DBA International Launches Version 3.1 of the Receivables Management Certification Program

The DBA International Board of Directors and Certification Council have adopted version 3.1 of the Receivables Management Certification Program. By establishing uniform national standards of best practice, DBA International is able to ensure that its certified members are exceeding the consumer protection requirements of state and federal law.

The changes in version 3.1 are almost exclusively administrative in nature with no additional standards having been added to the program. The following is a highlight of some of the changes contained in the latest version:

  • Education Credits – Increases from 12 to 16 the number of biennial educational credits a person can receive online toward their CRCP designation.
  • Standard # 4 (Employee Training Program) – Clarification that employees should be trained on how to comply with applicable: (i) Certification Standards, (ii) corporate policies and procedures, and (iii) laws and regulations.
  • Standard # 15 (Vendor Management) – Adds checking certification status and reviewing complaints on the CFPB portal as additional examples of vendor due diligence.
  • Standard # 20 (Resale) – Adds a requirement that certified companies conduct “reasonable due diligence” on a purchasing company before selling accounts to that company.
  • Standard # 26 (Consumer Complaint) & Standard # 29 (Client Communications) – Adds complaints received from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), state consumer regulatory agencies, and state and federal attorneys general to the types of complaints a collection law firm and third party collection agency must transmit to its affected clients.

Certified Companies or companies that have submitted an application for certification prior to November 1, 2015 have until May 1, 2016 to conform to the changes per section 5.7(D) of the Certification Governance Document. Applicants submitting an application on or after November 1, 2015 need to conform to version 3.1 prior to becoming certified.

More information on the DBA International Receivables Management Certification Program, including specific program resources, requirements and applications, can be found on the DBA website.