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RFP 15JPSS24R00000048, Private Counsel Debt Collection – District of Massachusetts Responses to Vendor Questions
No.
| RFP Reference |
| Question/Comment |
| Response |
| Please reconfirm the due date for this procurement by providing it in response to answers to questions. |
| Proposals are due no later than Monday, July 9, 2024 at 4:30p.m. ET. |
| What is the date by which you will answer these questions? |
| The Department’s responses, along with the questions, will be posted to the Contract Opportunities website, https://sam.gov/content/opportunities |
| Is there a deadline for questions? |
| Questions are due no later than June 17, 2024 at 4:30p.m. ET. |
| When is the anticipated award date? |
| 3QFY2024 |
| Can you please provide greater explanation of your expectations related to any required subcontracting to minority-owned, women-owned, or other types or categories of small or disadvantaged businesses? For example, what is required with the proposal, and what is required to comply during the term of the contract? |
| There are no subcontracting possibilities. |
| Are bidders permitted to deviate in any way from any manner of quoting fees you may be expecting? For example, if there is a pricing page in the RFP, can bidders submit an alternate fee structure? If there is no pricing page in the RFP, do you have any preference for how bidders should quote fees or can bidders create their own pricing categories? |
| Offerors shall not deviate from the requirements of the solicitation. |
All offerors must insert the fixed unit rates for the specified line items utilizing the file entitled “Price Proposal Template” associated with this solicitation.
| Please describe your level of satisfaction with your current or recent vendor(s) for the same purchasing activity, if applicable. |
| The Department is satisfied with the contractor’s performance. |
| Has the current contract gone full term? |
| Yes. |
| Have all options to extend the current contract been exercised? |
| Yes. |
| Who is the incumbent, and how long has the incumbent been providing the requested services? |
| The incumbent is the Law Offices of Robert A. Schuerger Co., LPA and they have been providing services since October 1, 2019. |
| How are fees currently being billed by any incumbent(s), by category, and at what rates? |
| The incumbent contractor uses the same pricing model provided within the solicitation, and their rates cannot be disclosed. |
| What estimated or actual dollars were paid last year, last month, or last quarter to any incumbent(s)? |
| This information is not readily available. |
| To what extent are these accounts owed by private consumers versus commercial businesses? |
| The majority of these accounts are private consumers whose debts arise out of federal loan programs. |
| Will accounts be primary placements, not having been serviced by any other outside collection agency, and/or will you also be referring secondary placements? If so, should bidders provide proposed fees for secondary placements also? |
| Bidders need only propose rates as indicated in the solicitation’s contract pricing table. |
| What is the total dollar value of accounts available for placement now by category, including any backlog? |
| Please refer to the combined synopsis/solicitation notice. It includes the caseload information. |
| What is the average balance of accounts by category? |
| Please refer to the combined synopsis/solicitation notice. It includes the caseload information. |
| What is the monthly or quarterly number of accounts expected to be placed with the vendor(s) by category? |
| Please refer to the combined synopsis/solicitation notice. It includes the caseload information. We cannot predict the volume of intake of additional accounts to the existing caseload. |
| What is the monthly or quarterly dollar value of accounts expected to be placed with the vendor(s) by category? |
| Please refer to the combined synopsis/solicitation notice. It includes the caseload information. We cannot predict the volume of intake of additional accounts to the existing caseload. |
| What has been the historical rate of return or liquidation rate provided by any incumbent(s), and/or what is anticipated or expected as a result of this procurement? |
| We do not track the rate of return or liquidation rates on these accounts. The combined synopsis/solicitation notice includes the caseload information. We cannot predict future rates for these accounts. |
| Can you please indicate what inbound and outbound contact methods, beyond phone calls or letters (such as email and text), would be permitted by the scope of work? |
| All contractors must work in strict compliance with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) which provides guidance on how communications in debt collection must be conducted with consumers. Only communications done within the scope of the FDCPA are permissible. |
| What is the estimated size of the existing portfolio (the backlog) in terms of both the number of accounts and the dollar amount outstanding? The average balance owed per account? Per debtor? |
| Please refer to the combined synopsis/solicitation notice. It includes the existing caseload information as of the date of the solicitation. |
| What is the age of the oldest accounts in the portfolio? |
| Please refer to the combined synopsis/solicitation notice. It includes the existing caseload information as of the date of the solicitation. |
| What is the estimated size, in terms of both the number of accounts and dollars outstanding, of annual referrals going forward (i.e. new/future placements)? |
| We cannot predict the number of future delinquent debt referrals from federal agencies. |
| If applicable, who is your current collection provider? If applicable, how long has your current collection provider been under contract? |
| Delinquent debts sent to DOJ for collection are from federal agencies who perform their own in-house collection activity or use Treasury. DOJ Private Counsel perform litigation and collection on these debts. |
| If applicable, what is your current collection provider’s annual recovery rate (i.e. on accounts placed for one year)? |
| DOJ does not have statistics on past recovery rates for these delinquent debts. |
| If applicable, what is the fee percentage (e.g. 33% of all monies collected on all referred accounts) charged by your current collection provider? |
| All fee percentages under these DOJ services are contract negotiated rates. |
| Will accounts referred to your current collection provider be recalled and re-referred to the collection provider chosen pursuant to this procurement process? And if so, can bidders propose a higher fee percentage for these previously worked accounts (i.e. second placements)? |
| DOJ will award one contract in this procurement. All negotiated fees for that contract will be applicable to the debts assigned. |
| Are litigation services required/desired? If so, can bidders propose a higher fee percentage for accounts requiring litigation services? |
| The procured vendor must be able to perform litigation services for secured and unsecured debt. The contract pricing table distinguishes fees and rates based upon the services performed. |
| We assume that you do not/will not allow your collection providers to add convenience and/or payment processing fees in addition to their contingency fees? If such fees are allowed, can you clarify that you will require bidders to fully disclose the amounts to be charged so the same can take the same into consideration when evaluating pricing? |
| Unsecured debt collection is compensated via contingency fee. Secured debt collection is compensated via negotiated flat fees and reimbursement for cost are noted in the RFP. Only in extraordinary circumstances, when communicated and requested in advance, and after receiving approval, does DOJ reimburse cost associated with unsecured debt collection. |
| How will account/collection information or data be communicated to the successful bidder (i.e. electronic via an FTP site)? |
| Cases will be provided to the contractor in electronic format with access in the DOJ system of record. Older cases which have not yet transitioned to the virtual format may also be referred under this contract. |
| Will all account information be transmitted from a single platform or will multiple agencies be sending their accounts for collection to our system? |
| Federal agencies refer their cases to DOJ in a single format for the DOJ system of record. DOJ assigns these cases to the contractor via a single platform. |
| Are there any specific licensing or certification requirements required for working with the United States Attorney’s Office? |
| All licensing and certification requirements for performance on this contract are noted in the solicitation. |
