::: Third-Party Debt Collections :::

• The third party collection industry returned $39 billion in 2005 to businesses that extend consumers credit.
• The economic effect of third-party collections has been to keep consumer prices lower, thus saving the average American household $351 annually.
• The annual savings is the average household equivalent of 19 bags of groceries, 155 gallons of gas, or more than four months of electric bills.
• Debt collection reduces the risk of loss for business; permits greater business expansion; makes it possible for healthcare providers to maintain access to care in their communities; and allows for the privilege and convenience of credit as a positive financial tool for American consumers.
• Private businesses charged off an estimated $141 billion in bad debt in 2005. The third-party collection industry successfully returned $39.3 billiion to American businesses last year, representing a 22 percent reduction in private sector bad debt.
• Third-party collections keep businesses from raising their prices in order to make up for losses.

Information provided by CollectionIndustry.com