The term first party collections refers to any collections that are performed by the company to whom the debt is owed. You may not have realized it, but any time you call a client and ask them to pay up on a bill or send a reminder notice, you're doing first party collections. Some large companies go as far as to open their own collection agency as a subsidiary to handle this.
"First party" literally means that you were the first party in the original exchange of goods or services for money, i.e. the lender. The person who accepted the goods or services and promised to pay, i.e. the debtor, is the "second party." If an outside collection agency becomes involved, they were not part of the original transaction, which is why they're called "third party."
First party collections activity has some unique advantages. For one thing, there is no lag in time between an account becoming delinquent and the beginning of the collections process. Also, you have knowledge of your customers' needs and practices, making it easy to maintain a positive relationship even after debt is incurred, which helps down the road if you want to keep the customer as a client.
First party collections attempts are often seen as friendlier or more understanding than activity from third party collections agencies. Your client may rely on your service or product for his business to run, and if so he will be just as amenable to staying on good terms as you are.
Another difference is that unlike third party agencies, first party collections do not fall under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. When you are the original party or a legal affiliate of it like a subsidiary, you are considered a lender rather than a collector. Third party agencies therefore do not have as much wiggle room in their practices as first party collections entities due, but the latter are still subject to state and federal law.
Once a bill gets past due beyond 2-3 months, though, it's usually time to turn it over to a third party agency or sell the debt. The ability to collect on past due amounts drops steeply after this time statistically, so rather than continuing collections actions in vain, you're better off handing them over to professionals with more resources.
In addition, first party collections aren't very effective unless you have a specialized collections staff. Your sales force, accounting staff or management are not trained collections people and their time is better spent elsewhere while you save collections endeavors for people who know how to perform them.
Instead, if you're insistent on first party collections, hire someone whose sole job is to do that, or if you're large enough to support it, consider having a collections department or subsidiary. Dedicated collections professionals will know the best collection techniques, including how to find deadbeats, negotiating settlements or payment plans, and even disguising collections activity as audits. First party collections can be effective if you structure it the way a third party agency would.
About the Author:
David P. Montana has published extensively and served as a business advisor in collection agency services for thirty years. David offers more useful tips and resources about outsource billing service solutions.
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