Agency to Track Down Village Deadbeats

by Mike Bevel CollectionIndustry.com

While it takes a village to raise a child, sometimes it takes a collection agency to get that village to pay back some of its debts. Take, for instance, the Illinois village of Gurnee. The village has hired a collection agency to go after nearly $350,000 in delinquent accounts.

The collection agency — Geneva, IL-based KCA Financial ? will track down villagers who?ve decided not to pay things like parking tickets and water bills. The company has agreed that it will report only non-residents who fail to pay to credit bureaus.

KCA has an average collection rate of 35 percent with debts less than 270 days old. Other Illinois towns that use the company include Wheaton, Batavia, Warrenville, Geneva, Lombard and North Aurora.

More and more counties and municipalities are turning to debt collectors to go after scofflaws. Many governmental agencies are feeling the pinch from lost revenue due to unpaid fines, tickets, and bills.