A Quick Guide for Choosing a Collection Agency

Some guidelines in choosing a child-support collection agency:

* Do your own investigating first. Child-support groups can provide a list of established agencies used by members. The Better Business Bureau can tell you if complaints have been made against a particular company.

* Get references. Ask the agency for names of past clients as well as its average success rate and the amount of money it recovers.

* Understand the fees. Most established agencies charge an application fee of about $25 and keep up to 25% of what they collect. Beware of agencies that charge more. Learn beforehand if there might be additional charges for legal or other services.

* Compare notes before you sign up. Listen to what the agency says it can do for you and make sure it’s written into the contract. More important, find out if the agency can, in fact, perform such services. For instance, does it have a separate legal department? Does it have a contract with credit bureaus so that a negative report can be made against the deadbeat parent?