Number Request No.
Amendment No. 1 See Box 16C
Delinquent Debt Collection Services
6. Issued by: Code 7. Administered by (If other than line 6)
Office of the Chief Financial Officer Office of Contracts
1100 4th Street SW Suite E610 Washington, DC 20024
Office of Finance and Treasury
Government of the District of Columbia 1101 4th Street, SW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20024
8. Name and Address of Contractor (No. street, city, county, state and zip code)
ALL POTENTIAL OFFERORS
X
9A. Amendment of Solicitation No.
CFOPD-15-R-004
9B. Dated (See Item 11)
September 20, 2014
10A. Modification of Contract/Order No.
Code Facility
10B. Dated (See Item 13)
11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS
The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers is extended. is not extended. Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods: (a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning a _1__ written copy of the amendment: (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) BY separate letter or fax which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment number. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such may be made by letter or fax, provided each letter or telegram makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.
12. Accounting and Appropriation Data (If Required)
13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS , IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14 A. This change order is issued pursuant to (Specify Authority):
B. The above numbered contract/order is modified to reflect the administrative changes.
C. This supplemental agreement is entered into pursuant to authority of:
D. Other (Specify type of modification and authority) Administrative
E. IMPORTANT: Contractor is not is required to sign this document and return 1 copy to the issuing office.
14. Description of Amendment/Modification (Organized by UCF Section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)
The above referenced solicitation to provide a Delinquent Debt Collection Services is hereby amended to reflect the following changes (Attachment A) and response to inquiries received (Attachment B).
ALL OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS REMAIN UNCHANGED
Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document is referenced in Item 9A or 10A remain unchanged and in full force and effect. 15A. Name and Title of Signer (Type or print) 16A. Name of Contracting Officer
Drakus Wiggins
15B. Name of Contractor
(Signature of person authorized to sign)
15C. Date Signed 16B. District of Columbia
(Signature of Contracting Officer)
16C. Date Signed
Attachment A
The following changes are hereby incorporated into the solicitation.
1. The proposal due date is hereby extended to November 18, 2014 at 2:00pm.
2. Section L.2 is hereby amended to add a deadline of October 31, 2014 for inquiries.
3. Section C.2.3.5 is deleted in its entirety and replaced as follows:
C.2.3.5 For DMV tickets, a person would normally pay in-person at a cashiering station located at the DMV Traffic Adjudication Office, by mail, by phone, or via the Internet.
4. Section C.23 is deleted in its entirety and replaced as follows:
C.23 Suspension of Collection Effort
C.23.1 The Contractor will be authorized to make collection efforts once assigned a debt. If a debt is deemed uncollectible due to bankruptcy, death or other reason as
determined by the CCU, it shall be returned as uncollected accounts by file transmission to the Ajility system.
C.23.2 If no payment, installment payment plan, compromise settlement, or charity
determination is obtained within the six months of collection efforts, the Contractor shall notify the CCU Manager by file transmission to the Ajility system.
C.23.3 The Contractor shall suspend action on any individual debt account assigned for collection upon notification by the CCU Manager or the Ajility system.
C.23.4 At the request of the CCU, the Contractor shall return to CCU the debt account on which collection effort has been suspended, along with the account history and debtor information obtained during the collection process.
C.23.5 The Contractor shall also suspend collection efforts in the event the Contractor receives notice that any proceeding under the federal bankruptcy code has been filed by the debtor. The Contractor shall include in the file transmission all details of the proceeding including the bankruptcy notice, case number, chapter, court district, and date filed.
5. Section M.1.4 is deleted in its entirety and replaced as follows:
M.1.4 BEST AND FINAL OFFERS
If, subsequent to receiving original proposals, discussions are conducted, all Offerors within the competitive range will be so notified and will be provided an opportunity to submit written best and final offers at the designated date and time. Best and Final Offers will be subject to the Late Submissions, Late Modifications and Late Withdrawals of Proposals provision of the solicitation. After receipt of Best and Final offers, no discussions will be reopened unless the Contracting Officer determines that it is clearly in the Government’s best interest to do so, e.g., it is clear that information available at that time is inadequate to reasonably justify Contractor selection and award based on the best and final offers received. If discussions are reopened, the Contracting Officer must issue an additional request for Best and Final offers to all Bidders still within the competitive range.
6. The following sentence is added to the end of Section M.3.1.1.a:
“The description should also include the Offeror’s processing time and methodology for transfer of non-electronic documents.”
7. Section M.3.1.3(b) is deleted in its entirety and replaced as follows:
b. The Offeror shall provide a reference list of contracts or subcontracts the Offeror has satisfactorily performed within the past five (5) years that are similar in size and scope as the required services described in Section C. The Offeror’s list shall include the following information for each contract or subcontract:
i. Contract Title ii. Contract number
iii. Contract duration (or Period) iv. Total contract value
v. Whether the Offeror was the prime contractor or a subcontractor vi. Description of work performed, to include:
• Type of debts collected
• Your liquidation rates for the debt types
• Annual volumes
• Service performed in addition to collections
• What is/was your placement within those Champion Challenges for those debt types, if applicable
vii. Contact Person name, phone, and e-mail address
Attachment B
The following are responses to inquiries received.
Question 1. Please confirm the due date for this procurement is 11/4/2014.
Response 1. See Attachment A, Item 1.
Question 2. What is the date by which you will answer these questions?
Response 2. The District anticipates answering vendor questions the week of October 20th.
Question 3. Why is the contract out to bid at this time?
Response 3. The Office of Finance and Treasury’s Central Collection Unit (CCU) has a need for two outside collection contractors to assign the majority of qualifying debts for collection.
Question 4. When is the anticipated contract start date?
Response 4. The District anticipates the contract to commence January 2015.
Question 5. Has the current contract gone full term?
Response 5. The current contracts for delinquent collection services for non-tax debts are still active, therefore the contract terms are ongoing.
Question 6. Have all options to extend the current contract been exercised?
Response 6. No.
Question 7. Who is the incumbent, and how long has the incumbent been providing the requested services?
Response 7. The current incumbents are: Industrial Bank NA and subcontractor Professional Account Management DBA Duncan Solutions, since contract effective date of June 13, 2007; Nationwide Recovery Service, since contract effective date of August 10, 2012; Conserv, since contract effective date of July 1, 2010; and Williams & Fudge, since contract effective date of July 19, 2010.
Question 8. How are fees currently being billed by any incumbent(s), by category, and at what rates?
(averages 24%); and Conserv and Williams & Fudge - Education is (28% and 23%).
Question 9. What estimated or actual dollars were paid last year, last month, or last quarter to any incumbent(s)?
Response 9. The actual FY14 amount paid is approximate $4M.
Question 10.To how many vendors are you seeking to award a contract?
Response 10.Per Section M.1.1 of the solicitation, the District anticipates a contract will be awarded to the two responsive, responsible Offeors whose offers are most advantageous to the District, based upon the evaluation criteria specified.
Question 11.Please describe your level of satisfaction with your current vendor(s), if applicable.
Response 11. The CCU has an acceptable level of satisfaction the incumbents.
Question 12.To what extent are these accounts owed by private consumers versus commercial businesses?
Response 12. The majority of the debts thus far are individual debts. Moving forward, it should continue to primarily consist of individual debtors.
Question 13.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?
Response 13. The outstanding debts being assigned will have either been worked internally (soft) and the debt will be assigned as a primary placement. Debts being transferred from an existing contractor to a new contractor will be considered primary
placement. Vendors are not required to provide a separate fee schedule for secondary placements.
Question 14.What collection attempts are performed or will be performed internally prior to placement?
Response 14. District government agencies may attempt to secure payment through a direct debit, refund offset, or an internal process of sending correspondence and/or attempting telephonic contact, up until the debt qualifies as collection-eligible. At which time, legislation requires that the debt be transferred to the CCU for
collection.
Response 15.For DMV the number of debtors are: 887,434 (Parking); 459,220 (Camera); and 187,429 (Moving violations). Legacy debt may be up to ten (10) years old. UMC-Nationwide Recovery 23,394; OFT Check Case Dishonored Check 14,239. UDC-William & Fudge: 9365 @ $8,516,671.68; UDC-ConServe: 596 @
$853,079.77.
Question 16.What is the average age of accounts at placement (at time of award and/or on a going-forward basis), by category?
Response 16. Estimated to be 5+ years old for DMV.With the exception of certain medical debts, all debts > 90 days old qualify for initial placement. Other factors may impact placement time such as new DMV legislation.
Question 17.What is the monthly or quarterly number of accounts expected to be placed with the vendor(s) by category?
Response 17. For DMV, the average number of monthly accounts projected to be placed is 26,172 (Parking); 2,073 (Moving Violations); and 7,762 (Camera). This may be impacted by recent DMV related legislation. See Response 15.
Question 18.What is the monthly or quarterly dollar value of accounts expected to be placed with the vendor(s) by category?
Response 18. For DMV, the average monthly dollar value is projected as $2,835,898 (Parking); $386,460 (Moving violations); and $1,730,629 (Camera). Currently,dishonored checks average $394.00 per check, and average about $1,000,000 annually. UMC – 23,000 accounts aged 3 years totaling $32M. UDC – 2,000 accounts totaling $3M spanning 5 years or less.
Question 19.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?
Response 19. The historical average rate is approximately 30%. The District expects 35% or higher.
Question 20.If applicable, will accounts held by any incumbent(s) or any backlog be moved to any new vendor(s) as a one-time placement at contract start up?
Response 20. Yes, the intention is to transfer all applicable debts to the collection contractor(s) resultant from this solicitation.
Question 21.Is the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Financial Officer and/or the Office of Finance and Treasury considering selling these accounts to generate immediate cash flow versus taking small agency payments over time?
Question 22.Per the referenced RFP in the subject line this RFP calls for SBE and/or DBE participation. My company has been contacted by a large vendor wanting to utilize my company to fulfill this participation. Would you be kind enough to view my capabilities statement and see if any of my certifications would be considered responsive for the 35 % subcontractor participation?
Response 22. The subcontracting requirement can only be satisfied by certified business enterprises, as defined in D.C. Code §§2-218.31-39a. All vendors are encouraged to contact the DSLBD at (202) 727-3900 regarding information on certification procedures and requirements.
Question 23.Why is this RFP being re-issued?
Response 23. The District has a need for the service requirements being solicited.
Question 24.What types of accounts are being collected? (i.e. Court Costs, Utility Accounts, etc.)
Response 24. At the present time, debts consist of Department of Motor Vehicles, Metropolitan Police Department, Department of Public Works (all related to delinquent tickets and fees); medical debts owed to United Medical Center; outstanding loans and other funds owed to the University of the District of Columbia; dishonored checks owed to the Office of Finance and Treasury; and Central Collection Unit fees. The type of debts may increase as other District agencies assign debts to the CCU. Legislation provides for the CCU to collect all non-tax debts, with the exception of Water and Sewage, and Child Support.
Question 25.What percentage of debt placed is the incumbent vendor currently collecting?
Response 25. See Response 19.
Question 26.How many agencies is the City planning on awarding this portfolio to?
Response 26. See Response 10.
Question 27.Does the City currently have a vendor(s) performing the services outlined in this RFP? If so, who?
Response 27. The District has four current contracts for delinquent collection services for non-tax debts; however, none include the full requirements outlined in this solicitation.
Question 28.What is the monthly or yearly placement volume, dollar amount and age of accounts as well as historical liquidation rates?
Question 29.To what extent will the location of the vendor’s Communication Center and/or corporate headquarters have a bearing on any award(s)?
Response 29. The Offeror’s facility will be evaluated as part of the criterion Technical Approach and Methodology in consideration of having a prospect of achieving satisfactory performance on the resulting contract and any perceived risks.
Question 30.What are the current contingency rates?
Response 30. See Response 8.
Question 31.What collection activity is performed prior to placing accounts with contractor(s)?
Response 31. See Response 14. Certain debts may have been worked by the existing contractor(s).
Question 32.Please provide the following details for each type of account being referred (fines, fees, penalties, past due accounts, etc.):
a. The volume (# of accounts and $ balances) assigned during the past twelve months. 157,000 approximate; $20,813,000 for DMV. UMC – 10,000 accounts; $14M. UDC –See Response 15. Check Chase – 1,200 checks, $1.2M.
b. The liquidation percentage during the past twelve months. See Response 19.
c. Estimated percentage of assigned accounts without telephone numbers. unknown
d. Estimated percentage of assigned accounts without social security numbers. unknown
Response 32. See underlined responses above.
Question 33.Who is the incumbent, and are they rebidding?
Response 33. See Response 7. It is a business decision of the incumbent to respond to this solicitation.
Question 34.What were the term's of the incumbent's contract, and what did they collect?
Response 34. See Responses 7, 8, 18, and 32.
Response 35. There is no set-aside for this solicitation. This solicitation is issued to the open market and includes certified business enterprise subcontracting requirements per Section H.3 of the solicitation.
Question 36.How many contracts will be awarded?
Response 36. See Response 10.
Question 37.Will there be a "best and final" bidding opportunity?
Response 37. If, subsequent to receiving original proposals, discussions are conducted, all Offerors within the competitive range will be so notified and will be provided an opportunity to submit written best and final offers at the designated date and time. Nonetheless, the District may award contracts on the basis of initial offers received, without discussion. Therefore, each initial offer should contain the Offeror’s best terms from a standpoint of price, technical and any other factors of award.
Question 38.Section B.3.4 – The District lists 7 different debt types. Please provide
performance data on these debt types. What percentage of the dollars placed are collected by the CCU.
Response 38. The District currently works on DMV (parking, moving, camera), Medical debt collection (United Medical Center), and Educational related debt (University of the District of Columbia). The CCU outsources the outstanding qualifying debt to collection contractors. See Responses 17, 18, and 19.
Question 39.Must an agency bid on all debt types or will you allow agencies to bid on certain debt types only? Will the District score a bid for all debt types higher that a bid for certain debt types?
Response 39. An Offeror should propose on all debt types. Scores for proposals not proposing on all debt types will be downgraded.
Question 40.Section C.9.1 – (and SectionC.18.4) The District says that the contractor will receive an update of the assignment file from “the agencies”. The Format shall be accepted as provided. Attachment J.1 lists 50 agencies. Will there be 50 file layouts (a different layout for each agency) or are all agencies already on Ajility and all placements from all agencies will be received through Ajility?
Question 41.Section I.25 – Do the Living Wage requirements affect only agencies who work accounts in the Washington DC area, or are these requirements in effect no matter where in the US this contract is worked?
Response 41. According to the DC Living Wage statute, D.C. Code § 2-220.03(a), all “recipients of contracts or government assistance in the amount of $100,000 or more shall pay their affiliated employees no less than the living wage,” which is currently $13.60. An “affiliated employee” is any individual who works for a company that receives funds from the District as a result of a contract with the District, and performs services related to that contract. D.C. Code § 2-220.02(1). Therefore, any individual, in any location, who works for a vendor on a District contract must be paid the living wage. The law does not provide any exception for individuals working outside of the District.
Question 42.Can we get the historical recoveries from each book of business offered in this proposal?
Response 42. See Response 19.
Question 43.Do these historical recoveries reflect the work now being done by the CCU unit?
Response 43. No, results reflect current incumbent recoveries.
Question 44.Is the CCU new to the district or has the CCU unit been part of the collection process the entire previous contract?
Response 44. The CCU has been in existence for just under two years, and assumed the existing collection contract responsibility from DMV, UMC and UDC. The existing
vendors have remained in-tact since assuming responsibility.
Question 45.In the healthcare area you mention soft collections. Are these services suppose too be done in the name of the provider or in our name?
Response 45. The Not for Profit Hospital Corporation (United Medical Center) utilizes an Early Out Collection Program for a period of 120 days from the date of first billing (on Uninsured patients) and 120 days from the date of payment from insurer (on Underinsured patients). Within this process, monthly statements are mailed to the patient as well as collection telephone calls. These services are performed in the name of the hospital. Should payment or acceptable arrangement not be achieved during this period, the account is referred for more extensive collections. Once placed with the collection contractor(s), the intent is for more definitive collection efforts performed in the name of the agency, on behalf of the hospital.
Response 46. Yes, the vendor will have certain settlement authority without CCU case-by-case authorization, and certain settlement authority with CCU authorization. The large majority of settlement cases will be conducted within the CCU.
Question 47.In the healthcare area the vendor is responsible for sending out monthly statements. Can the vendor charge a fixed fee on this service or is this to be included in the contingency price?
Response 47. Monthly statements to the patient are considered inclusive within the contingency fee as part and parcel to the collection effort. The contractor shall not charge a fee to debtors for any service.
Question 48.How does the district intend to compensate the vendor for managing the charity services for the district? If a patient qualifies for charity no money would be received for the services thus no fees would paid to the vendor performing these services in the contracts present format.
Response 48. Refer to Section B.3.4(v) of the solicitation.
Question 49.How many Contractors will be selected? If more than one Contractor is selected, how will the District divide the corresponding deliverables among the successful Contractors?
Response 49. See Response 10. The Contractors will be assigned debt types based on the
discretion of the CCU which will include considering past performance information on the various debt types.This process may change at some point in the future based primarily on collection rates and contract performance. Assignment of debts is the responsibility of the CCU.
Question 50.Will the Contractor be required to maintain an office facility in the District?
Response 50. No.
Question 51.Will the District honor the DBE, MBE or WBE or similar disadvantaged or small business enterprise certifications of any other jurisdictions or organizations such as the Federal Government’s SBA 8(a) certification or certifications issued by
National Minority Supplier Development Council or similar organizations?
Response 51. No, only certified business enterprises as defined in D.C. Code §§2-218.31-39a are eligible to satisfy the 35% subcontracting requirement or applicable for preference points. All vendors are encouraged to contact the DSLBD at (202) 727-3900 regarding information on certification procedures and requirements.
Question 52.Section C.36.1 indicates that debts not paid in full within 30 days following notification “shall be eligible” for credit bureau reporting. Is credit bureau
consider alternative approaches in light of the potentially high risks and liability associated with credit bureau reporting?
Response 52. Legislation governing the CCU provides for credit reporting at its discretion. The CCU would consider alternative approaches based on the facts of a particular case; but credit bureau reporting will be the normal course of action.
Question 53.Section I.25 requires Contractors to pay all employees a living wage and cites the living wage for District employees at $13.60. Living wages vary from region to region. Does the District’s living wage rate apply to employees working in other locations?
Response 53. According to the DC Living Wage statute, D.C. Code § 2-220.03(a), all “recipients of contracts or government assistance in the amount of $100,000 or more shall pay their affiliated employees no less than the living wage,” which is currently $13.60. An “affiliated employee” is any individual who works for a company that receives funds from the District as a result of a contract with the District, and performs services related to that contract. D.C. Code § 2-220.02(1). Therefore, any individual, in any location, who works for a vendor on a District contract must be paid the living wage. The law does not provide any exception for individuals working outside of the District.
Question 54.What is the average age and average amount of accounts from each of the three categories at the time they are referred to the Contractor?
Response 54. Legislation provides for debts to be assigned to the CCU once it is delinquent over 90 days. The agency has up to 60 days from that time to assign the debt to the CCU. Certain medical debts may take longer to assign to the CCU. Legacy debts could be up to 10 years old. Recent DMV related legislation may delay assignment of certain DMV related debts because it provides for an increased period of time to contest and/or appeal a DMV debt based on certain factors. Also see Response 16.
Question 55.Over the past three (3) years, what has been the annual liquidation rate for each of the three categories of debt?
Response 55. SeeResponse 19.
Question 56.Is the add-on collection fee referenced in Section C.11.1 applicable to all of the District’s categories of debt? Does the Contractor have sole discretion in determining whether to add the collection fee to the debt? How much is the collection fee?
Question 57.What constitutes litigation referenced in Section C.12.2? What other enforcement mechanisms are permitted?
Response 57.Pursuing civil and or criminal action will be considered as litigation, as well as investigating a bankruptcy claim to determine priority of the District.Currently, the filing of a civil suit and judgment are handled internally. Additionally, any
enforced collection activity such as lien filing, garnishment, seizure and sale would be handled internally by the CCU and the Office of General Counsel (OGC).
Question 58.Does the Contractor have the full term of the contract to conduct collection
activities on debts referred? If a debt is returned to the District and debt payment is subsequently made, is Contractor entitled to its fee?
Response 58. See Attachment A, Item 4 revised Section C.23 regarding Suspension of Collection Effort.
Question 59.“Transfer of Non-electronic Documents” under CLIN 08- Please elaborate on the service expectation and the type of debt referenced as “Transfer of Non-electronic Documents” For instance, approximately how many pages of documents are covered? Will contractors be required to work with these documents within the District’s facilities, or can the documents be sent off-site to be worked by contractor? What time frame (if any) does the District contemplate for the completion of this service?
Response 59. The CCU does not know the full impact of this requirement. Currently, the UMC and UDC do not send files electronically, but that may change at some point in the near future. Certain future participating agencies may not have the ability to send a file electronically. The documents will not be required to be worked within District facilities. The District agency will be responsible for sending the document off-site to be worked by the contractor.
Question 60.What collection agency(ies) are you currently using to collect secondary
placements for DMV? Office of Finance and Treasury? United Medical Center? University of the District of Columbia?
Response 60. See Response 8.
Question 61.What is the current commission rate contracted with each current collection agency?
Response 61. See Response 8.
Question 62.Section C.2 Background: What is the average age of the accounts you will refer for collections for DMV? Office of Finance and Treasury? United Medical Center? University of the District of Columbia?
Question 63.Section C.2 Background: What is the age of the oldest accounts you will refer for collections for DMV? Office of Finance and Treasury? United Medical Center? University of the District of Columbia?
Response 63. The oldest debt may be up to ten (10) years old, with the exception of medical debt which could exceed 10 years.
Question 64.Section C.2 Background: What is the anticipated award date for this contract?
Response 64. See Response 4.
Question 65.Section C.2.3.4: If possible, can the District please provide data more recent than October 2012?
Response 65. As of FYE 2014: Uncollected DMV debt total $386 million, consisting of 2.7 million transactions, of which $167 million is over 5 years old.
Question 66.Section C.2.3.7: If possible, can the District please provide data more recent than September 2012?
Response 66. Average volume of monthly incoming calls is 3,363 in 2014. The average monthly volume of correspondence received is 310 in 2014.
Question 67.Section C.2.4: If possible, can the District please provide data more recent than September 2012?
Response 67. OFT debts consist of 14,000 returned checks totaling $15M as of September 30, 2014.
Question 68.Section C.2.4.1: If possible, can the District please provide data more recent than 2011 and 2012?
Response 68. See Response 68.
Question 69.Section C.2.5: If possible, can the District place provide projected United Medical Center debts to be assigned in 2015?
Response 69.See Response 18.
Question 70.Section C.2.6: If possible, can the District place provide projected University debts to be assigned in 2015?
Response 70. See Response 18.
Response 71. No.
Question 72.Section M.3.b and M.3.c: Section M.3.b. on p. 83 of 85 says to provide a reference list of contracts or subcontracts the Offeror has satisfactorily performed within the past five (5) years that are similar in size and scope as the required services
described in Section C. Section M.3.c. on p. 83 of 85 says “Provide at least three (3) Attachment J.9, Past Performance Evaluation Forms from the list of references identified in response to Item (b) above.” We interpret the above instructions to be saying that we don’t necessarily need to have ALL of our client references
complete a Past Performance Evaluation Form, as long as we submit at least three Past Performance Evaluation Forms. Is that correct?
Response 72. Correct.
Question 73.Section C.2.3.7: DMV Collections: The RFP indicates the current contractor responds to customer inquiries made by phone and mail. Are these inquires made directly to the current vendor, or to the DMV directly? Would the new contractor be accessing the DMV’s system or will these inquires be submitted to the new contractor?
Response 73. The inquiries are sometimes made to the DMV and referred to the contractor, or made directly to the contractor. Other times, the CCU receives an inquiry and will follow up with the contractor for specific case information. This will be the process for the new contractor. The current contractor does not and the new contractor will not have access to DMV’s systems.
Question 74.Section C.29.1: Background Checks: A comprehensive background and Five panel
drug screen is required on all staff necessary to perform or support services for the District. Does the District require designated staffing?
Response 74. Per Section C.30.3, the District requires the contractor to provide a Project Manager and per Section C.28.1, staff necessary to successfully complete the required services.
Question 75.Section C.40.2: SSAE 16 Report: Will the District accept Professional Practices Management System (PPMS) Certification in lieu of SSAE? Knowing these practices and certifications exceed the requirement of C.40; if detailed within our proposal response – will the District of Columbia accept these as meeting the requirements of the quality and control certifications in respect to this RFP?
Response 75. The requirement for an SSAE Report remains unchanged. Any proposed
alternative to the SSAE Report will be evaluated accordingly.
Question 76.What was the total dollars collected from accounts placed by the District for the calendar years of 2012, 2011 & 2010?
UDC: 2010: $1.2M 2011: $1.3M 2012: $1.4M
(no data for UMC .. NRS received the 1st placement 10/4/12)
Question 77.Why is contract currently out to bid?
Response 77. See Response 3.
Question 78.What is the total dollar value of accounts available for placement now by category, including any backlog?
Response 78. Please refer to response number 73. This is for DMV only.
Question 79.What current contingency fees or other fees are currently being billed by any incumbent(s), by category?
Response 79. See Response 8. No other fees are currently being billed.
Question 80.What is the monthly quarterly number of accounts expected to be placed with the vendor(s) by category? If accounts will not be placed monthly, can you please indicate the interval of placement and the number of accounts anticipated per placement?
Response 80. See Response 17.
Question 81.If applicable, will accounts held by any incumbent(s) or any/all backlog be moved to any new vendor(s) as a one-time placement at contract start up? IF so, what is the estimated volume of these accounts?
Response 81. See Response 17, 18, and 20.
Question 82.Does the District plan on awarding this contract to multiple agencies or is this a single award contract? If multiple, is there a preferred number of agencies?
Response 82. See Response 10.
Question 83.Are vendors permitted to charge the debtor a processing fee for certain payments?
Response 83. No, the contractor shall not charge a fee to debtors for any service.
Question 84.Does the CCU attempt collections before referral to outside vendors? If yes, please describe for each debt type.
Question 85.How did the District estimate the 2,400,000 keystrokes figure on the price sheets? Would the district be able to provide the estimated number of debts that will need to be manually processed?
Response 85.The estimated number of debts that will need to be manually processed is an annual projection based on 1,000 documents per month and 200 keystrokes per document.
Question 86.Section C.8.3 on page 12, please provide the estimated percentage or number of debts that will require social security number and/or EIN research.
Response 86.The CCU would desire this information on any delinquent account that has this information available. At this time, it is projected that 85 percent (85%) of the debts will require this information.
Question 87.Section C.29.1 on page 21, how often does the District require the vendor to conduct background checks for staff handling District debts?
Response 87.Annually in accordance with Section C.29.3.
Question 88.Section C.32.1 on page 22, should the position descriptions be provided in our proposals or only after contract award?
Response 88.Provided in the proposal in response to Section M.3.2.b.
Question 89.Section H.3.1 on page 36, please confirm the District’s 35% small business subcontracting goal applies to this contract.
Response 89.Confirmed.
Question 90.Attachment J.2, please confirm all collection staff working on this contract must be paid the stated hourly rate and fringe benefits. Must support staff (e.g. payment processing or information technology) who may only work part time on the contract be paid the stated rate and benefits too?
Response 90.They must be paid at the same rate, but they do not receive the same amount of fringe benefits. There is no distinction with respect to the compensation provisions outlined in the US Labor Wage Determination between temporary, part-time, and full-time employees, but temporary and part-time employees are only entitled to an amount of the fringe benefits which is proportionate to the amount of time spent working on the contract.
More general information here: http://www.dol.gov/whd/govcontracts/sca.htm
been transferred to the CCU, the person will be able to pay at the main cashiering office located at 1101 4th Street SW, DMV Traffic Adjudication Office, by mail, or any other option provided by the Contractor.” Please clarify which of the following is correct regarding this requirement: a) Is it the District's intent for the Contractor to provide its own point of sale system and associated hardware at the main cashiering office and the DMV Traffic Adjudication office, or b) Is it the District's intent that the existing cashiering systems will be used at these locations and that they will transmit the payment information directly to the Contractor?
Response 91.a) No. b) No. See Attachment A, Item 3 regarding change to Section C.2.3.5. Refer to Section C.15 for requirements for walk-in payments.
Question 92.RFP Section C.8 (p. 12): The title of this section implies a reference to the file information to be passed for payment records, yet the requirements specified in Sections C8.2-C8.4 do not pertain to payments but rather to new debt assignments. Is information missing from this section?
Response 92.Section C.8 refers to new debt (transformation of data from District agencies to the contractor) and updates to the payment status from the agency. The contractor will transmit a data file with all updates of payments they receive to Ajility (CCU’s automated system) and Ajility will update the agencies.
Question 93.RFP Section C.8.3 (p. 12): This section states that, “The Contractor shall scrub data files from agencies and update them with social security numbers (SSN) and/or Employer Identification Numbers (EIN). The Contractor shall pass this improved data file to the District for use for payment and tax refund offsets.” It should be noted that acquiring SSNs, as required by this section of the RFP, will mean a significant additional expense for the selected Contractors and it is unclear what benefit will be derived in terms of collection performance. Will the District reimburse the selected Contractors for this effort as a pass-through expense?
Response 93. The CCU will need this information in order to perform a refund offset. The contingency fee shall be an all-inclusive price to cover the SSN/EIN efforts.
Question 94.Also, please describe the mechanism by which the Contractor will transmit this information to the District. Will it be to the Ajility system?
Response 94.No, the file will be transmitted to the Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) via the Contractor’s interface with OTR’s system.
Question 95.RFP Section C.9.3 (p. 13): The diagram provided in this section does not show the Contractor taking any payments directly, only providing payment
lockbox processing or accepting in-person payments? Please clarify this requirement.
Response 95.The diagram is intended to show data flow instead of payment intake points. The contractor shall accept payments via telephone and through its web portal. The contractor will not be responsible for lockbox processing or in-person payments.
Question 96.RFP Section C.9.5 (p13): This section states that, “Both District agencies and the CCU may send a file status change on assigned debts, including but not limited to:
a) Payment
b) Temporary suspend of collection activity
c) Enrollment in an installment payment plan
d) Vehicle immobilization
e) Debtor is deceased
f) Statute of limitations
g) Other as deemed appropriate"
The diagram on Page 13 does not show an interface with CCU. Is the CCU represented as the Ajility system, another icon on this graphic, or both?
Response 96.Yes, the CCU automated system is referred to as “Ajility.”
Question 97. RFP Section C.39 (p. 25): It is our understanding that the DMV wants to retain its current payment portal for motor vehicle-related debt payments. Please explain how their intent to do so complements or conflicts with the requirements specified in this section.
Response 97.It does neither. It is simply a convenience for DMV customers to make payments through the DMV lockbox. Provides ability for a citizen to pay debt in personat the DMV providing immediate resolution of any outstanding ticket(s) and/or fees; and provides an opportunity to obtain a “service” from DMV when applicable. The payment status will be updated within the DMV system and an electronic file will be sent nightly to the Contractor to update the Contractor’s system. The contractor will aggregate all changes and send an electronic file to the Ajility system.
Question 98. Section C.7 Transfer of Non-electronic Documents: What volume of accounts is expected to be in non-electronic forms?
Response 98.At this point, the account volumes from UDC and UMC are expected to be in non-electronic forms. As additional agencies commence transferring delinquent debts to the CCU, determinations will be made as to an agencies ability to transmit and receive information electronically and in what format.
Response 99.It will vary, but currently it is monthly for UDC and weekly for UMC for reports of payments.
Question 100. What is the expectation for turnaround time on non-electronic account and payment data?
Response 100.See Attachment A, Item 6, as the Offerors should also describe in the proposal its processing time and methodology for transfer of non-electronic documents.
Question 101. Can agencies bid on sections of the debt? For instance, would an agency be considered if they did not bid on the Medical Debt?
Response 101. See Response 39.
Question 102. Can you please tell me when I can receive the answers to the questions for the debt collection RFP.
Response 102.See Response 2.
Question 103. Will you consider extending the deadline for proposals, as vendors have not received answers to their questions yet?
