Large B2B collection agency founded in New Orleans in 1994 with a transportation and logistics desk for freight invoices, accessorials, OS&D claims and broker bond claims.
Services
Who it serves
Overview
Altus Commercial Receivables, also known as Altus Receivables Management, is a business-to-business collection agency headquartered in Metairie, Louisiana. It started in 1994 as a collections desk in New Orleans and now describes itself as having more than 400 specialists, ten regional US offices, an office in Toronto and partner offices in 67 countries.
Transportation and logistics is one of the industries it lists, with a dedicated page. That page covers trucking freight invoices, rail demurrage, ocean container detention, air freight, intermodal receivables, fuel surcharges, accessorial charges, broker margin disputes, OS&D claims and contract carrier program balances.
Altus is one of the larger firms in this category and suits companies with a steady flow of freight receivables or larger balances.
Compare with other Freight Collections providers: Baxter Bailey & Associates, TransCollect by TransCredit and Reesor & Associates, or see all Freight Collections.
Services
For transportation clients, Altus combines third-party collections, B2B collections, coordinated legal escalation through commercial collection counsel, and asset and liability reports that help decide whether a legal case is worth the cost.
On broker failures, the transportation page says Altus files claims against the FMCSA-required $75,000 broker bond and tracks the deadlines involved. On cargo disputes, its specialists work from bills of lading, proof of delivery, photos and inspection records, and the page notes that loss and damage claims fall under the Carmack Amendment's notice and filing rules.
Across industries, Altus also offers first-party collections, business credit reports, international recovery through its partner network and freight lien work in all 50 states. Its transportation page reports more than $310 million in transport recoveries over five years, a figure from the company itself.
Who it is for
Altus fits carriers, brokers and shippers that want a large, certified agency with legal escalation and international reach. It is especially relevant for companies with many accounts to place, since it accepts placements by SFTP, API, email or portal.
Its account range runs from $1,000 to more than $10 million, so a single small unpaid load may fall below its usual size. Rail, ocean, air and intermodal companies will also find their debt types named on the transportation page, which many trucking-only agencies do not cover.
Carriers owed by a failed broker should ask early about bond claims, since Altus says it files against broker bonds and tracks those deadlines.
How working with them works
Altus describes a six-step process: account placement and verification, data enrichment, assignment to a collector matched by industry, debt type and risk, collection activity by phone, email, demand letter and negotiation, debtor payments tracked in real time, and remittance with reporting and an audit trail. The site gives a typical collection window of 90 days and first debtor contact in under 24 hours. Its transportation page cites an average of 47 days to recovery.
There is no setup fee, and third-party collection fees are fully contingent on collection. Altus does not publish its percentage rates, so ask for a written quote.
New clients can reach the firm at 1-800-509-6060, and existing clients use an online client portal.
Questions to ask before you sign
What contingency rate will you charge on my freight accounts, and does it change with account age, balance or legal escalation?
What is the smallest balance you will accept on a single freight invoice?
When you file a claim against a broker's BMC-84 bond or BMC-85 trust, is there a separate fee, and how do you handle other carriers claiming on the same bond?
How do you handle the federal deadline for suing over interstate freight charges, generally 18 months after the claim accrues under 49 U.S.C. 14705?
Which states license you, and which commercial collection attorneys handle escalated freight cases?
What reports will I get, how often, and can your system connect to my TMS or accounting software through your API or SFTP?
Company background
Altus began in 1994 as a collections desk in New Orleans. Its About page lists milestones including CLLA certification in 2001, expansion into Canada and the US in 2008, a Salesforce-integrated recovery platform in 2014, growth of its international partner network in 2019, and SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type II attestations and PCI DSS compliance in 2023.
The headquarters address is 2121 Airline Drive, Suite 520, Metairie, Louisiana 70001. The firm lists CLLA certification, membership in the IACC, CCAA and CRF, and seven affiliated brands, among them Szabo Associates and Bravo Recovery. Named leaders include chief operations officer Andrew Heinricher.
Altus reports $500 million recovered for clients in 2025. That figure comes from the company.
Sources
Information compiled from public sources. Last verified November 2026. Confirm details directly with the company.
