Terms of Service  

From time to time the subscriber (party to which debts are alleged to be owed) may refer for collection to BMSI Credit Services, a division of Business Management Systems, Inc. (BMSI), debts which it wishes BMSI to collect. These services will be performed according to the following terms of service, which may change from time to time upon due notice to subscriber, and which are agreed to by both parties:

Subscriber will provide to BMSI all necessary information regarding debts which it wishes BMSI to collect, and will report promptly to BMSI all payments received by it on accounts referred for collection. Returned merchandise will also be considered equivalent to payment, and the value of the merchandise, as assessed by subscriber, will be credited to the account of the debtor (party alleged to owe the debt). Applicable commissions on such events will be calculated based on the value assessed for the returned merchandise, and will be considered equivalent to a cash payment for commission purposes. Subscriber will also report promptly information regarding the filing of bankruptcies by the debtor, disputes, attorney representation, and any other vital and pertinent information. 

Subscriber certifies that it has not added, and will not add, charges in addition to the principal amount of the debt, unless such charges are permissible under law and/or specifically established by contract. Subscriber also certifies that periodic interest will not be added to consumer debts unless interest charges were disclosed in writing prior to the sale, in accordance with the terms of the Federal Truth in Lending Act.

BMSI will exercise reasonable care in obtaining payment on debts, but does not guarantee the collection of any given debt, or percentage of debts referred. BMSI will comply with all applicable statutes and regulations governing the collection of debts. BMSI will not, under any circumstances, be responsible for failure to collect any given debt, or group of debts, nor will BMSI bear any responsibility for the expiration of the statute of limitations while a debt is under its control for collection.

BMSI will have complete control of its internal record keeping procedures, and will have complete control over the process of reporting debts to outside parties such as Credit Reporting Agencies. BMSI will also bear full responsibility for such reporting.

Subscriber will discontinue all billing and collection activities on any debt referred for collection to BMSI, and will refrain from referring to any other outside debt collection contractor, debts already referred to BMSI for collection. Once BMSI has begun collection work on any particular debt, it will be considered that BMSI has made a substantial investment in the collection process, and shall be entitled to retain any such debt in its inventory indefinitely, at its sole discretion. Fees and commission charges for the collection of debts will be made according to BMSI’s current schedule of rates, which may change from time to time on due notice to the subscriber.

BMSI will provide for subscriber, upon request, and with reasonable notice and at reasonable intervals, a complete list of all accounts currently in its care, showing the current balances due on those accounts according to its records.

BMSI shall have the authority to accept and endorse checks made payable to subscriber, received on accounts referred for collection.  

Each party will indemnify and hold harmless the other party with regard to any loss, injury, liability, claim, damage, or expense (including, without limitation, reasonable attorney’s fees, court costs, and other actual reasonable costs and expenses incident to proceedings or investigations or the defense of any claims) and amounts paid in settlement of claims, suffered by either party, resulting from each party’s actions with regard to the debt in question. This includes, but is not limited to, a failure by subscriber to report to BMSI information of the following nature: disputes raised by debtor or other pertinent communications with debtor, payments made by debtor to subscriber, bankruptcies filed by the debtor, or other attorney representation of the debtor. 

BMSI may, from time to time, recommend litigation of a particular debt in order to enforce payment. Subscriber will never be required to give such consent, and BMSI will not cause a law-suit to be filed against any debtor without the signed consent of subscriber. BMSI will not be obligated to initiate a law-suit against a debtor against its best judgment. Once a suit is filed, BMSI will advance court costs, and will reimburse itself those court cost advances from first monies collected.  If a counter-claim should be filed by debtor, subscriber shall have complete responsibility to pay all costs of defense of such counter-claim, and shall be responsible for any potential award given to debtor, if the counter-claim alleges wrong-doing on the part of subscriber, or any employee, agent, or contractor for subscriber, other than BMSI. BMSI shall likewise bear full responsibility for such counter-claims alleging wrong-doing on its part.

                                                                                                                                                   TOS.CSD.20050809