NCO Parent Announces Large Expansion

Expert Global Solutions Inc., holding company of collection industry giant NCO Financial Systems Inc., has announced a large expansion in Virginia Beach, Va. that will create 175 new jobs to support growing national customer and technical services requirements in the pharmaceutical sector.

The company provides global business process outsourcing through both NCO and APAC Customer Services Inc.

Expert Global is a business process outsourcing firm that last year sold parts of its accounts receivable management business to Platinum Equity, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm. The sale of the firm's Transworld Systems was announced in July and closed in November. It included several business segments within Expert Global: Transworld Systems, Education, Attorney Network, Healthcare Bad Debt, Government and U.S.-based Third-Party Collections. 

The expansion announced this week will result in $600,000 in new capital investment for Virginia Beach. The Virginia Beach Development Authority awarded an Economic Development Investment Program grant of $50,000 based on the number of jobs created. The grant will be used to support workforce development services. The company also is eligible for the Virginia Major Business Facility Job Tax Credit Program for job creation.

Expert Global is based in Plano, Texas, and has an estimated 40,000 employees worldwide. As part of the expansion, the company will co-locate a new APAC division in Virginia Beach with existing NCO operations. The 30,000-square-foot office currently supports 245 employees and will expand by 175 employees over the next year.

In July 2013, the Federal Trade Commission ordered Expert Global, which it described at the time as the world's largest debt collection firm, to pay a $3.2 million fine for allegedly making illegal collections calls and not verifying debts in dispute.

The order was the largest fine the FTC had issued against a third-party collector. The FTC said Expert Global and its affiliates violated collection laws by calling consumers several times a day, at unlawful hours and at workplaces. The company also continued to try to collect funds without verifying the debt and even after consumers denied owing it, according to the complaint.