Mastering Ethical Collections: The Power of Our Distinctive PHD Strategy

Let’s face it. The debt collection industry doesn’t have the best reputation for being gentle. When people owe money, the temperature can get understandably heated. Payments can’t be skipped, and there’s a lot at stake.

Decades of Hollywood movies have shaped public perceptions about what it looks like when debtors are reluctant to pay. While the silver screen can take creative license to make great films, the truth is, in real life, debt collections can be sensitive and aggressive.

Summit A•R works hard to change that by bringing a positive, pragmatic attitude to debt collection. Our “PHD Philosophy” stands for Preserve Human Dignity, an approach we take while still managing to collect nearly double the industry average.

Let’s look at what our PHD philosophy entails and how Summit A•R embodies it.

No Late-Night Robocalls

Unfortunately, as mentioned, debt collectors can sometimes use harsh methods to try to convince debtors to pay. Such aggressive methods may include using obscene language, repetitive robocalls late at night, asking you to pay without identifying themselves, threatening to publish debtors’ names (outside of reporting to credit bureaus, a perfectly normal process), and others.

The trained, licensed collection professionals at Summit A•R never resort to any of these tactics. We’ve operated for 27 years while steering clear of anything harsh or alienating.

Instead, we put our best foot forward when advocating and negotiating for you. Whether we’re helping you improve your debt collection strategy via consulting or actively assisting a collection, we’ll be professional and positive throughout.

Maintaining Positive Relationships

Asking anybody for money can be difficult and awkward, even if they owe it to you. Sometimes, asking the same person to make a payment over and over makes it more awkward since it reinforces their delinquency and puts a spotlight on it. Managing to get the payment without straining the relationship can be a difficult tightrope walk.

However, using harsh, aggressive tactics sours relationships between two parties. That’s the last thing anybody wants. These aggressive tactics don’t make people pay faster, and even if they do, it frays relationships that you worked hard to build. You don’t want to get paid today by sacrificing a long-term customer or client.

Summit A•R understands that we represent your business in the course of our job, and that’s why we behave with professionalism and integrity at every step of the debt recovery process. The goal isn’t merely to recover the money you’re owed. It’s to do so in a way that leaves relationships intact.

We know from experience that treating debtors aggressively doesn’t result in faster payments and that, even if it did, it’s a short-term strategy that puts a quick stop to future business. Our experts are adept at treating every job sensitively and compassionately so we can recover what’s owed without angering the people your business depends on.

Mission Statement

Many companies have flattering promotional materials that don’t always accurately reflect how they truly operate. Summit A•R’s mission statement mirrors how we’ve done business since 1996.

Our core principles are:

• VALUE clients: We prioritize preserving our clients’ reputations.
• LOVE our team: We have gathered smart, fun, hard-working professionals committed to achieving excellence in an environment fostering respect, humor, and integrity.
• RESPECT people: We follow the industry’s rules and regulations while showing everybody we encounter the respect, compassion, and dignity they deserve, even in a tough business environment.

In other words, Summit A•R is committed to improving your company’s bottom line while treating people like people, not numbers. We’re proud of our track record. We’ll never make you choose between recouping your funds and treating people respectfully because we do both.

How We Do It

As a debt collection agency that insists on treating people well while recovering more of your money in less time, it’s important to reveal our methods and the proof. Summit A•R has a perfect A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and an impeccable compliance record with all regulating agencies in the country.

We succeed in recovering more of your money faster by promptly connecting with credit bureaus and using our private, licensed, in-house investigator to locate people who don’t want to be found and their assets. In other words, we don’t need to resort to aggressive, underhanded tactics because we know which above-board methods will succeed.

Our years of experience in some of the industries where recovering debt is more challenging testifies that our methods work. We specialize in medical collections, dental collections, employee reimbursement, consumer and commercial collections, residential and apartment collections, education and tuition collections, and more.

It isn’t easy collecting unpaid rents from tenants or fees from medical patients who didn’t ask to get sick. However, landlords invest money in their buildings, and doctors need to keep the lights on and pay their staff.

We know all the ins and outs of the industry and all the latest legal changes, such as any statute of limitations on debt collection and other legal obligations that must be adhered to during the collections process.

Summit A•R can also help you save money by avoiding debt collection lawsuits that can arise when laws or norms are broken in the attempt to recover the funds. In addition to observing the laws at all times, treating people with kindness can go a long way in smoothening out what can otherwise be a rocky process.

Boosting your bottom line by recovering money is excellent, but avoiding lawsuits also keeps funds where they should be — in your accounts.

No Hidden Fees

While we’ve put the emphasis on treating your debtors with respect, we all show you the same courtesy! We’ll never bury fees in the fine print or charge you hidden costs.

You’ll understand everything you’re getting into before signing up, whether you hire us to track down a debtor or consult with your in-house collections team.

Don’t take on the invidious task of asking for money yourself. Our time-tested methods and PHD approach will get you more money quicker, and you won’t have to stress about awkward interactions or worry about ending a business relationship.