The Challenge
Water service charges are known to be one of the most socially and politically sensitive payments to collect. As with many utility companies at this time, collection strategies at Yorkshire Water have not needed to extend beyond the “one size fits all” approach of bill reminder, final-notice and summons.
However, regulatory and market changes at that time meant this approach to collections was no longer appropriate. These challenges drove Yorkshire Water to make the decision to implement an innovative and tailored collections system.
We felt that to remain pre-eminent in the industry, and to stand comparison across all industry sectors, we had to shift our collections approach to a new level of sophistication.
The Solution
Following a robust evaluation of the market Yorkshire Water selected our arrears management software solution. As Yorkshire Water commented:
Trust and reliability are critical to us in forming our business partnerships. In Target we have found an innovative product which ensures efficiency and best practice along with a company that we feel will ensure a successful implementation.
Our solution manages the entire arrears management lifecycle for Yorkshire Water from identifying early repayment problems and managing delinquency through to debt recovery and litigation. The solution enhances customer service and reduces overall arrears rates by allowing businesses to implement tailored and sophisticated collection strategies.
Within just ten weeks from signing contracts we fully implemented our collections system within Yorkshire Water. The solution supports 100 concurrent users and is integrated with Yorkshire Water’s existing systems including a predictive dialler and legacy mainframe system. A fully scalable system it can accommodate all two million of Yorkshire’s Waters bill payers. It is easy to use, having a windows interface, and includes automated case progression and workflow.
The Results
Working with us ensured Yorkshire Water:
- A highly tailored approach for all customers – through the development of more sophisticated and effective collections strategies.
- Improved contact with customers by controlling the production of tailored letters and telephone collection techniques. It also ensures their customers are managed during legal recovery and oversees door to door or external collections agents.
- Early identification of repayment problems – our solution enables Yorkshire Water’s operators to identify early problems and make prompt contact with their customers using a customised strategy. This ensures appropriate action is taken to avoid serious difficulties and ensures greater control of arrears.
