RFP - Delinquent Toll Account Recovery and Management Services for the Harris County Toll Road Authority

The Harris County Toll Road Authority seeks qualified vendors to provide comprehensive Delinquent Toll Account Recovery and Management Services through this Request for Proposal posted January 23, 2026, with proposals due by March 16, 2026. The procurement encompasses early-stage administrative collection activities including collection letters and hearing setup, administrative hearings and pre-hearing resolution services, and late-stage litigation and post-judgment activities for delinquent toll accounts across HCTRA's seven toll facilities. Vendors must demonstrate a minimum of five years of experience managing toll, utility, or municipal debt collections with documented annual recoveries of at least $5 million, provide three public sector client references involving $2 million or more in recovered revenue within the past five years, and possess the capacity to handle daily placement volumes of at least 5,000 accounts. All vendors must maintain active SOC 2 Type II and PCI-DSS Level 1 compliance certification, complete FDCPA and Texas Debt Collection Act training, provide ADA and TTY accessibility support, and maintain bilingual English/Spanish staffing capabilities. The evaluation committee will assess proposals using a 25-point Technical Approach and Methodology criterion, 30-point Relevant Experience and Past Performance criterion, 25-point Key Personnel Qualifications criterion, and 20-point Cost/Fee Proposal criterion, with final award subject to Harris County Commissioners Court approval.

Vendors must submit proposals in one original and ten copies in separate three-ring binders accompanied by two CD-ROMs containing the proposal documentation and pricing information separately; all compensation is contingency-based utilizing the specified Compensation Model with pricing per collection letter ($1.55), hearing setup ($0.25), prosecuted or settled hearings ($10.00), lawsuits ($15.00), and resolution contingencies ($500.00 per account), with case expenses reimbursable up to $50.00 per case. Vendors must complete numerous compliance documents including conflict of interest questionnaires, tax residence certifications, minimum wage certifications, workers' compensation insurance requirements, subcontractor listing forms, and IT vendor controls acknowledgements, while maintaining minimum insurance coverage including $1,000,000 commercial general liability per occurrence, $1,000,000 automobile liability combined single limits, and $1,000,000 umbrella/excess liability coverage, with Harris County named as additional insured. Vendors must provide a bid bond or bank cashier's check equal to 5% of the proposal amount and a current Certificate of Insurance prior to award, with performance and payment bonds each equal to 100% of the proposal required within ten days of award. The procurement requires integration with HCTRA's Back Office System through Secure File Transfer Protocol using specified Interface Control Document specifications (version 5.12) for daily file exchanges managing toll violation invoices, payment and adjustment data, and demographic information across multiple toll authorities. While no specific contract value is disclosed in the solicitation documents, the compensation structure establishes contingency-based fee arrangements tied to actual collections and case volumes with administrative fees ranging from $1.00 to $14.00 at placement, hearing citation fees of $50.00 to $60.00, and maximum cumulative fee caps of $750.00 and $500.00 per vehicle as established by Harris County Commissioners Court in the Toll Setting Policy.