Collection Agency Location – Which Is Best? Nearer the Creditor or Nearer the Debtor

Should you hire a collection agency that’s closer to your business or closer to the debtor? There are benefits to both scenarios. While location may not be the most important factor in considering an agency, you certainly should think about location when choosing an agency.

All things considered equal, there are more important factors involved in choosing a collection agency than location. If you can honestly find equally qualified agencies, one near you and one near the debtor, then and only then, should you make location a priority. Otherwise, you’re likely better off choosing the overall best agency no matter where they’re located.

With agency quality not being a factor in consideration, location definitely becomes something you should consider. Your first concern is probably where your debtors are located. If most or all of your debtors are located near you, then the decision should be pretty simple. Find one near you and consequently near your debtors.

If your debtors are scattered about various states you have other considerations. Do you have a larger concentration of debtors in one particular location? If so, then maybe that fact should be a something to think about. You might want to have the agency located nearer to the larger portion of your debtor. You also might still want the agency close to you.

For the sake of argument, let’s assume you have one debtor who is located in another state. If this is the case, then you probably want to choose an agency closer to you than closer to the debtor. The reason is simple. You’re going to want to research the agency before you hire them to work for you. This research will include visits to the agency. Rather than travel a long distance for the visit, it’s much easier for you to visit the agency if they’re close to you.

Another reason to choose an agency close to you is so you can periodically visit them. You might find bringing them a file folder of information across town rather than sending it or faxing the information. Being closer to the your collection agency will allow you to develop a better business relationship as you get to know the individuals at the agency better.

The agency you choose should be more than capable of doing business long distance. As it’s unlikely all of your debtors will be located in the same location, trying to pick an agency that’s close to any one particular debtor isn’t necessarily the best choice. What happens if the agency collects the debt and there are no longer any debtors near this agency?

If that should happen then now you are working with an agency that’s neither near you nor any of your debtors. Now you can keep this agency, which is fine, but you’re determined to have an agency near your debtors, then you’ll be switching agencies as the makeup of our debtors change.
You’ll find picking one quality agency near you to be far more beneficial than trying to choose an agency near your debtors.