The name Wescot will be familiar with anyone with knowledge of the consumer credit industry and the collections niche in particular. The profile of the company was raised further as a consequence of the fact that Wescot was the main sponsor of this year’s CCR Interactive. This event is the most high profile gathering in the credit industry calendar. It enables delegates to catch up on the latest trends in best practice. It also provides an opportunity for an informal exchange of ideas between industry insiders. Incorporated into the conference is the Credit Excellence Awards, which provides public recognition for those organisations that have demonstrated their commitment to best practice.

It is extremely fitting that Wescot was the principal sponsor of this year’s event. Since its conception in Scotland over 30 years ago, Wescot has gradually grown from strength to strength. The company now has nationwide coverage and employs over 650 employees at offices in Glasgow, Saltcoats and Hull. It has expertise across a number of distinct areas including debt recovery, early stage collections, customer tracing and debt purchase.

Wescot has a client base across a number of different sectors including utilities, telecom, banking, retail and personal finance. The figures for the company are certainly impressive. In the year up until February 2013, the organisation successfully recovered £240 million of debt on behalf of its clients. Wescot also manages the accounts of over 3 million customers.

Wescot is very well placed to meet the challenges of the future. Recent economic data would suggest that the economy as a whole may have turned a corner. Nevertheless, as Wescot is well aware, individual credit customers still face considerable difficulties. Individual disposable income may now be similar to 2008 levels but this is likely to be placed under considerable challenge if mortgage interest rates were to be increased. Wescot appreciates that its clients are unlikely to see a significant drop in customer defaults any time soon.

At the same time, Wescot is fully aware of the fact that the whole consumer credit sector is under the spotlight from politicians, the media and regulators. Wescot knows all too well that its clients will not want to be associated with some of the more disreputable elements of the industry. Wescot therefore ensures its staff is trained to observe the highest standards of professionalism.