Post on 07-Aug-2015
Creditors and advisers do now talk together - job done then?
Peter Munro, Head of Business Development - Creditors, PayPlan David Easterby, Head of Consumer Servicing, Idem Servicing
Presenters:
Darryl Matthews, Group Head of External Relations, Harrington Brooks
Facilitator:
Phill Holdsworth, Proprietor of Phill Holdsworth Consulting and representing MALG’s North East Discussion Forum
Scribe:
Workshop Overview
• Welcome and housekeeping - Darryl Matthews • Adviser perspective - Peter Munro • Creditor perspective - David Easterby • Open discussion - All • Job Done Then? - Vote
Adviser Perspective
• Talking IS progress - reflections on ‘bridging the divide’ • Working with Creditors - the Payplan experience
• Job Done? - thoughts for the open discussion
Talking IS progress
• ‘Bridging the divide’ no longer a distracting issue • MALG / Roundtables / Working Parties breaking down barriers
• Regulation has encouraged positive dialogue
• Doing the right thing for consumer a shared objective
Working with Creditors (1)
• 900K creditor accounts under management • 26K creditor letters handled per month • 5K creditor phone calls handled per month • 92K creditor online interactions per month • 35 creditor meetings per month • 8 industry events per month • Disbursing £18m a month to creditors
Working with Creditors (2)
• Dedicated debt advice managers now more common • Specialist Teams to deal with vulnerable customers • Exchange visits to improve relations • Mutual auditing to improve trust • Sharing of consultation thoughts / responses • Pro-active and targeted referrals replacing generic signposting • Data exchange proving the benefits of debt advice • More diverse creditor types now engaging
Job Done?
• Engagement and attitude varies by creditor type • Inconsistent policies and procedures cause confusion • Communications around debt sale could improve • Communications around DCA use could improve • Service levels vary considerably
Creditor perspective
• Historical creditor perspective • The need for change • Our journey • What’s next?
Historical creditor perspective • Advice sector seen as a barrier between creditor and
customer – Lack of trust – No real dialogue
• Limited working relationships • Lack of understanding on both sides – were customers
always put first? • All advisors “tarred with the same brush” – and perhaps
all creditors!
The need for change • Recognition of the importance of the advice sector • More customers were seeking debt advice • Advice providers operating in the UK increased dramatically • Treating Customer Fairly • Changes to the regulatory environment
Our journey • Invested in understanding the industry • Embarked on an engagement exercise • Developed working relationships based on understanding
and trust • Created a specialist department • Built a bespoke system • Moved from reactive to proactive approach
What’s next? • Continue to communicate • Share best practice • Identify areas to learn from each other • Encourage uniformity / standard practices • Support each other through the regulatory changes
Open Discussion • Do both sides talk but neither truly listen? • Are there enough opportunities for dialogue? • Is opinion still too polarised to ever reach compromise
positions? • Are both talking but using a different language? • Why are messages so inconsistent from both sides on the
same issues? • Do both have the consumer at the heart of this dialogue? • What have we learned from converting conflict into dialogue? • How can we turn talk into positive actions for the future?