In Focus Consumer Credit
that have been charging the debtor for the past six years. All of the creditors that use Just for their enforcement need to pay the VAT, and some of them are the largest creditors in the sector. The VAT issue could be made right
tomorrow, we do not need to await the MoJ to tell us so. Sometimes you need to make change through behaviour and not regulation. This is one of those times, and we can all take part.
CCR: Turning the focus now towards the impact of COVID-19. What will the impact be on enforcement? JW: The impact is big. Enforcement organisations are like any other business and some will for sure go bust. Others will of course survive but obviously need to change. There will be a new type of debtor, data
that we used to identify ‘if someone could pay’ in the past will be useless and there will be hundreds of bailiffs that have not worked for three months hungry to start getting paid again. This is a moment for real change. I fear
however from what I have seen in some press releases that ‘real change’ is not what we will see. A crisis like this does need to lead to
revolutionary innovation and I am concerned is that we will see Blockbuster Video type innovation. You will remember when digital streaming came along and Blockbuster convinced themselves that what they needed to do to stop the competition was to put big bags of sweets by the till. They convinced themselves that people
would never get a DVD in the post as they desired the ceremony of going to the video shop, choosing their film and buying bags of sweets. While they were shopping for Haribo,
Netflix were making original content and streaming it to your home for a monthly small fee. No fines, no getting to the shop to see the video not available and no fines for late return. It did not take Blockbuster long to realise they had got it all wrong. COVID-19 will change the customers
buying habits for sure, just like Netflix did. It is going to be more important than ever that customers use enforcement only where it is appropriate and that when they do, they
June 2019
use the most advance and customer focused suppliers available. The industry simply providing a bailiff with a mask and latex
Times like this remind me of a famous
quote: “Nothing right in the world comes without some discomfort, because someone is always benefiting from the status quo.” This is a time of discomfort but only those that live through the discomfort will survive.
It is going to be more important than ever that customers use enforcement only where it is appropriate and that when they do, they use the most advance and customer focused suppliers available
gloves is like Blockbuster providing sweets at the till. It is dumb, it is not forward- thinking enough and it is not enough to protect the vulnerable, protect the customers reputation, and ultimately protect the industry.
www.CCRMagazine.com
CCR: How will Just come out of the COVID-19 situation? JW: Strong, more innovative than before, more debtor and customer-focused, with better technology and a team that is aligned to do the right thing. We will engage with the traditional
suppliers that want to make the right changes regardless of the discomfort and refuse to work with those that think COVID-19 is just a short-term problem. Enforcement is about to change forever, and we want to lead that change. CCR
This article is edited from an interview between Jamie Waller and Stephen Kiely, editor of CCRMagazine.
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