In Focus Commercial Credit
and enforcement agencies are developing technology to improve the amount of debt collected at this stage without moving to the Enforcement stage. The main work in verifying, tracing and
collecting is carried out at the compliance stage over a period of weeks. Enforcement agencies are highly
experienced at tracing people and use a range of technology to verify details and track down people who owe money to their councils and courts. The next stage is a visit by an enforcement
agent. Visits to homes are less and less common in debt collection but are important in enforcement action. Often the first indicators of vulnerability are identified on the doorstep, especially when there has been no contact with the creditor.
Keeping our house in order But the enforcement industry cannot rest on its laurels. We should be reviewing the need for better regulation based on lessons that we have learned since the 2014 regulations have been in place. In April, the Justice Select Committee
submitted recommendations to the Ministry of Justice, which will form the
CIVEA members have already begun the
Visits to homes are less and less common in debt collection but are important in enforcement action. Often the first indicators of vulnerability are identified on the doorstep, especially when there has been no contact with the creditor
basis for the government’s response to the call for evidence. The recommendations include an
independent complaints body; a regulator for the enforcement agent industry, which regularly reviews and makes expert recommendations to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) about the fixed fee structure; and the mandatory use of body-worn cameras be mandatory for all enforcement agents visiting homes and businesses. The MOJ also wants to develop recommendations for supporting vulnerable people.
process of standardising practices. In September all CIVEA members – which account for over 90% of the profession – signed up to a new Code of Practice. The new Code is a demonstration of
the industry commitment to higher standards and goes over and above the statutory regulations and complements the government’s National Standards. To ensure that our members comply
with the code consistently we have appointed a Code Auditor. All 35 firms, plus private individuals and any in-house council teams that are represented by CIVEA, will need be audited in the first 12 months of the scheme. To ensure independence the Compliance,
Adjudication and Review of Enforcement (CARE) Panel is a panel of experts that will oversee the code compliance scheme and act as an advisory body on complaints. Our panel is made up of four people
that are committed to working with us to maintain high standards of professionalism and provide the first ever objective supervision of our profession. Dr Wendy Kennett is lecturer at
Cardiff University, Caroline Wells is an award-winning customer insight professional and former senior official at the Financial Ombudsman Service, Dave Pickering is former CEO of the Lending Standards Board and an expert in regulatory compliance, Sheila Harding is founder of Bailiff Advice Online and an expert on enforcement regulation. This is a ground-breaking initiative
that CIVEA members have developed voluntarily. They are opening up their businesses to scrutiny by informed experts. A clear expression of the confidence they have in their services. By its nature recovering public debt will
always attract criticism and the situation will not be helped by the widespread lack of understanding about our profession, but we are entering a new era of excellence in enforcement. We are not the architects of household
problem debt, but the most effective way to support the solution is with independently- monitored high standards and good conduct. CCR
December 2019
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