

Looking Ahead

As you can see, Summit A*R has already had an exceptional journey in the field of debt collection. Our firm has proven that committing to preserving human dignity and remaining compassionate for every debtor yields better results than using aggressive and unfair tactics. The PHD strategy is an invaluable one.

Summit A*R’s journey is nowhere near over. Our firm will continue to forge ahead and make a positive impression in the debt collection field. So, here’s to another year!

Did you find this article helpful? Just imagine how helpful our experts could be when it comes to your bottom line! Learn more about our full suite of services, or contact us today to discuss how we can help recover your lost revenue.