Back in my college years, I was lucky enough to find myself at the Athens, Ga. office of a large brokerage firm working a sweet summer internship. One day, when I was running copies of some client’s bond holdings off of microfiche, I saw a familiar name on the report.
It was a famous singer (for reasons of confidentiality, I can’t reveal the name…OK, it was Kenny Rogers). I called my boss over and said, “Is this who I think it is?” (because it didn’t say exactly “Kenny Rogers” on the important legal documents).
“Yes,” he said. “Keep working. He’s just another client.”
Has this ever happened to you in the debt collection world? Have you run across a famous name and are unsure of how to proceed?
If so, there’s someone who might be able to help, if your famous account happens to be a former NBA, NFL, or MLB player.
Steven Dietz, CEO of Southwest Recovery Services in Dallas, is going on the record as an expert in collecting debt from former sports bigshots.
“Privileged athletes should be required to pay their bills like the rest of us, so we are willing to take on some of these cases for free,” says Dietz in a press release issued today.
According to Dietz, collecting money from high profile athletes can be especially difficult, because these individuals have an entourage of lawyers and advisors surrounding them. “That is why these former athletes think that they are above the law,” he notes.
Dietz notes that his firm has already collected a “large past due balance from the owner of one of the biggest franchises in all of sports.”
But seriously, check out his firm at http://www.swrecovery.com/ if you have this issue, because I can’t recall another collection agency that has focused on this particular niche.
Oh, and if you have a famous person collection story, share it below (just be careful with disclosure, you know?)