Letter from Mike Bendickson:
DBA Board of Directors Approves Certification Program

Dear DBA members,

On Monday, November 5, the DBA Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve the DBA Certification Program. The next step in the process will be in February, when we will ask the DBA membership to vote for a change in our bylaws codifying the Certification Program. This is a monumental achievement for DBA International. The board would like to thank Task Force Chair Stacey Schacter and the more than 50 volunteers from all segments of the industry who donated their time and energies to bring the Certification Program to this point.

We encourage all of you to read the certification policy document which is available on DBA’s website by clicking here. Included in the document are many details on certification standards for both individual and company certification.

For individual certification, the policy document outlines the rules for:

  • Continuing education;
  • Employment;
  • Public disclosure of certified members; and
  • Good character required by certified members.

For company certification, the document includes 19 specific standards that certified companies would
follow. Highlights include standards for:

  • Account documentation;
  • Chain of Title;
  • Consumer complaint and dispute resolution;
  • Statute of limitations;
  • Vendor management;
  • Credit bureau reporting; and
  • Resale to non-certified Debt Buyers.

The Task Force created this program’s policy guide with the full understanding that it is a living and breathing document that is intended to be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect industry best practices. I want to commend the Task Force for addressing the most important issues that our industry confronts on a daily basis. Through the DBA Certification Program, we will be taking an important step to demonstrate the professional standards we maintain on a daily basis to regulators, legislators, consumer advocates and the media. Once you have had an opportunity to review the document, please share any comments or questions with us by emailing them to [email protected]. DBA will compile the questions we receive and will provide responses on the Certification page of DBA’s website. We look forward to seeing everyone in February in Las Vegas.

Warm Regards,

Mike Bendickson
DBA President