NCO Group

NCO Group, Inc., based in Horsham, Pennsylvania, United States,[2] is a business process outsourcing company and collection agency that provides accounts receivable management, customer relationship management and back office solutions for its clients. Founded in 1926, it was a publicly traded company (Nasdaq: NCOG) from 1996 through 2006, when it was purchased by One Equity Partners (OEP), the private investment arm of JP Morgan Chase & Co., and other co-investors.[3]

NCO Group, Inc.
TypePrivate
IndustryAccounts receivable management, customer relationship management, back office solutions
Founded1926[1]
Headquarters
Horsham, Pennsylvania
,
United States
Number of locations
Over 100 globally
Key people
Jay King (Co-Head)
Tim Galloway (Co-Head)
Pete Grandelli (Senior Vice President, Strategic Business Units)
Tony L'Abbate (Senior Vice President, ARM Operations Control)
John "Duffy" Campbell (President, Global Sales & Marketing)
Robert DiSante (Senior Vice President, International Division)
OwnerOne Equity Partners
Number of employees
~43,000 (2011)
Websitencogroup.com

In 2004, NCO was fined by the United States Federal Trade Commission for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act for improper reporting of consumers' debt information.[4]

NCO employs approximately 30,000 people in over 100 locations around the globe,[5] through its many subsidiaries, including NCO Financial Systems, Inc., NCO Customer Management, Inc., Transworld Systems, Inc., University Accounting Services LLC, and Systems & Service Technologies, Inc. In 2008, NCO acquired a large ARM competitor, Outsourcing Solutions Inc. (OSI).[6] In 2010, NCO reported total revenues of $1.6 billion.[7]

In 2012, NCO and APAC Customer Services merged to form Expert Global Solutions.[8]

Subsidiaries

NCO has many subsidiaries providing various services across multiple markets. A partial list is found below:

SubsidiaryServices
NCO Financial Systems, Inc.Accounts receivable management, healthcare revenue cycle management, attorney network services
NCO Customer Management, Inc.Customer relationship management
University Accounting Services, LLC. (UAS)Works exclusively with student loans
Transworld Systems, Inc. (TSI)Accounts receivable management
Systems & Services Technologies (SST)Third-party receivable servicer
NCO Financial Services, Inc.Accounts receivable management in Canada

Now owned and operated by Gatestone.

FTC rulings

In May 2004, NCO agreed to settle a claim for violations of the U.S. Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and pay a fine of $1.5 million to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).[4] This claim was related to the FTC’s review of NCO’s delinquency date reporting under section 623(a)(5) of the FCRA, primarily related to a large group of consumer accounts from one client that were transitioned to NCO for servicing during 1999. NCO received incorrect information from the prior service provider at the time of transition. NCO became aware of the incorrect information during 2000 and removed the incorrect information from the consumers’ credit files prior to the FTC claim. Section 623(a)(5) has since been amended by Congress to eliminate the liability that was the basis for the claim. NCO has maintained, and continues to maintain, that it has complied fully with section 623(a)(5) of the FCRA.

According to the FTC's Expert Global Solutions, Inc., as NCO Group, Inc. they agreed to a $3.2 Million Penalty for charges of "using tactics such as calling consumers multiple times per day, calling even after being asked to stop, calling early in the morning or late at night, calling consumers’ workplaces despite knowing that the employers prohibited such calls, and leaving phone messages that disclosed the debtor’s name, and the existence of the debt, to third parties"[9][10]

Pennsylvania settlement

NCO has been accused by many consumers of habitually violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, refusing to verify and validate the debt, contacting third parties about the debt, claiming that they were calling from a law firm, attempting to collect debts that were past the statute of limitations, and harassing and threatening people on the phone.[11] As a result, in 2006, NCO paid a $300,000.00 settlement to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for violations of the state's consumer protection statute.[11]

2012 labor violations

Numerous employees in the Canadian branch of NCO have filed legal claims on record which are critical of the working conditions and ethics practiced. Employees have made claims including, but not limited to, forcing employees to work beyond their scheduled hours and closure times, and filing employee termination as voluntary quitting in order to disqualify workers from insurance benefits.[12]

References
  1. NCO Group Profile
  2. NCO Group Fact Sheet Archived 2010-11-27 at the Wayback Machine
  3. One Equity Partners acquires NCO Group, Inc.
  4. FTC ruling
  5. NCO Fact Sheet Archived 2010-11-27 at the Wayback Machine
  6. insideARM.com | March 3, 2008|NCO Group Completes Acquisition of OSI
  7. NCO Group Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2010 Results
  8. NCO GROUP ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF APAC MERGER AND REFINANCING
  9. World's Largest Debt Collection Operation Settles FTC Charges, Will Pay $3.2 Million Penalty FTC
  10. Case 3:13-cv-02611-M Unitest States District Court for the Nothern District of Texas
  11. Fagone, John (January 2009). "Don't Pick Up The Phone". Philadelphia Magazine.
  12. http://www.theobserver.ca/2012/03/20/nco-accused-of-labour-law-violation
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