It is fair to say that in the minds of the general public, the image of the financial services sector has suffered over recent years. Instead of merely paying lip service to the issue of compliance, organisations ought to take their responsibilities seriously so that they can be seen to be delivering fair outcomes to customers. This is something all organisations engaged in the consumer credit niche ought to take into account when choosing debt collections solutions. For one thing, failure to take it seriously increases the risk of an organisation falling foul of the tightened regulations that have been introduced under the new compliance framework.
Equally, if an organisation is engaged in the type of unprofessional practices that were all too common in certain quarters of the debt collections world in the past, there are likely to be serious adverse consequences so far as that company’s public image is concerned. Such behaviour included sending out overly aggressive correspondence and telephone calls. It also included poor data validation processes, resulting in third parties being repeatedly contacted in error regarding matters that were not related to them.
A model debt collection agency is one that has compliance at the heart of everything it does. For anyone looking for a debt collection solution from a reliable company, it is worth paying particularly close attention to Wescot. This leading UK debt collection agency is not only a leading member of the Credit Services Association, it has also been active in helping to shape and improve practice standards for the consumer credit industry as a whole.
Wescot knows better than most how the way in which the approaches used by reputable debt collections agencies have evolved over the years. Part of this is down to the fact that ‘compliance’ is not a new concept. Reputable market leaders such as Wescot have been providing a benchmark in terms of fair treatment of customers for some time. In turn, policymakers have introduced specific industry-wide regulations and guidelines that are designed to ensure that all operators within this niche should strive to meet these high standards. The company says that its customers are often surprised by just how customer-centric its approach is. In turn, this means that effective solutions can be worked out. Such solutions are realistic so far as the customer’s circumstances are concerned – as well as meeting the needs of organisations.
By making actual and meaningful contact with a customer once he or she has been located, it provides far greater opportunity to deal with the arrears issue in an effective manner. Re-engagement makes it possible to treat customers fairly and work out a repayment plan that is acceptable to both the individual customer and to the organisation. It also opens up the possibility of rehabilitating the relationship between business and customer. From this perspective it can be seen that there is a place for basic data validation but at the same time, this should not be seen as a cheap and easy alternative to a product focused on delivering live customer contact.
For the credit services industry (and particularly those parts of the industry whose activities include tracing customers with whom organisations have lost contact), changes to the housing market over recent years have had significant implications. The high loan-to-value mortgages and interest-only deals that were common prior to the 2008 downturn have now either disappeared completely or have become an extreme rarity. This means greater numbers of people are living in short term rental arrangements or else are living with parents or other family members under informal arrangements for longer periods of time. For the consumer credit industry, this means it is often harder to differentiate genuine ‘goneaway’ scenarios from those situations where an individual is intentionally ignoring all attempts to make contact.
An integral part of collecting debts is the trace procedure, which is why companies like Wescot are able to find the customers and begin the collection process. Given that the company will only receive payment from a client once the collection has been made, it is important that the trace procedure is as efficient as possible. Customer’s residency is a common issue with tracing as residency is far more fluid and transitional than in years gone by. With the rise in people renting as opposed to getting a mortgage, customers are able to move around a lot quicker, which makes for a large number of mis-trace results if data sources are not cleansed regularly.
etition and the global economy are primary factors in how debt recovery is going to proceed in the future. Not only does the UK’s economy as a whole play a big part in the performance of a debt agency, but so too does the performance of that company’s competitors.
involved in the recovery process. The financial services sector has suffered from decreasing levels of consumer confidence in recent times due to the current financial climate and the banking crisis. In order to rebuild trusting relationships with consumers, the industry has attempted to improve how debt collection agencies contact individuals, how they communicate with them and also how they recover the debt itself.
new businesses. When compared to the figure of just 40% as recently as 2007 this shows a significant increase.
functions which are performed by a compliance department – identification, prevention, monitoring/detection, resolution and advisory. A compliance officer will initially identify any risks posed to a business or organisation, then create and implement systems and controls which protect against those identified risks. These controls are then constantly monitored and their effectiveness reported on. A compliance officer is on hand to resolve any difficulties with compliance as and when they arise and to offer advice to the business or organisation on rules and controls. Compliance is vital for complete customer confidence, helping to build up trust and improve client relationships through the consistent delivery of appropriate customer outcomes. Internal compliance systems are usually evolved through conversations with customers alongside adherence to external regulations.
Constant training and learning is also important to motivating a workforce. The more time that Wescot dedicates to improving the skills of their employees then they will feel more engaged with the company. This translates to a better, more efficient workforce and will contribute to the 
Many of the leading industry experts were on hand at the conference to offer their expert opinion and discuss relevant aspects concerning the current financial sector. The event once more played host to exceptional keynote speakers such as Margaret Curran MP, who discussed the changes to the welfare system whilst Paul Lewis of the BBC chaired the opening day’s events.