INTERVIEW AUTHOR – Sean Feast “They can already see how our business can help its operations in Belgium, France, Italy <strong>and</strong> Portugal confront future challenges of compliance <strong>and</strong> customer service.” Being part of a much larger group has brought immediate benefits: “We find ourselves in conversations with potential clients today who would not have talked to us as 1st Credit,” he says. Eddie also believes that Intrum sees a wider opportunity for its UK operations beyond its traditional boundaries: “I can see us getting more into Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) <strong>and</strong> delivering Credit Management Services (<strong>CM</strong>S),” he explains. He also rules in future acquisitions: “I expect there to be further M&A activity, acquiring businesses that add value either in terms of their size or specific skill sets. It is certainly on our radar.” ETHICAL COLLECTIONS A further recent development, <strong>and</strong> one that brought considerable publicity at the time, is its partnership with Hammersmith <strong>and</strong> Fulham Council <strong>and</strong> the launch of a new ethical approach to debt collection (H&F Ethical Debt Collections). Eddie anticipates further private-public joint ventures <strong>and</strong> initiatives in the future. “The Regulator still has some concerns over litigation <strong>and</strong> that is underst<strong>and</strong>able,” he explains. “It must only be used when it is fully justified <strong>and</strong> on a highly selective basis. But overall, the Financial Conduct Authority has been a good thing for our industry <strong>and</strong> has helped improve the customer experience.” Where Eddie has a concern, however, is in relation to those businesses <strong>and</strong> operations that do not fall under the FCA’s remit: “It is a nonsense that a customer can be contacted by a regulated business <strong>and</strong> expect a high st<strong>and</strong>ard of call but then be contacted by the local council or government agency <strong>and</strong> treated appallingly. That cannot be right. “Some local councils do little more than mail a couple of warning letters <strong>and</strong> then send the bailiffs in. What can happen then, especially if it involves rent arrears <strong>and</strong> the council is the l<strong>and</strong>lord, is that the customer ends up out on the street, requiring emergency housing, which ends up costing the council more than if they’d worked to find a sensible resolution. No-one is looking at the whole picture <strong>and</strong> that is very frustrating. “The customer has a right to expect the same fair treatment for all of his debts, regardless of the ultimate creditor.” So what does Eddie think the debt collection industry will look like three years from now? “Perhaps there will be more consolidation leading to a smaller number of larger players,” he says. “I’d certainly like to see us looking at things like I&E (the income <strong>and</strong> expenditure form) <strong>and</strong> whether this process could be made more customerfriendly, <strong>and</strong> whether the FCA could be persuaded to take a lighter touch in certain areas. There is good evidence that the I&E is working; greater affordability means that payment plans are more likely to succeed. However, customers tell us they find the experience stressful.” FURTHER AUTOMATION Eddie also thinks that technology will play a much larger role: “We recently launched our own ‘Chatbot’ <strong>and</strong> can see further automation in the future, especially behind the scenes. The industry has been quite slow generally to adopt new AI technology, for example, <strong>and</strong> we need to catch up.” “I expect there to be further M&A activity, acquiring businesses that add value either in terms of their size or specific skill sets. It is certainly on our radar.” Intrum UK will continue with its quest in finding different ways of addressing industry-wide issues. It has recently, for example, been working with the charity Grass Roots around the issue of suicide <strong>and</strong> has been running regular focus groups with customers to find out what it’s really like to be on the receiving end of a debt collector’s call: “It gives us a real insight into their experience,” Eddie adds. “Listening <strong>and</strong> learning is the key.” Having survived a driving incident at the age of 17 when he managed to crash into Bradford Cathedral – backwards – in his father’s car, Eddie is perhaps not the best to ask what advice he might give to a young person starting out in a career today! He does believe, however, that a degree is not essential: “Whatever you do, you need to enjoy it,” he laughs. The Recognised St<strong>and</strong>ard / www.cicm.com / <strong>July</strong>/<strong>August</strong> <strong>2018</strong> / PAGE 26
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