As part of its ongoing mission to empower those in compliance roles in the collection industry, last week the Compliance Professionals Forum (CPF) hosted two regional meetings where compliance officers, compliance managers, and compliance analysts can meet and work together for an intensive day of problem-solving, strategizing, and networking.

Last week’s meetings took place in Rochester, NY; and Wheaton, IL. The agenda split the day into several topics:

  • TCPA and the FCC’s new guidelines
    • How will you comply?
    • What changes are you making to obtaining consent?
    • How are you communicating consent requirements and revocation to clients?
  • Policies and Procedures
    • Do you have gaps?
    • Implementation and review
    • Using audits to update and fine tune policies
  • Complaints/Disputes/E-Oscar
    • What are the differences?
    • What are you doing when you get multiple communications?
    • How are you handling letters obviously from the debt repair companies?
Attendees from the Rochester, New York, Meeting

Participants in the Rochester, New York, Compliance Peer Meeting

Each day began with introductions, and the sharing of specific pain points — areas of compliance and operations which cause the most headaches for compliance departments.

  • Incongruities within the laws, and managing state-by-state expectations
  • Strategies for complying with Reg E
  • What messaging are people finding to be the most effective while also being the most compliant?
  • How can compliance departments communicate compliance messages throughout the organization?
  • How are people communicating with clients? Consumers?
  • What are the best strategies for consumer disputes?
  • Who is still reporting to credit bureaus? Why?
  • When should you fight a suit, and when should you settle?
  • How are people strategizing around convenience fees?
  • How is everyone managing client requirements on top of state and legislative requirments?
Participants from the Wheaton, Illinois, Meeting

Participants in the Wheaton, Illinois, Compliance Peer Meeting

A roomful of compliance professionals offered everyone the chance both to ask specific “how are you doing this?” questions, as well as offering tested strategies from their own shops. Frequently, attendees expressed relief in realizing that they weren’t the only ones struggling with certain issues — client requirements being a prime example. Hearing someone else say, “Yes, we struggle with that, too,” allowed for group-strategizing.

“We sent our director of compliance to the Wheaton event,” Kelly Knepper-Stephens, General Counsel for Stoneleigh Recovery Associates, LLC, said. “She had a great time and said that it was the best trade association session that she has ever been too.”

“There was an immediate sense of camaraderie,” added Cari Lazarony, VP of Compliance, Seneca Mortgage Servicing LLC, of the Rochester meeting. “We came together as compliance professionals. We shared best practices and spoke candidly about what hasn’t work. Together, we speculated about what might be lurking next.”

These conversations are incredibly valuable to this industry — one that finds itself grappling with often conflicting dictums between state and federal legislation, on top of what clients insist on as well. It’s an environment where top collectors need to be measured against compliance requirements rather than against a financial goal. And it’s an industry that needs to present a unified front on compliance to an increasingly wary public.

Those interested in signing up to attend our upcoming regional peer meetings — in September in Columbus, OH (9/21); and Atlanta, GA (9/23) — can do so by visiting our Events Page at the Compliance Professionals Forum.

We’re able to offer these for free to compliance professionals in the industry thanks to our generous Founding Supporters: TransUnion, Ontario Systems, and Cornerstone Support.

For information on these meetings or the Compliance Professionals Forum, you can email our Membership Director, Liz Slovenkay, at liz@compliancePF.com.


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