Definition
A collectability score is a model-generated estimate of the probability that an account will pay, and often the expected recovery amount, derived from attributes of the debt (type, age, balance, stage), the debtor (contactability, payment history, credit signals where permissible), and behavior (response to prior outreach, portal visits, partial payments). Scores update as new information arrives.
Scoring replaces the traditional approach of working accounts by balance size or due date. Effort shifts toward accounts where contact will change the outcome, while low-probability accounts get low-cost automated channels and high-probability accounts get a payment link rather than a phone call.
Example
Two $2,000 accounts arrive the same day. One debtor opened a prior email and visited the portal; the other has a disconnected phone and returned mail. The first scores 0.71 and receives a payment plan offer by text; the second scores 0.12 and is routed to skip tracing before any outreach.
How HL Hunt handles it
HL Hunt scores every account continuously and uses the score to drive channel, timing, offer, and escalation. Scores never use prohibited factors, and the attributes used are documented for fair lending and UDAAP review.