In Focus Consumer Credit
COVID-19 and its impact on collections activity
The pandemic has seen the credit and collections industry take on board change at a rapid rate, but was that already business as usual?
Robert Thompson Partner, collections and recoveries, Brachers RobertThompson @
brachers.co.uk
There has been much discussion about how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced change within the credit industry. Some aspects have certainly changed, such
as working from home and the increased use of video conferencing software, to name two. However, at the risk of sounding
controversial, I believe that in terms of the overall approach to collections, surprisingly little has changed since the arrival of coronavirus.
Payment holidays Let us start with the payment holidays being offered by many creditors and taken up by a large proportion of their customers.
There is no denying that this has
occurred on a huge scale. Yet, taken at individual case level, is it really that much different to breathing space, something which many creditors have routinely offered for a long time now?
Customer-service approach We have also seen a massive transformation to a customer-service approach, the clear aim being to ensure that customers are helped through these difficult times. Many creditors have spoken openly
about their innovative approaches, such as increased use of digital technology to allow customers to make contact while telephone lines were jammed, particularly in the early stages of the pandemic. However, the industry has been
Many creditors have spoken openly about their innovative approaches, such as increased use of digital technology to allow customers to make contact while telephone lines were jammed, particularly in the early stages of the pandemic. However, the industry has been concentrating on customer service and moving towards these digital innovations for some time
October 2020
concentrating on customer service and moving towards these digital innovations for some time. The fact that these methods were able
to be rolled out, enhanced or extended so quickly and effectively, is itself testament to that. The industry has also had to react quickly
to changes in customer circumstances, with huge amounts of people being placed on furlough, losing their jobs, or businesses struggling. However, again taken at case level,
was adapting to a change in customer circumstances not already ‘business as usual’? The industry has long been used to
working with customers both at first contact but also when circumstances change, taking
www.CCRMagazine.com
For those using the courts, many courts have struggled to progress claims, but then many creditors have placed their use of legal action on hold anyway. If the courts had been able to continue as before, many creditors would probably only have been asking for them to stop
a collaborative approach to understand the change in circumstances and find the best way forward.
The courts For those using the courts, many courts have struggled to progress claims, but then many creditors have placed their use of legal action on hold anyway. If the courts had been able to continue as before, many creditors would probably only have been asking for them to stop. The biggest difficulty with the courts
seems to have been the uncertainty of situations, such as whether hearings are proceeding or not, including inconsistency of approach between hearing centres. Ultimately, I would suggest that
the courts will return to being used as they always have been: only where
>> 21
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52