Wescot appreciates that an effective tracing solution also provides an opportunity for customer re-engagement

Under the regulatory framework ushered in by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), never before has it been so important for organisations to ensure that they have an effective and fair tracing system in place. It is no longer the case that a ‘one size fits all’ approach is appropriate when it comes to tracing activity; businesses need to ensure that appropriate treatments are applied to individual cases and that adequate provisions are in place to ensure that third parties are not contacted in error. In particular, there are likely to be significant repercussions for those organisations who repeatedly contact the same third parties in error, both from a compliance point of view and, more widely, in terms of damage to that organisation’s reputation. As Wescot is well aware, it is important to treat actual customers fairly. It is equally as important to try and avoid distress for third parties who may be approached by mistake.

One problem faced by businesses is over how to identify a genuine ‘goneaway’ situation. The new regulatory regime reflects this. The issue is also relevant when it comes to determining whether reasonable attempts have been made to make contact with a customer before any formal action is taken to recover the debt. It is no longer acceptable for an organisation to plough on regardless with formal action and ignore the fact that a customer has failed to respond to letters sent to him and that he has failed to answer telephone calls.

wescotAlso of relevance is the fact that the way organisations interact with customers has changed dramatically over the last few years. In many b2c relationships, the vast majority of contact is online. If it is a longstanding relationship which suddenly turns into a non-contact scenario, the challenge faced by a business is to consider whether the last known physical address and telephone details for that customer are correct. In this climate, many businesses are likely to benefit from effective early arrears reconnection services. Not only can this approach maximise the chances of recovery, it can also increase the chances of rehabilitating the relationship between the customer and the organisation. Businesses are likely to benefit from approaching a company with a proven track record in customer tracing. Wescot for instance, employs a highly experienced locate team coupled with an effective validation process – both of which combine to help re-establish contact between customer and client.

Wescot knows compliance and treating customers fairly go hand in hand

wescotThe phrase ‘Compliance’ covers many areas. It affects all parts of a business and how it operates, including not just the firm’s policies and strategy but also the way in which it communicates with each individual customer. Taking compliance seriously means having the governance arrangements in place to ensure a consistent approach throughout the entire business. Looking carefully at the regulations and guidelines that are relevant to the particular organisation’s activities is obviously important. Equally as important is ensuring that the practices conducted by the business are in accordance with the spirit of those regulations.

So far as debt collection agencies are concerned, the regulatory framework can be seen as a way of encouraging firms to treat customers fairly. It is fair to say that the financial services sector as a whole has been the subject of a considerable amount of negative press overage over recent years. The consumer credit niche has certainly not been immune to the cynical outlook shared not just by commentators and members of the public, but also policy makers. Calls for a revised regulatory framework have been strong in the aftermath of the 2008 downturn. It is important to remember however, that the development of best practice standards in the debt recovery industry has been an ongoing evolutionary process for some time.

Certain practices are no longer acceptable. These include inappropriately aggressive letters sent to individual customers. It also includes failure to validate contact data, leading to outside parties being contacted on numerous occasions. Certain companies within this niche have always rejected this type of approach and have adopted the type of practices that provide a very good example to other operators. One such company is the leading UK-based debt collections agency, Wescot. Rather than merely paying lip service to compliance and adherence to guidelines, this particular company has compliance at the heart of everything it does. It uses the latest technology to ensure compliance with all relevant data protection rules. Wescot also believes strongly in treating customers fairly. By engaging with individual customers on a meaningful level, it not only maximises the chances of recovery, but also of the business being able to rehabilitate and maintain its relationship with the individual customer. Rather than seeing compliance as a burden to be endured, it ought to be seen as a tool for increasing the prospects of success.

Wescot knows compliance ought to be seen as an investment rather than a burden

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.

wescotA 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.

Improving Trace Procedures

wescotAn 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.

Another significant change to the way that debts are collected is the switch from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as to which body regulates debt recovery and management. The FCA has enforced new rules regarding the image of the industry as a whole and how customers are treated once they have been found. ‘Goneaways’ is the term used for customers who cannot be contacted and it is estimated that 30-40% of those who have not replied are in fact a goneaway. The FCA has ruled that companies can no longer ignore a goneaway customer.

There is one important way in which companies such as Wescot can continue to thrive despite the fluid nature of customer residency, as well as not only abiding by the rules as set down by the FCA, but embracing them. Contacting customers is the only sure way to validate the data as presented by a credit reference agency (the common database provider that many debt recovery agencies use). A potential solution to this growing problem of goneaways is using a service that relies on live customer contact. This will ensure that the company is in line with the FCA’s requirements to improve customer service.

Tracing costs money as much as it costs the company time to complete a successful trace. By creating a new live customer contact product, debt recovery companies will see a greater improvement in a number of aspects.

Wescot Minimise Mis-Tracing through Data Strategies

Dramatic changes in mortgage lending in the UK, such as the loss of 110% of value loans and the reduction in availability of interest only packages has led to an increasing number of people either renting property or living at home or with other family members for longer periods of time. This in turn has created a situation where tracing in the debt collection industry has also changed, with true goneaways becoming harder to spot than ever before. Members of the Credit Service Association are undertaking huge volumes of tracing, with some form of data cleansing occurring at the point of load across some 70% of all wescotnew businesses. When compared to the figure of just 40% as recently as 2007 this shows a significant increase.

Throughout the tracing market, there have originated a number of new products offering smart-data tracing solutions, yet these fall into the category of indicative lead generators and there can be seen a direct correlation between the increase in the use of these and the growing number of mis-traces. As the regulation of credit services and debt collection moves this year to the Financial Conduct Authority from the Office of Fair Trading, mis-tracing will become a key area of focus. Where poor solutions are allowed to enter the product delivery chain, those who hold approved-person positions can now expect to be held accountable. The CSA is now seeking the promotion of higher standards across the industry.

Wescot is the largest debt collecting agency in the UK today, servicing over five million client accounts annually and employing more than 650 staff. The aim of Wescot is to deliver favourable outcomes, creating arrangements between individuals in debt and clients which take circumstances into account and to provide each client with the products which suit their individual needs whilst simultaneously protecting their brand and their image. There are strict compliance standards in place when it comes to the ethical collection of debt, many of which Wescot helped to evolve and implement as market leaders. The compliance standards in place far surpass others in the industry and have been recognised by both Trading Standards and the Lending Standards Board.

Wescot | Efficient Complaints Process for Debt Recovery

WescotFor many large companies, it is important that they should attempt to speed up the efficiency of all the processes that enable the business to keep running. This goes for not just the primary systems that make up the initial business model, be that credit lending or selling watches, but the background processes that are necessary for any business to work, departments such as human resources have to be as efficient as possible reduce costs for the business as a whole. The Equinti group specialises in improving these systems through the use of IT programmes and software. One of the more common products that Equinti offer is called Perito and the Perito system is used extensively in automating many processes and actively reducing the costs for Equinti’s clients.

One of Equinti’s current clients is a credit management company from Glasgow. Wescot is one of the UK’s largest debt recovery companies, employing over 650 people in three locations throughout the North. Because the debt recovery industry has recently been put under increased pressure from the new regulatory body, the Financial Conduct Authority, companies have had to greatly improve their customer relations and complaint management systems. Perito is one such automated system that has been shown to reduce the ‘risk associated with manual processes’, so says a spokesperson for the debt recovery company. Wescot is now in a position whereby they can much more efficiently deal with complaints from third parties by utilising the Perito system. Each mistake that is left absent by implementing Perito is a mistake that will no longer affect the running of the business. The programme works by sorting the complaints into a database with each one ranked in severity. This means that the more imperative complaints will be dealt with quicker, in accordance with the FCA regulations.

Equinti have worked closely with large IT companies, Microsoft and IBM in order to create their automated IT systems. With the backing and support of these companies, clients of Equinti can rest assured that the most efficient and best quality programmes are in their hands, actively contributing to both a more efficient and cost effective business. For Equinti, their philosophy is the continued reduction in unnecessary costs and this can be seen through the software programmes that they develop.

Wescot | Learning Objectives that Focus on Customer Service

There is a changing environment within the debt recovery industry, there is the obvious pressure that given the current economic climate, people have less and less money to spend. For debt recovery companies such as Wescot, this means that it takes relatively more time to recover debt for a client as customers are slower to repay. Factor in to this the fact that the industry has been placed under new guidelines from the Financial Conduct Authority who are demanding stricter rules for complaints management amongst other things, then Wescot and other debt recovery agencies have had to redevelop their operating procedures. This ultimately will result in retraining current staff and altering the training that new staff receive when they join Wescot.

Wescot are one of the largest debt recovery companies in the UK, with 650 employees who work in one of three locations, either Glasgow, Hull or Saltcoats in Western Scotland. Together the company processes 5 million individual debts and in order to change the running of a business as large as Wescot, their learning and development department has had to work hard in order to fall in line with the new regulations. One of the most important things that Wescot’s learning and development team has had to do is notify current and future clients of what the debt recovery company can actually achieve under the new laws. This has required the retraining of staff at Wescot, to uphold the company policy of focussing on the customers and clients of the company.

wescotThe learning and development team at Wescot have many combined years of experience in training employees. Mike Rustill alone has had twenty years in the business, including leading the training department at mobile phone giants, O2 and he brings his expertise and high skill level within learning and development. He has a proven track record at previous roles, not just at Wescot, at being able to perform at a senior operating level. In addition to Mike Rustill, the learning and development team of Wescot also contains Elaine MacDonald, a woman who has seven years in the financial industry, and after joining Wescot in 2003 as a collections agent, Elaine has been promoting to a senior role in the department. These are just a couple of examples of the highly skilled people that operate the learning and development team at Wescot, proving to customers that the training will in fact be effective in updating Wescot’s workforce.

Wescot | Debt Recovery Agency Implements Successful Learning and Development

Training and continued development of employees is one of the key aspects to running a successful business, training encourages two things, first of which is that it makes employees feel more valued by their employer. Secondly, because employees feel more engaged, they are then more likely to commit greater effort to the business buoyed by the recent development. Wescot is a debt wescotrecovery agency from the UK, that have recognised the need for continued development of their staff, not least because of the extraneous pressures placed on the company to update its processes.

While Wescot have already employed a successful team within the learning and development department, to further train their employees in responsible debt recovery and customer relations, they have had to recently update their operating procedures. This has involved changing the training that Wescot staff receive to fall in line with the new laws set out by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Wescot is one of the largest debt recovery companies in the UK, 5 million individual debts are processed through the company’s 650 employees. Because of the high level of operation that Wescot currently performs at, it is important that the company not only retains a high level of training, but they ensure that the training they give to employees will allow them to work with the FCA’s permission. In a large company such as Wescot, it would be easy for employees to slip under the radar and not receive further training. Such is the high quality of the learning and development department at Wescot that this is not the case, it is important for the continued success of the company that their employees feel motivated and engaged enough to do their jobs to the required standard.

In order to cover all the bases, Wescot continually review their agents and their performances are assessed. The learning and development department will then look at the areas that the employees need to work on and develop the training programmes to suit. In addition to helping engage their employees, Wescot are transparent when it comes to what the management team expect of their colleagues when they turn up to work. The management team also take an active role in developing those who are underperforming, being an integral part in Wescot’s learning and development systems

Wescot / Treating Customers Fairly

As one of the largest debt collecting agencies in the UK, Wescot Credit Services takes its responsibility as a market leader extremely seriously. As an ethical company Wescot focuses on compliance at the centre of everything it does, not only surpassing everyone else in the filed in terms of levels of compliance, but also helping to shape certain government regulations. Treating Customers Fairly is also at the heart of the Wescot values, with the 650-strong team striving to always exceed client expectations and to deliver solutions which maximise profitability. Professionalism and quality are ever watchwords at Wescot, a quality assured company accredited to the BSi 9001:2000 quality standard, active member of the Credit Services Association and keen supporter of the free Money Advice Agency Network.

WescotAs an employer, Wescot recognise that people are their most valuable asset. Wescot believe in treating their employees as fairly as they treat their customers and aim to make each role in the company one which provides job satisfaction and enjoyment for the mutual benefit of Wescot as a whole and the individual employee. Wescot is committed to the learning and development of all employees and each has equal access to training sessions and independent learning opportunities both within the company and externally.

As a prime services provider in the credit industry, Wescot maintain the highest quality levels of service at all times, seeking not to meet but to exceed client expectations and provide a service which is tailored to individual specific needs, which are identified through close working relationships. The general public has lost a lot of faith in the financial services industry over the past few years. Wescot are committed to rebuilding relationships based on trust in order to instil a new faith in the credit services sector, by maintaining high quality products and services which meet client needs and deliver effective solutions for both companies and individuals. Wescot endeavour to protect investment and brand for each client through a fully tailored service package, which goes above and beyond each and every time.

For Wescot, appropriate data handling goes hand in hand with a customer-focused approach

Full details of the services provided by Wescot can be found on the company website www.wescot.co.uk . The business was formed in Scotland in the late 1970s. Over the last 40 years, Wescot has grown into a market leader within the consumer credit niche. The success of the company is demonstrated by the fact that Wescot employs over 650 people. These employees are spread over three offices in Glasgow, Saltcoats and Hull.

wescotAnother indicator of the success of Wescot and the solid reputation the company enjoys can be found in the fact that this year it was involved in a sponsorship capacity in two of the most prestigious annual events in the credit industry calendar. Wescot was the main sponsor of the 2013 CCR Interactive event and the Credit Excellence Awards. The purpose of this annual event is to spread the latest best practice principles across the industry. It is also a very useful forum for debate concerning the challenges faced by the credit industry now and in the near future.

Wescot was also a sponsor of the Money Advice Scotland conference held in Glasgow in June of this year. Money Advice Scotland is the umbrella organisation for a number of bodies that seek to provide impartial, independent and confidential debt advice within Scotland. The involvement of Wescot demonstrates the company’s commitment to treating customers fairly. Wescot recognises that the provision of expert, independent debt advice is extremely useful in helping its customers to make informed decisions about their finances. In turn, this helps Wescot reach outcomes that are fair and realistic.

Wescot realises the importance of technology in enabling it to deal effectively and ethically with its customers. It seeks to ensure that its databases are as accurate as possible. On one hand, the fact that its advisors have completely up to date information at their fingertips means that Wescot can reach outcomes with its customers efficiently and with the minimum of fuss and delay. Accurate information also means that the actual agreements reached are fair. Wescot negotiators are able to take into account the difficulties the individual may be facing – with reference to accurate information contained in the individual customer’s profile. The Wescot website is also a useful tool for customers seeking to make a payment. The website also includes easy-to-understand information explaining how Wescot operates.