NEWS CCR
CALL TO PUT CUSTOMERS FIRST
CREDITORS and collectors must put customer experience at the heart of their performance and performance measurement, according to an industry analyst. Speaking at a webinar
run by
Telsolutions and Genesys, Carla Hall of Exceed All Expectations said: “We expect customers’ interests to be at the heart of how firms do business. Customers can expect to get financial services and products that meet their needs from firms that they can trust. Meeting customers’
fair and reasonable
expectations should be the responsibility of firms, not that of the regulator.” In an industry which is coming to
understand that good customer experience is possible and measurable, she named six positive Treating Customers Fairly outcomes:
t “Fair treatment of customers is central to the corporate culture.” t “Products and services are designed to meet the needs of identified consumer groups.” t “Consumers are provided with clear information and are kept appropriately informed.” t “Consumer advice is suitable and takes account of their circumstances.” t “Consumers are provided service of an acceptable standard and as they have been led to expect.” t “Consumers do not face unreasonable post-sale barriers imposed by firms to change product, switch provider, submit a claim or make a complaint.” Culture and governance needed to be
at the heart of a successful customer- experience programme, requiring senior management buy-in and support, a clear
DIRECTORS DISQUALIFIED
THREE directors who misled the public into paying £12m for services to reduce credit card debt or recover payment protection insurance (PPI), have been disqualified as directors for a combined 26 years. Nicholas Stephen Harle (39), Amrinder
Patwal (32), and Victoria Ruth Skivington (28) were found to have caused or allowed Consortium Technology Ltd to mislead the public and were disqualified from acting in the capacity as directors. An Insolvency Service investigation
found that Consortium made inaccurate statements and omissions in cold calls and e-mails to the public. As a consequence, at least 2,264 claims were lodged, for which the promised services were never received. Consortium was authorised by the
Ministry of Justice to provide claims management services. It cold-called members of the public and offered to challenge credit agreements for any non- compliance with the law. It also offered to challenge any errors in the agreement
July 2015 that could potentially render it
unenforceable, and to examine the potential mis-selling of PPI. Customers were required to pay an
upfront fee of £495 plus 10% of the outstanding debt and VAT for this service. No steps were taken to inform customers of the complex law surrounding the company’s promises or that only courts could determine whether or not an agreement was unenforceable. As a result, Consortium was unable to keep these promises in any of the 2,264 claims identified by the Insolvency Service during its investigation. Consortium also misled customers by
promising to refund in full the upfront fees if a claim failed or if an agreement was declared unenforceable. Susan Macleod, chief investigator at
the Insolvency Service, said: “If directors make misleading statements, fail to deliver services which have been paid for or fail to refund money as promised, they will be investigated and they will be removed from the business environment.”
www.CCRMagazine.co.uk
SENIOR professionals from creditors, utilities, collection agencies, debt buyers and solicitors are to be invited to the latest in CCR’s successful series of round-table debates, which will be run in association with High Court Enforcement Group. The debate, ‘Judgment Enforcement –
Time for Change?’, will consider the key issues around legal debt collection and enforcement and discuss how the High Court and County Court Jurisdiction Order 1991 needs to be updated. Stephen Kiely, editor of CCR, said:
“Legal collections and enforcement is a hugely interesting and fast-changing aspect of
the industry, whose
professionals play an important role in the collections landscape in the UK. “We are very pleased to be working
with High Court Enforcement Group to bring together some key professionals to share their experiences and insights.”
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organisational commitment, a move from operational to customer-driven targets, the introduction of accountability at all levels, and clearly structured roles and responsibilities. Truly customer-centric organisations had
superior products and services, better allocation of resources, targeted profitable customers, increased attraction and retention rates, and fostered long-term relationships. However, they did not meet every customer demand, compensate excessively or without good cause, compete solely on price, provide every customer with a different solution, or have to have the latest technology.
ENFORCEMENT ROUND TABLE
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