Overdue Advice is the podcast about cash flow strategies to grow your business. Each episode covers an aspect of credit management and accounts receivable. "Legal Collections (and How to Avoid Going to Court)," "Debt Doesn't Die: Estate Collections," and "How Professional Collectors Recover More," are just a few areas covered with rare industry insights. There's no show like it! Host Bryn Griffiths talks with guests including published authors, veteran collectors, accounts receivable trainer ...
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Host Bryn Griffiths is joined by Mark Daprato, a board member of the Receivables Management Association of Canada and the organizer of its upcoming National Conference on Nov 14. This year's conference has a bold and thought-provoking theme: "Weathering Disruption in the Financial Services Industry." Mark shares insights into the conference's focus…
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Delve into the world of estate administration in the digital age with our guest, Ari Brojde, CEO of Estateably. Host Bryn Griffiths uncovers the secrets behind efficiently managing debts, distributing assets, and handling the ever-evolving landscape of managing and closing estates. Ari shares his journey, from recognizing industry pain points to cr…
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Small Claims Court just became bigger, at least in one jurisdiction. In the Canadian province of Alberta, the limit for civil litigation in the Provincial Court system has recently doubled from CAD $50,000 to $100,000. This means Albertans and agents like MetCredit can go to court without a lawyer in the province to collect much larger debts, benef…
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The Credit and Receivables Management Industry is a complex one. Yet for ages, there was no standardized training or certification for credit professionals. David Hopkyns, ACI, has helped change that in his work as National Director for the Prairies of the Credit Institute of Canada, which today has nearly 2,000 members across the country. The CIC …
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When debt piles up and becomes unmanageable, what can you do? More people than ever are turning to consumer proposals and even bankruptcy as a way out. The promises you hear in advertisements sound liberating—but is there another side to taking drastic measures? Rhonda Fox-Miles, a licensed bankruptcy trustee since 1999 and Registered Social worker…
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The Receivables Management world is a magnifier of business challenges. Whenever the economy becomes difficult, the credit world is in for a ride. MetCredit's central region business development manager George Preece is a credit industry veteran who co-founded the Receivable Management Institute (RMA) more than a decade ago. He joins host Bryn Grif…
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If you’re like most people, you seldom answer phone calls from anyone you don’t recognize. And for good reason. A universal surge in spam calls and fraudulent players (usually spoofing outgoing numbers) has tarnished our trust in conventional caller IDs. For a telephone-centric company like MetCredit, this behavioural change has been a huge challen…
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Working in the credit industry is an opportunity to make an impact on businesses, individuals and the economy itself. But how do you stay fresh, inspired and on top of your game? Host Bryn Griffiths joins Credit Institute of Canada General Manager Nawshad Khadaroo to talk about how being part of an engaged community provides learning, education and…
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Dun & Bradstreet has evolved a lot in its 173-year history. Now the world's largest trade payment database with over 360 million lines of global trade, it is known by most business people as a risk company for credit reporting. As D&B's director of data acquisitions, Stephanie Flierjans has spent most of her 35-year career with the company. In this…
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A lot of things keep CEOs up at night, from HR and supply chain issues to operational challenges and cash flow. But most often it's cash flow. Host Bryn Griffiths is joined by Martin Hunter, managing partner of URGEO, a company specializing in helping CEOs achieve operational excellence, to discuss why accounts receivable are such a challenge—and h…
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Ever thought of a job in collections? Many successful collectors never did, and now can’t imagine themselves in any other career. Author and trainer Tim Paulsen returns to Overdue Advice to share advice for accounts receivable management teams and collectors—and shines light on the life-changing magic of working in collections.…
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When a customer decides not to pay your invoice, what do you do? Should you sue, or take the file to your collection agency? It's not always an easy question, and one that lawyer Howard "Howie" J. Sniderman has helped business leaders answer for decades. After listening to this episode, you'll be equipped to make the decision for yourself! Learn ho…
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What happens when you send an account to collections? What will the collection agency do—and what won't they? What kind of businesses are best suited to use a collection agency? MetCredit VP Business Development and industry veteran David Hopkyns joins host Bryn Griffiths to open the Overdue Advice mailbag and answers these and other questions list…
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It's been an incredibly tough two years. At MetCredit, we've always been a people business. In recent years, with competitors outsourcing their call centres overseas, we've taken pride in having real people working from our offices. So the work-from-home orders of COVID-19 threatened our very existence. Many of our contracts with banks, telcos and …
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When does a job become more then a 9-to-5 but something that transforms people's lives? Host Bryn Griffiths talks with MetCredit Collection Manager Quinn Yule and Human Resources & Quality Assurance Manager Greg Hunka about their careers with the company, and how it has changed their lives but the lives of many of those with whom they've worked, in…
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After two years of uncertainty and surprises, what’s next—and how can Canadian businesses plan and grow in such crazy times? MetCredit is a member of more than 50 Chambers of Commerce across Canada, and we love to make use of this great resource. In this episode, host Bryn Griffiths talks to Jeffrey Sundquist, President and CEO of the Edmonton Cham…
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Artificial Intelligence is a more than a hot-button topic lately. It's a group of technologies that is revolutionizing our way of life. From asking Siri on your smartwatch to the emergence of self-driving cars, machine learning and computers that “think” are rapidly working their way into every home, office and garage—as well as our pockets and wri…
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Ever wondered what it’s like for the people who make collection calls for a living? Meet Ourvashi, Zak and Jay, three collectors at MetCredit. Learn why Jay, a former nurse and father of three, Ourvashi with a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Finance, and Zak, a university graduate with loads of ambition, decided to work at MetCredit — and th…
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Disputing a bill is not terribly uncommon, and in some cases makes sense. Billing errors can happen, and it’s fair to have them resolved before paying. But imagine claiming you don’t need to pay ANY bills—or even your rent—ever, because you have special status or philosophical separation from your “debtor self” that renders financial obligations nu…
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Compassion in Debt Recovery, with Michele Murray, Anthony Sabatelli & Raphael Karamichailidis
27:35
Consumer debt collection is delicate business at the best of times. Throw in a global pandemic where people’s livelihoods are in doubt, and it becomes exponentially harder. For telecommunications companies, the question becomes more than ever how to help customers, who need their phones and the Internet to work and function, but many of whom are st…
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Recovery to Growth: Upgrading Your Mindset with ‘Construction Millionaire Secrets’ Author Dominic Rubino
17:42
What we need is a deep breath to reset how we think about our businesses. Enter Dominic Rubio - a professional business coach, entrepreneur, host of his own podcast called The Profit Toolbelt. While this episode isn’t specifically about credit and debt recovery, we wanted to hear what Dominic Rubino has to say about planning for the future because …
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Individuals, businesses, industries, and governments have struggled to cope with the pandemic. Understanding what’s happening, why, what the risks and dangers are, and what to do about it affects everyone. It’s glib to say, “things are mess,” or “they’re going to be different.” Of course they’re a mess and they’re going to be different, but how? Ou…
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There’s no need to guess why it’s been months since we recorded a podcast. When the pandemic lockdown happened in March, everyone was scrambling. Well, almost everyone. Businesses without interruption, continuity, or disaster plans, scrambled to make them up as they went along, as if things aren’t hard enough. The fact that people’s incomes were lo…
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If your customers are consumers, this episode is going to be of special interest. We’re going to pull back the curtain and have a frank discussion with debt collection specialists about how they try to resolve people’s debt problems. Most consumer debts aren’t big - a reminder or call from a third-party collection agency like MetCredit is enough of…
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Every episode of overdue advice is aimed at providing business leaders perspective on how and why debt collection can have a positive effect on your business’s cash flow and customer relationships. By the time some companies contact MetCredit, the pressure of receivables is extreme. MetCredit can usually start collecting within a few days. If it’s …
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The financial services sector is built on trust. The clearer the contract, the more trust. In debt collection experience is the currency of trust. Debt collection is a people business after all. And MetCredit's people know their business. If you tour MetCredit's offices, you'll see long time service awards of 5, 10, 15 and over 20 years experience.…
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When you think about debt collection, you think about a phone call. There was a time when that was more or less true. It's 2020 and the telecom industry has shifted. Cord cutting means landlines aren't as available as they used to be, and there's no phone book for mobile phones. Text messaging have shifted when and where collectors can reach people…
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We live in the self-help era. From books to YouTube, you can learn about anything, or learn to do anything. Restoring an old radio, or calibrating a robot motor is one thing. How do you build a team? Soft skills are hard. Debt collectors get results, but almost entirely through soft skills. Debt collection is, mostly, one person communicating with …
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Some industries are regulated more than others. The Financial sector is one of the most high regulated sectors in the Canadian economy. And within finance, debt collection is a unique - and often - ignored corner. But it’s a corner with a lot of legal obligations…so today, we’re talking about compliance. When a company is meeting all its legal obli…
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If you're organized and attentive to your accounts receivable, collections can be an orderly process, but it's still stressful. The general impression is that collections has a negative impact on business relationships. In fact, professional debt collection can reset and improve relationships with clients. What happens when things go really off the…
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Credit and debt collection is as much social engineering and art as it is about business and finance. The crux of debt collection is asking for the money, but it’s not like a sales job. Tim Paulsen is an Accounts Receivable expert focused on training collectors. He’s an author of several books including the Amazon 5-star rating for “Paid in Full” a…
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George Preece is a veteran of credit and collections in Canada. He served as President of the Credit Institute of Canada, and he was also a founding member and first president of RMA, the Receivables Management Association of Canada. He joined MetCredit in January of 2019 and works with clients in Ontario, and across Canada. George was in Edmonton …
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After hours-long searching online, you'll find very little information about estate collections. What you will learn about estate collections - collecting from the deceased - is that it's a specialized branch of debt collection, virtually no one offers the service, and if you want to learn more, you pretty much have to talk to our guest, JoJo Stapl…
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Debt is egalitarian. It doesn't discriminate. Credit card and line of credit debts can inflate until they're so large the debt crowds out the rest of your life. It's not uncommon to have a house, a car, and other assets, but max out credit to the point where the bank won't talk to you. Then what? Jayde Samarzija is a mortgage broker who specializes…
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If you think soft skills were easy, try asking someone for a few thousand dollars they owe someone else. But businesses are moving away from having their own credit managers and collections departments. The loss of internal expertise comes at a price: more bad debt, and more collections. In this episode, Andreas Schwabe talks with Benjamin Scott, C…
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Who is a debt collector? Looking at MetCredit's career videos, you'd think they only hire shy, reserved wall-flowers who are more comfortable being in the background. You might think the biggest asset for debt collectors is nerves of steel. But being a superhuman pillar of strength isn't what's most needed in debt collection. Maturity, emotional in…
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George Preece started his career in 1964 as a loan manager with a bank. He would go on to manage loans and collections for some of Canada's most storied institutions. At the time, even banks had what can be described as "uneven" loans and collection policies. Fast Forward to this episode and George provides perspective on how the industry developed…
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It might come as a surprise that issues, solutions, products and services in the financial credit sector are constantly evolving. Every two years the Credit Institute of Canada invites its members to gather and learn about new trends in the industry. MetCredit's VP of Business Development, David Hopkyns, talks about the 2019 convention in Niagara F…
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Jobs numbers are the best they've been in a generation, but investment is down. Voters across the country have sent multiple-term governments packing. Are we on the cusp of a turnaround, or waiting for the other economic shoe to drop? It's better to be proactive than reactive. If revenue is important to your business, then uncollected revenue is af…
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In business the bottom line is literally the bottom line. When it comes to outstanding revenue, we’ve heard time and again from experienced debt collectors: do not wait. Time is the enemy. If you want to recover as much money as possible, you need to act as quickly as possible. But that’s really the question. Act? Sure! But what to do…where to turn…
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People are hard-wired to find patterns. Whether it’s a picture, sound, or behavior, we look for patterns in everything. Businesses are good at detecting patterns in customer behavior. They’re not so good at predicting behavior - especially when it comes to who is going to default on a payment. Katrina Nilsen is a Collection Manager, and TsiTsi Chiw…
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Most people have never experienced a call from a debt collector, but opinions about the debt collection process are many and varied. What do you really know about debt collection and how it works? Debt collection is heavily regulated in Canada, but that doesn't mean anyone understands it. any better than patent law. Debt collection is a formal proc…
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The popular image of debt collection is a bunch of snarling, angry, vindictive trolls who find joy in making life miserable. They follow you around with a money magnet, siphoning your hard-earned cash that you want to use for other things. But debtors have already used their money for other things, and can't afford the new things. Small and medium …
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Ask three economists their opinion on an issue, and you might get four answers back. Is the economy up? Is it flat? Is it down? You have to act when you're facing an economic downturn. Episode 3 of Overdue Advice reveals the 5 things you can do to make a down economy more tolerable for your business.…
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Running a business is demanding. We look for processes and habits that foster stability and routine. Habits are comfortable, but they're not always efficient or good business. With trade tariffs and barrier, political instability, and even climate can further complicate matters. As margins shrink, you need to find ways to do business better; smarte…
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Episode 1 - Overdue Advice is the podcast about dealing with outstanding debt. In the first episode, host Andreas Schwabe talks with Brian Summerfelt, President and CEO of MetCredit, Canada's leader in ethical debt collection. Episode 1 covers a lot of ground, starting with what debt collection actually is, how it works, and how Brian wants MetCred…
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