WEBINAR Q&A: Collections – Improve the Process and Lessen your Financial Impact

Sue_C · August 2018

Below is the list of Answers to the Questions asked during the August 22, 2018 Industry Webinar by Todd Sheffer from Storage Collections and Shawn DeLuna of Collection Bureau of America. If you missed the webinar you may watch it on-demand from the SiteLink website.

Q. In the Storage Collections process, if I click “All” to process all tenants to get a robo-call and I have 300 delinquency notices, wouldn’t all those people press 1 to be connected to the office at the same time?
A. The calls go out very quickly (within a 5-10 minute time span). For large operators, we recommend submitting in batches. This can be done over the course of an hour or staggered throughout the day.

Q. Can Collection Bureau of America follow someone who did not pay even if they move to another state?
A. Yes. They are licensed in all states that require licenses. For example, if someone moves from Arizona to Colorado, they can collect from that person in Colorado.

Q. Does Collection Bureau of America do pure collections, or do you do small claims as well?
A. Collection Bureau of America does pure collections. As a collection agency, they cannot go to small claims court. They would have to go to federal claims court or municipal court depending on the state. If you do go to small claims and you have received a judgement, Collection Bureau of America can then work on the judgement itself and collect on that.

Q. What are the most critical pieces of information needed on a lease to ensure we have successful collection on the account?
A. The most critical pieces of information for successful collections are name, address, social security number and driver’s license, if possible. Also, make sure in their lease contract they have consented to be contacted through email, automated dialer, text, etc. This consent can then can transfer through to the collection company.

Q. It sounds like Collection Bureau of America does a lot of work. Is it true that there is no fee until you collect from my tenant?
A. Yes that is true. There is no fee unless they collect.

Q. Can we continue texting someone if that person replied with the word STOP?
A. No. You are not allowed to continue to text if they replied with the word STOP. This short code is regulated by the wireless carriers, and as part of that agreement we must adhere to the wireless carrier’s rules and honor their subscribers’ wishes. If a subscriber texts STOP, then an automatic opt-out occurs. Storage Collections will automatically block that tenant from receiving future text messages. This will show up as a blocked number in tenant notes. We will also post non-delivered messages in the bulletin section of SiteLink so the site manager has a good visual that the tenant will not receive text messages because they have opted out.

Q. What percentage of monies does Collection Bureau of America collect on average?
A. On average they collect 18 to 22%. The deficiency balance is around 10%.

Q. What is the general fee scale on accounts collected?
A. The rate for deficiency balances would be 35% on average.

Q. When someone is not paying and you have exhausted all avenues, can I go to their home, get the full container and take it back to the warehouse?
A. You would need to check with your attorney and it would be dependent upon your contract.

Q. I'm a district manager. How do I setup the robo call in the reminder screen?
A. The Storage Collections reminders are configured as new past-due processes within SiteLink and are easily configured within SiteLink's Corporate Control Center. There is a step-by-step guide outlining the setup and all new clients receive this documentation when signing up with Storage Collections.

Q. Can a customer reply to an automated text message and can we continue to exchange a text conversation with the customer?
A. A customer can reply to the text message, but it is returned to the store via email, not as a text message. We do not offer two-way text messaging. Many owners do not want their managers texting back and fourth to a tenant and prefer once contact is made that questions are answered via a phone call.

Q. If a customer has multiple cell phone numbers listed, are we required to stop all the numbers or only the one that sent the STOP message?
A. The laws state that only the number requesting the opt-out be removed or blocked from all future text messaging.