System for transfering an inbound communication to one of a plurality of credit-counseling agencies

• US 8,209,257 B2
• Filed: 11/01/2010
• Issued: 06/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Peregrin Licensing LLC (Quest Patent Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Peter K. Trzyna
• Inventors: Delinsky, William John, Fish, Timothy James, Morency, Michael D., Walker, David Gary
• Primary Examiner(s): Hamilton, Lalita M
• Application Number:
  US12/917,401
• Publication Number:
  US 20110060673A1
• Time in Patent Office: 603 Days
• Field of Search: 705/35, 705/36.R, 705/38
• US Class Current: 705/38
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42059 Making use of the calling party identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/493 Interactive information services, e.g. directory enquiries ; Arrangements therefor, e.g. interactive voice response [IVR] systems or voice portals

Abstract

A system for referring a telephone communication to one of a plurality of financial assistance providers based on lender criteria, the method including the steps of: storing telephone numbers for a plurality of financial assistance providers in memory accessible by a digital electrical computer; obtaining lender criteria for selecting one of the financial assistance providers; storing said criteria for access by said computer; identifying a debtor; selecting one of the financial assistance providers by accessing the criteria, applying the criteria, and accessing one of the stored telephone numbers; and connecting the debtor by telephone to the one of the stored telephone numbers. The system can be used with an intermediary that detects referring information sufficient to identify a referrer identity, to select which one of several financial assistance providers to refer the inbound communication by using a computer to look up and to apply referral criteria responsive to the referrer identity, and to form and track the call referral.

Claims

1. A method of using communication referral system to provide a referral for credit counseling to a user, the method comprising:

receiving, by a communication referral system comprising a computer, an inbound communication from the user;

receiving, by the communication referral system, user information;

based, at least in part, on the received user information, querying, by the system, a memory in applying creditor referral criteria to identify at least one credit-counseling agency; and

providing, by the communication referral system, a referral for the user to communicate with said at least one identified credit-counseling agency.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one identified credit counseling agency is three credit counseling agencies, and further including attempting, by communication referral system, to connect first time users to up to three different outbound numbers corresponding to the three credit-counseling agencies.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the attempting includes applying at least one routing model.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the providing includes applying at least one routing model.

5. The method of claim 1, further including associating, by the communication referral system, the user with a creditor.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the user information comprises at least one of an automatic number identification (ANI) number and a dialed number information service (DNIS) number.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the user information comprises a user-entered number.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the user information comprises a user-entered number.

9. The method of claim 1, further including:

collecting, by the communication referral system, data about referrals made by the communication referral system; and

providing, by the communication referral system to the credit-counseling agency, at least a portion of the collected referral data.

10. The method of claim 1, further including:

providing, by the communication referral system, telephone access and Internet access;

collecting, by the communication referral system, data about referrals made by the communication referral system; and

providing, by the communication referral system to the creditor via the Internet access, at least a portion of the collected referral data.

11. A method of using communication referral system to provide a referral for credit counseling to a user, the method comprising:

receiving, by a communication referral system comprising a computer, an inbound communication from the user;

receiving, by the communication referral system, user information;

based, at least in part, on the received user information, querying, by the communication referral system, a memory to identify three credit-counseling agencies; and

providing, by the communication referral system, a referral which allows the user to communicate with one of the at least three identified credit-counseling agencies.

12. The method of claim 11, further including attempting, by communication referral system, to connect first time users to a maximum of three different outbound numbers corresponding to the identified three credit-counseling agencies.

13. The method of claim 11, further including attempting, by communication referral system, to connect users to one of said credit-counseling agencies by applying at least one routing model.

14. The method of claim 11, further including associating, by the communication referral system, the user with a creditor.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein providing comprises providing the referral responsive to referral criteria of the creditor.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the user information comprises a user-entered number.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the user information comprises at least one of an automatic number identification (ANI) number and a dialed number information service (DNIS) number.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the user information comprises a user-entered number.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the communication referral system provides telephone access and Internet access, and further including:

collecting, by the communication referral system, data about referrals made by the communication referral system; and

providing, by the communication referral system to the creditor via the Internet access, at least a portion of the collected referral data.

20. The method of claim 11, further including:

collecting, by the communication referral system, data about referrals made by the communication referral system;

providing, by the communication referral system to one of the three credit-counseling agency, at least a portion of the collected referral data.