We started TrueAccord in 2013 because we wanted to crowd out the “bad guys” in the debt collection space. Every dollar that will be paid through our system, we figured, is a dollar not paid through them. We will get involved in the messy world of debt collection, get our hands dirty, actually deal with those in debt instead of providing technology and hoping for the best. And we will emerge the winners.

Three years later, we still believe that. Those in debt who choose to work with us get flexible payment plans, where every dollar pays for their debt – principal first. Their interest is frozen. We don’t charge fees. More and more banks, issuers and large companies work with us, and they care so much about their customers’ experience that they push us to be even more lenient than we ever thought we could be.

Looks like we did it; we’re the good guys. And when John Oliver bashes debt collectors and debt buyers on his show, I should be thrilled. I should be one of those who stand on the sidelines and point and laugh and cheer at the tremendous feat of forgiving almost $15 million of old debt. But I don’t. I’m actually quite pissed.

Why is that? What’s in this piece that gets on my nerves?

Don’t get me wrong, I like the show. Who doesn’t like getting the news shouted at them with a British accent? I also get that he’s not a journalist, he’s an entertainer, and the video was indeed entertaining. It had another problem, though: it absolutely, completely, utterly managed to miss the point.

If you’re chasing clicks and eyeballs, debt collection is a great story. Being in debt is scary, it’s confusing, and being repeatedly asked to pay back adds another layer of stress. People in debt often have really sad life stories, and are in constant crisis mode, not always of their own making. The thing is, John Oliver did nothing more than to put them on display, and offer a hocus-pocus solution for their woes. He pretended all it takes is buying their debt for less than half-a-cent on the dollar, as though he didn’t buy extremely old medical debt that no serious business would collect on. Much like in his PayDay lending episode, which ended with Sarah Silverman suggesting that people steal instead of take a loan, Oliver isn’t about offering solutions. He’s about big gestures and laughs. None of these, unfortunately, pays the bills; what it does do is create false hope, confusion, and yet another reason to blame the collector instead of taking responsibility and getting yourself out of debt.

At TrueAccord, we often ask ourselves: what are we to those in debt, and especially to those who are chronically in debt? Are we the gym teacher, shouting at the short-breathed kid to keep his pace up? Are we a doctor, waving our finger at the diabetic who wants another bite of a doughnut? Are we the policeman, giving them a ticket for speeding? Can we be to each what they need, using our targeting technology? As our technology gets better, we get closer to tailoring the right solution to each individual.

One thing is certain, though: the relationship between collectors and those they collect from is a long and complex process. However we position ourselves, our job is to chaperone people through the winding road to getting back on their feet and planning their cash flow. We build tools to give them maximum flexibility with their payout plan, and to easily change it when the unexpected happens (and it usually does). We hope to never see them again in our system, and we feel disappointed when we do, or when they promise something and then change their mind. Above all, instead of distancing ourselves from the situation or turning it into a joke, we get deeply involved because we care – because we want to make a tangible difference. And we do. Day by day. Dollar by dollar.

To see This Week Tonight diminish all this work, to see them repackage the human suffering and complex emotion into several minute tidbits so they can compete with Oprah for biggest giveaway for the poor… I find it demeaning and disrespectful. Almost cynical. And no matter how much truth there is on the show (and there is!), I can’t bring myself to support a simplistic representation of such an issue. That is why I can’t get behind TV’s biggest “giveaway” ever.

TrueAccord is reinventing the debt collection process through data and behavioral analytics. Instead of the grim and negative experience it is today, we’re turning the collections process into one that allows debtors to grow, and improve their financial standing.  Since we’re dealing with such a contentious situation, customers often reach us angry, disappointed, and negative. This is where we can help them the most.

As a community manager, you will be in charge of communicating with our customers and the general public through the use of our internal tools as well as all standard social media outlet. You will help define, promote and support the company’s brand as well as the impeccable service it aims to provide its customers.

You will:

• Manage day to day interaction with customers and solve issues that our system cannot address
• Manage the company’s outgoing social media participation through Facebook, Twitter, blog and so on
• Monitor the company’s social presence and participate in online conversations wherever needed
• Participate in PR and marketing activities

The ideal candidate:

• Is passionate about helping people through rough times and can exude empathy and positivity even under pressure
• Has superb writing and speaking skills; English is a must, Spanish is a big plus
• Is highly proficient and has tangible experience in using social media: Twitter, Facebook, blog and other social media outlets
• Is motivated to work for a startup at its early stages and eager to participate in setting a direction for the company’s brand and voice
• May have consumer marketing experience – this is a plus

Note: this is not a debt collector’s position. Debt collection experience isn’t required and is in fact discouraged for this position.

For more details, please send resumes to osamet67@gmail.com

I’d like to invite you to a talk based on my free eBook “Introduction to Online Payments Risk Management“. The talk will take place July 11th in Balanced’s office in SF.

Tickets can be found here.

See you there!

(UPDATE: Babylon responded and this matter is sorted out. See the bottom of the post)

This is off topic for this blog, but I wanted to tell you about a product experience I found preposterous, on the verge of misleading, by a company I thought was serious.

I’m working on a project and found out that I needed some text translated to Spanish. Since this is a proof of concept I didn’t go to a regular translator but was looking for a cheaper alternative. Yes, I know, you pay peanuts etc – I get it. I needed a quick translation to check something.

A trusted connection suggested Babylon’s translation services. I went ahead and found the website. The form counted my words, suggested a price for the word count, and sold me up on “proofreading”. Not sure what that is, but I went with it. Altogether $12 that I happily spent to get one small translation. Roughly 50 words.

Then, a day later, I get this email from someone named Orly:

Dear Ohad,

My mane is Orly [redacted] , I’m Babylons professional translations project manager.

I noticed that your last request is for translation of 56 word and proofreading. According to that it comes to the total of 84 words.

Currently your account shows the balance of 75 words, so there are 9 words missing.

Please purchase a suitable package that covers your needs so we can proceed with the translation and send you the results as soon as possible.

Thank you and awaiting your reply.

Wait, what? The website gave me a price. I said ok. I paid. Suddenly there’s a higher price to pay? What’s this about? I asked:

I paid $8 for translation and $4 for proofreading as your website asked me to. I don’t understand why I’m being asked to pay more. That doesn’t make sense to me. Do you have a different price than your website?

Because hey, maybe I’m dealing with the militant faction of the human translation network. Like an unplanned road block by the militia. Diligent Orly promptly responded:

Thank you for your reply.

The payment of 12 $ (8$ translation + 4$ proofreading) is related to 50 words translation and 25 words proofreading.

You exceeded this amount -56 words translation + 28 words proofreading.

Due to that you need to add more words to your account in order to get it done.

Something is clearly not coming through. So far I’m far beyond the “One page in one hour” promised on their front page, but hey, there’s an asterisk and maybe my text is that kind of text (it’s not). I try again:

But that’s what your website asked me to pay. How does it make sense that I ask for something, your website asks me for a certain payment, and suddenly I need to pay more?

Trying logic. She replies:

The website offer you to purchase the word quantity according to your decision.

The website doesn’t know how many words you intend to translate. In that case you should choose a bigger words package that will cover all the words.

But, wait, the website has a word counter. It gave me an offer based on my word count. In fact, the price changes according to word count. Check it out.

At this point I decided it wasn’t worth my time. I will move to another service and leave Babylon and their bait and switch techniques to themselves. I asked for a refund and I fully intend to cancel the charge if I don’t get it within three days, as my concern about this company grows. I just want to put the word out there: be careful with Babylon.

UPDATE: I got a response from Babylon. David from the team asked for the following response to be posted:

“We would like to apologize to Ohad. There was a problem with the Babylon Human Translation website, of which our translation account managers were unaware, that caused it to report a faulty word count. It was this glitch that led to the misunderstanding. We are sorry for any frustration or inconvenience this may have caused.”

I appreciate Babylon taking this seriously!

Recent trends on Quora lead me to be concerned about my content there. While I’ll continue to use the site for the foreseeable future, I want to make sure my answers are safe. Therefore at least some of them will be copied to this blog.