Private Collection Agencies:   Debt Collection Contract

Under the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, the Department of the Treasury is required to maintain a schedule of private collection agencies (PCAs) or private sector companies having expertise in the area of debt collection, to assist the government in its debt collection efforts. As part of Cross-Servicing, the Treasury Department attempts to collect delinquent debt through several means, including demand letters, telephone calls, the Treasury Offset Program (TOP), Administrative Wage Garnishment, and credit bureau reporting. Once Treasury has exhausted efforts to collect the debts internally, the debts are sent to the PCAs for collection activity. The activities of the PCAs are monitored by the personnel of the Private Collection Division (PCD) of Debt Management Services (DMS).

What is a private collection agency? A private collection agency (PCA) is a private sector company specializing in the collection of delinquent debt. A PCA will attempt to find and contact a debtor by searching various databases, making telephone calls and sending collection letters. Once the debtor is located and contacted, the PCA will encourage the debtor to satisfy the debt. Recently, Administrative Wage Garnishment has been added to the list of debt collection tools available to the PCAs.

DMS awards new private collection agency contracts. On March 12, 2007, Debt Management Services (DMS) awarded five new Treasury debt collection contracts to enlist the services of private collection agency contractors. These contracts were awarded in order to increase the recovery of and resolve non-tax federal debts by collection or write-off. The new contracts are one-year contracts with four one-year options available. The following contractors were awarded a Treasury debt collection contract to provide delinquent debt collection services:

The CBE Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 2040
Waterloo, IA 50704-2040
Phone (866) 895-4766

Diversified Collection Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 9046
Pleasanton, CA 94566-9046
Phone (888) 310-2006

Linebarger, Goggan, Blair, & Sampson, LLP
P.O. Box 3585
Houston, TX 77253-3585
Phone (877) 815-8501

Pioneer Credit Recovery, Inc.
P.O. Box 189
Arcade, NY 14009
Phone (877) 907-1820

Progressive Financial Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 24098
Tempe, AZ 85285
Phone (800) 684-2533

The following contractors may continue to provide delinquent debt collection services through March 2010 for debts referred to them under Treasury’s previous contract.

Allied Interstate, Inc.
P.O. Box 26220
Minneapolis, MN 55426-9998
Phone (888) 214-9749

Ocwen Federal Bank
P.O. Box 780549
Orlando, FL 32878-0549
Phone (888) 778-2696

Private Collection Agency Performance. Private collection agency contractors continue to provide valuable services to DMS. From March 1998 to October 2007, the PCAs have collected nearly $449 million in delinquent, non-tax debt for the government.  With federal agencies referring more debts to Treasury's Cross-Servicing Program, DMS expects collections will continue to rise in upcoming years.

Contacting the PCA’s. Each PCA may be contacted at the address or phone number shown above by anyone with questions concerning a debt or their services.

How are these agencies regulated? The collection efforts of the PCAs are governed by various federal and state laws, including, but not limited to, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Federal Claims Collection Standards, and the Privacy Act. Collection agency employees are trained to comply with all applicable laws and regulations.  Under Treasury’s contract with the PCAs, there are numerous controls to ensure that debtors are treated fairly. The Private Collection Division (PCD) of DMS closely monitors the activities of the PCAs on a daily basis. When the PCD is notified in writing of any complaint concerning the PCA, the evidence is reviewed, documentation is gathered, and action is taken to correct the situation, if necessary. In addition, PCD personnel conduct on-site Compliance Reviews of each PCA on a rotational basis, to ensure that all aspects of Treasury’s contract are being adhered to by the PCAs

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