Department of Education Announces Small Business Contract Awardees

The U.S. Department of Education?s (ED) office of Federal Student Aid has announced which collection agencies have been awarded task orders to collect defaulted student loans under the small-business set aside portion of the contract. The winners are:

• Account Control Technology (Canoga Park, CA)
• Collection Technology Inc. (Burbank, CA)
• ConServe (Fairport, NY)
• Financial Management Systems (Bethesda, MD)
• Premier Credit (Indianapolis, IN)

Since 1979, ED has engaged private collection agencies to collect defaulted student loans. During the 2004 fiscal year, private collection agencies recovered more than $1.2 billion for the government. ED conducted its procurement in accordance with the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Service?s Financial and Business Solutions (FABS) Schedule, the second time it has made use of this procurement method. The buying cycle began with an initial meeting for pre-qualified agencies in January, followed by a request for proposal due in July. In the ensuing weeks, ED reviewed proposals and contacted references to narrow the field and make selections.

Winning a portion of this contract is very prestigious not only in the realm of higher education collections, but within the industry as a whole, as affirmed by Mark E. Davitt, President of ConServe. ?I am especially pleased with this contract award because it is a highly competitive selection process requiring not only good work, but work better than that of our competitors. And, I am most pleased because this award is recognition of the excellent efforts of all of the people here at ConServe.?

Nick Bernardo, principal of Net Gain Marketing and author of ConServe?s winning proposal, had this to say about the announcement, ?It?s always a pleasure to participate in this procurement process because ED is one of the most sophisticated buyers in the collection industry. They know what they want to buy, how to communicate their expectations to potential vendors, and how to maintain a fair and objective process that delivers the best value to the government and to taxpayers. I look forward to helping other collection agencies win business from the Federal government in the future.?

ED also plans to award contracts to 10?12 large businesses as a part of its procurement. As of this writing, awards have been delayed due to a protest lodged by a firm competing for a large-business award. The maximum duration of all contracts is 60 months. Collection efforts under the new contracts are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2005.

About ConServe
ConServe is a premier provider of accounts receivable management services including first and third party billing, intervention, cure and collection services to creditors in multiple industries. Founded in 1985, the firm employs nearly 100 from its headquarters in Fairport, New York, and has twice been included in the Rochester Top 100 for making a positive impact on the community through growth and employment opportunities. For more information, visit our website at www.conserve-arm.com, or contact Mark E. Davitt, President, at 800-724-7500.

About Net Gain Marketing
Nick Bernardo is principal of Net Gain Marketing, a collaborative network-marketing agency based in Philadelphia, PA, that serves businesses in multiple industries, including the collection industry. Prior to founding the firm, Nick was marketing manager with NCO Financial Systems, Inc., the world?s largest collection agency. Nick can be reached at 215-533-1680.