Door Knocking Delivers
During our recent recruitment campaign we hired an experienced face to face collection officer and he has settled into the door knocking roll extremely well.
Results are impressive
Most debts selected for personal visits fall into the following categories:
• No Contact following Letters, Telephone Calls, Text Messages and Emails.
• Refused to Pay
• Won’t Pay
• Can’t Pay
• Moved Away
• Passed Away
• Unresolved Dispute
• Insurance Underpayment – Excess Not Paid
• Insurance paid to pet owner rather than vet, owner spent the money, and so on.
Generally, customers ignored our client’s attempts to contact them and continued to do this when dsl became involved in the hope the debt will go away. However, when there’s a knock on the door and one of our collection officers introduces themselves and explains why they are there, reality starts to dawn and customers realise the issue needs to be dealt with. Our officers will ascertain the customers’ ability to pay and agree a sustainable way forward, after all, there’s no point in forcing someone to agree to a repayment plan they cannot stick too.
Door knocking also provides useful intelligence that can be used to make informed decisions regarding further collection or legal recovery opportunities. See a selection of scenarios detailed below.
• Customer Moved Away – New occupant may have a forwarding address.
• Empty Property – Estate Agent or landlord may have a forwarding address.
• No One At Home When Officer Calls – Neighbours confirm moved away or verify occupancy.
• Officers try to confirm if the customer goes to work, whether they are disabled, receiving benefit’s also the type and colour of vehicles they may own. [useful information if enforcement officers are involved following court action and judgment]
• Customer at Home – Refused to Open the Door, occupancy confirmed by occupant or neighbour.
• Type of Property Visited – Detached, Semi, Terrace, Flat.
• Condition of Property – good, fair, poor, very poor.
• Photograph of property along with any relevant vehicles details.
Each case is assessed and placed on the appropriate track, see options detailed below.
• Payment in Full – Documented and case closed• Payment Arrangement Agreed – Details added to system and letter sent detailing the amount to be paid, frequency of payments, number of payments and how payments will be made – Debit Card, Credit Card, Pay Point, Website, DSL Payment App, Bank Transfer, Standing Order.
• Gone Away – Recommend Trace. – If balance is above an agreed amount.
• Gone Away – Write Off – If below the agreed amount, not cost effective to peruse.
• Occupancy Confirmed – Balance above agreed amount, pass to legal department for further evaluation / legal action.
The team at DSL have been knocking doors for over 10 years and have definitely improved cash flow for our customers as a result.
Why not contact Mike Brooks on 01527 543672 or email mike.brooks@dsluk.net for a no obligation chat, it may be just what you need to improve your cash flow.
I look forward to hearing from you.