Debt Collection
According to media reports in January 2008, the money owed to British small and medium sized businesses rose by £2.6 billion in 2007 to £18.6 billion. Almost a fifth of firms now employ someone to chase overdue invoices. As a consequence, the average company loses about 17 days a year on this task alone.
Greater London has the biggest payment problems. Firms there were owed an average of £51,000 and spent an average of 5.5 hours a day, or 38 days a year trying to get their money.
Our own research in 2008 revealed that the average payment duration in the UK was 51 days, a deterioration of the conditions in 2007.
Debt Collecting Problems
The harsh reality of modern economic life is that it is getting harder to get paid on time. With the economy heading into recession, businesses, public authorities and private individuals across much of the European Union are taking longer to settle their outstanding invoices than ever before and there are almost certainly worse times ahead.
New methods of customer acquisition, more complex payment methods and growth in international trade are increasing the demand on credit management teams. It is therefore imperative that UK SMEs apply a clear and effective credit management strategy in order to manage their own receivables in the best way possible. More details about how to do this can be found in our downloadable guide “7 ways to reduce your business’s debts”. However, with the best will in the world, at some point most businesses will be faced with the prospect of trying to collect outstanding monies from a proportion of their existing clients, whether this be done internally or by an external debt collector.
Debt Collectors - Not all are the same
Professional debt collecting is one of the most cost effective ways of improving cashflow and reducing outstanding payments. Intrum Justitia’s clients range from large multi-national businesses to small privately owned companies, all with their own requirements and their own credit management and customer care processes.
At Intrum Justitia, we recognise that a “one size fits all” approach is not appropriate for many clients and we are flexible enough to adopt their requirements accordingly. Sophisticated campaigns integrate the most effective contact techniques and are combined with self serve web capability and one of the widest range of payment methods available.
From an operational perspective, our contact centre staff are organised into sector and client specific teams, giving them a greater understanding of the client, the industry in which they operate and regulatory requirements. We also segment our operation into dedicated Business-to-business and Business-to consumer units, recognising that success in these areas requires differing skill sets.
It is this approach that provides our clients with the reassurance and confidence they need. Just because an account falls into arrears does not necessarily mean that you have to lose a customer. On the contrary, with the right credit management strategy, we have found that a defaulting account is often the perfect opportunity to build even greater loyalty.Our debt collection services
Intrum Justitia is Europe’s leading provider of Credit Management Services, and assists clients all over the world in improving their cash flow and long term profitability.
Our debt collection process encompasses a range of contact strategies including letters, telephone calls, SMS etc. as deemed appropriate. Tracing facilities can be provided where customers have moved or are proving difficult to locate. In addition, should it be necessary, we can take legal proceedings if authorised to do so by our client.
The Intrum Justitia brand is recognised throughout the world as a leader in Credit Management. This in itself increases the likelihood of obtaining payment and is our clients assurance that their brand integrity and customers are in safe hands.
For further information regarding our debt collection service, please go to On Demand Collections or call us on 0870 414 0044.
