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Career Details :: Bill and Account Collectors

Description

Locate and notify customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visit to solicit payment. Duties include receiving payment and posting amount to customer's account; preparing statements to credit department if customer fails to respond; initiating repossession proceedings or service disconnection; keeping records of collection and status of accounts.

Experience

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience may be helpful in these occupations, but usually is not needed. For example, a drywall installer might benefit from experience installing drywall, but an inexperienced person could still learn to be an installer with little difficulty.

Education

These occupations usually require a high school diploma and may require some vocational training or job-related course work. In some cases, an associate's or bachelor's degree could be needed.

Training

Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees.

Tasks

• Mails form letters to customers to encourage payment of delinquent accounts.
• Notifies credit department, orders merchandise repossession or service disconnection, or turns over account to attorney if customer fails to respond.
• Receives payments and posts amount paid to customer account, using computer or paper records.
• Drives vehicle to visit customer, return merchandise to creditor, or deliver bills.
• Sorts and files correspondence and performs miscellaneous clerical duties.
• Persuades customer to pay amount due on credit account, damage claim, or nonpayable check, or negotiates extension of credit.
• Confers with customer by telephone or in person to determine reason for overdue payment and review terms of sales, service, or credit contract.
• Records information about financial status of customer and status of collection efforts.
• Traces delinquent customer to new address by inquiring at post office or questioning neighbors.

Related Careers

• Adjustment Clerks
  
• Credit Checkers
  
• Insurance Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators
  
• Licensing Examiners and Inspectors
  
• Order Clerks
  
• Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products
  
• Welfare Eligibility Workers and Interviewers
  

Important Abilities

• Oral Expression
• Oral Comprehension
• Number Facility
• Written Comprehension
• Speech Clarity

General Work Activities

• Performing for/Working With Public
• Resolving Conflict, Negotiating With Others
• Selling or Influencing Others
• Communicating With Persons Outside Organization
• Getting Information Needed to Do the Job

Important Skills

• Active Listening
  
• Speaking
  
• Problem Identification
  
• Information Gathering
  
• Persuasion
  

Frequent Work Context

• Job-Required Social Interaction
• Deal With External Customers
• Objective or Subjective Information
• Persuade Someone to a Course of Action
• Frustrating Circumstances

Related Majors

Major (A) Associate (B) Bachelors (C) Certificate (D) Doctor (M) Master	Add to XapPack
Accounting/Banking/Financial Support (D)	[ add ]
Accounting/Banking/Financial Support Services (M)	[ add ]
Accounting/Banking/Financial Support Services (B)	[ add ]
Advancing Studies (A)	[ add ]
Banking (B)	[ add ]
Banking (A)	[ add ]
Banking (M)	[ add ]
Banking Law Studies (M)	[ add ]
Banking/Finance (M)	[ add ]
Banking/Finance (D)	[ add ]
Banking/Finance (B)	[ add ]
Banking/Finance (A)	[ add ]
Banking/Finance Law (A)	[ add ]
Banking/Financial Economics (B)	[ add ]
Banking/Financial Services (B)	[ add ]
Banking/Financial Services (M)	[ add ]
Banking/Financial Support Services (M)	[ add ]
Banking/Financial Support Services (B)	[ add ]
Banking/International Finance (B)	[ add ]
Business Administration/Banking/Finance (B)	[ add ]
Business/Banking (A)	[ add ]
Commercial Banking (M)	[ add ]
Corporate Treasury (M)	[ add ]
Development Finance/Banking (M)	[ add ]
Economics/Banking & Finance/Management (B)	[ add ]
Economics/Banking & Finance/Management (A)	[ add ]
Finance Management/Investment Banking (M)	[ add ]
Finance/Bank Management (B)	[ add ]
Finance/Banking (A)	[ add ]
Finance/Investment/Banking (B)	[ add ]
International Banking/Finance (B)	[ add ]
International Investment/Finance/Banking (B)	[ add ]

Institutions Offering Related Majors

College	Key Facts	Add to XapPack
Aims Community College - Greeley Campus	[ view ]	[ add ]
Allan Hancock College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Alvernia University	[ view ]	[ add ]
American University - Washington	[ view ]	[ add ]
Appalachian State University	[ view ]	[ add ]
Arapahoe Community College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Austin Community College - Austin	[ view ]	[ add ]
Bainbridge College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Barat College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Boston University	[ view ]	[ add ]
Bucks County Community College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Buena Vista University	[ view ]	[ add ]
Cabrillo College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Camden County College - Blackwood	[ view ]	[ add ]
Caribbean University	[ view ]	[ add ]
Carleton University	[ view ]	[ add ]
Casper College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Cerritos College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Clinton Community College - Iowa	[ view ]	[ add ]
College of Marin	[ view ]	[ add ]
College of the Sequoias	[ view ]	[ add ]
Columbia College	[ view ]	[ add ]
County College of Morris	[ view ]	[ add ]
Dean College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Delaware State University	[ view ]	[ add ]
Delta College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Dixie State College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Dowling College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Estrella Mountain Community College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Fairmont State University	[ view ]	[ add ]
Fayetteville State University	[ view ]	[ add ]
Florida School of the Arts	[ view ]	[ add ]
Fordham University	[ view ]	[ add ]
Franklin College Switzerland	[ view ]	[ add ]
Fresno City College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Fullerton College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Glendale Community College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Golden West College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Greenfield Community College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Grossmont College	[ view ]	[ add ]
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Hilbert College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Illinois Central College	[ view ]	[ add ]
International College of the Cayman Islands	[ view ]	[ add ]
Laney College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Lees-McRae College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Lincoln University - San Francisco	[ view ]	[ add ]
Lon Morris College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Long Beach City College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Long Beach City College - Pacific Coast Campus	[ view ]	[ add ]
Lubbock Christian University	[ view ]	[ add ]
McLennan Community College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Mercer County Community College - Trenton	[ view ]	[ add ]
Miami-Dade Community College - Homestead Campus	[ view ]	[ add ]
Miami-Dade Community College - Miami	[ view ]	[ add ]
Middle Georgia College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Midland College	[ view ]	[ add ]
MiraCosta College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Mississippi State University	[ view ]	[ add ]
Monterey Peninsula College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Montgomery Community College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Mount San Jacinto College - Menifee Valley Campus	[ view ]	[ add ]
Mountain State University	[ view ]	[ add ]
Mt. San Jacinto College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Muscatine Community College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Nassau Community College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Northern Essex Community College - Haverhill	[ view ]	[ add ]
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Northwest College - Powell	[ view ]	[ add ]
Northwood University - Florida Campus	[ view ]	[ add ]
Northwood University - Midland Campus	[ view ]	[ add ]
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Pikes Peak Community College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Point Park College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Ricks College	[ view ]	[ add ]
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Santa Rosa Junior College	[ view ]	[ add ]
Schiller International University	[ view ]	[ add ]
Scott Community College	[ view ]	[ add ]
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Sinclair Community College	[ view ]	[ add ]
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Valencia Community College - Orlando	[ view ]	[ add ]
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