1.	Are first party collectors legally required to adhere to FDCPA, or is it just considered good practice to do so??
2.	What is the difference between a first party and a third party collector?
Answers
1.	Are first party collectors legally required to adhere to FDCPA, or is it just considered good practice to do so?? Submitted by:  Jeanne   anglwngs19@yahoo.cm FDCPA (The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) is primarily designed to protect consumers from being mistreated and coerced by third party collectors. Depending on how the first party collection process is put into practice may well determine the extent to which FDCPA may play an active part. If the first party provider is calling as the outsource company versus as an extension of the client company, then FDCPA may be legally required. It is always good practice to consult with your corporate attorney or the Federal Trade Commission about your first party collection process. Keep in mind that FDCPA is was written to oversee the actions of third party "consumer" collection agents and agencies. The FDCPA was not written to oversee third party business-to-business collection issues. In either case it is good practice for an outsource company or a commercial collection agency to follow the spirit of FDCPA to assure that there are no questions as to the professionalism and techniques used by their company or staff. Back to Top
2.	What is the difference between a first party and a third party collector? Submitted by:  Dawn Shurelds   dawn.shurelds@pprinc.net A First Party Collector (from an outsourcing perspective) handles a Client's receivables from the point of invoicing to the referral to a collection agency or an attorney. The collector makes contact with the customer in the Client's name making them transparent to your customer. You could also consider the First Party Collector as the internal collection staff at your company. In either case they are handling the receivable issues of your good customers and great care should be taken to train the collector to keep customer focused but at the same time pursue prompt payment of the money owed your company. On the other hand a Third Party Collector is a member of a collection agency and in some cases a law firm. This person calls accounts which are considered uncollectable by the First Party Collector. The Third Party Collector is calling in the name of the collection agency or law firm demanding payment as an agent for their client. Their demands grow in intensity until they are successful in collecting money, referring the account to an attorney, or closing the account as uncollectable. Back to Top

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