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Choosing an agencySales decks all look alike. Public records, a reference call and a measured test on your own accounts don't. Here's the order to run them in.
Choose a collection agency in 2 rounds. First, cut the list on facts you can verify yourself: licenses where your customers live, regulatory and complaint history, data security evidence and relevant references. Then place a random slice of similar accounts with 2 finalists and pick the one that nets you more after fees, with fewer complaints, over the same months.
TSI (Transworld Systems Inc.) publishes it. TSI provides Accounts Receivable Management (ARM), Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management (RCM), CXBPO and Loan Servicing (via UAS). DebtNext, a TSI company, makes recovery management software for creditors. Some options this page describes compete with services TSI sells. Each figure names its publisher and date so you can check it yourself.
Most agency choices get made on a fee quote and a presentation. Both are easy to polish and hard to check. The agency you hire speaks in your name, holds your customers' data and can draw complaints that land on you.
The CFPB received about 387,400 debt collection complaints in 2025 (CFPB, Consumer Response Annual Report, March 2026). You want an agency whose share of that number you've looked up.
Account type, typical balance and age, volume per month, states where customers live, and whether you need first-party, third-party or legal work. Agencies differ by account type more than by size.
Check licenses, enforcement history and complaints in public records (table below). Ask for current independent security audit reports with scope and dates. Drop anyone who can't produce them.
Ask each reference what changed, in numbers, and over what period. Ask how disputes and complaints get handled, and what happened the last time something went wrong.
Give 2 finalists a random split of similar accounts from the same months. Measure net-back (recoveries minus fees, divided by dollars placed), complaints per 1,000 accounts and dispute handling time. Three to six months usually separates them.
Audit rights, reporting, recall terms, data return and deletion, settlement authority and who approves legal action. Your RFP template has model clauses and scoring.
| What the agency says | Where you can check it | What a good answer looks like |
|---|---|---|
| "We're licensed nationwide" | Each state regulator's lookup, and NMLS Consumer Access for states that license through NMLS | A full license list you can match to public records. See how to verify a license |
| "Clean regulatory record" | CFPB enforcement actions database, state attorney general sites, court dockets | Every order and settlement disclosed with dates and what changed after it |
| "Low complaints" | CFPB Consumer Complaint Database | Complaint counts set against volume, with root causes |
| "Strong compliance" | Call recordings, the QA scorecard and who QA reports to | QA independent of operations. See how calls are monitored and scored |
| "Your data is safe" | Current audit reports with scope and dates; data terms at exit | Clear answers on return and deletion. See data at contract end |
| "High recovery rate" | Their curves on accounts like yours, or your own split placement | A stair-step by placement month for accounts like yours |
Run these checks on every finalist, TSI included. Ask TSI for the same evidence you ask of anyone else.
A low fee on weak recovery nets less than a higher fee on strong recovery. In illustrative math, 6 points of contingency fee are worth about 0.88 points of liquidation. What collection agencies charge works through the arithmetic.
A recovery promise before the agency has seen your accounts.
Reluctance to share call recordings or audit reports.
An agency that can't say who does the calling or where they sit.
Fees on payments your customers make to you directly, with no carve-out.
Withdrawal terms that charge the full fee on accounts you recall.
A split placement takes a few months, and some creditors are too small for two agencies to share. If your volume is low, lean harder on references and public records, and keep a short initial term with clear exit rights.
Ask where it's licensed, which orders or settlements it has had, how it scores calls and who that team reports to, how it handles disputes, what data it returns at exit, and what it charges on recalled accounts and direct payments.
Pick the one that nets you the most after fees, with an acceptable complaint record. A lower fee can cost you money if recovery drops even a little.
With steady volume, 2 or more is common, splitting accounts so each agency's results can be compared. Smaller creditors often use one and test a second on a slice once a year.
Long enough to see results on a few months of placements, often a year, with exit terms that let you recall accounts without paying the full fee. Switching agencies covers what to plan for at the end.
General information, current as of Nov 5, 2026. It isn't legal advice. Rules change and differ by state, so check the sources linked here and talk to your own counsel before you act on it.
The Recovery Performance Diagnostic sets the baseline on one portfolio or segment and designs a carve-out TSI works beside your current agency, measured on the same months.
