Nov 14 2008
Experian®, the global information services company, today announced the launch of Experian Collections & Recoveries. The comprehensive debt management service enables organisations to efficiently and effectively prioritise, manage and collect outstanding monies at pre-delinquent, delinquent and recoveries stages.

Experian Collections & Recoveries brings together the company’s best data, analytics and software assets to provide organisations with an integrated, end-to-end debt management capability. Today, more than 90 per cent of the UK’s leading banks, building societies and debt collections organisations, as well as many of the UK’s largest utility and telecommunications companies, use one or more components from Experian’s range of collections services.

Experian Collections & Recoveries enables organisations to combine their full range of internal data sources with real-time credit reference bureau data, risk and collection scores, to build a comprehensive view of customers and their ability to pay. As a result, individual collections strategies can be tailored to each debtor’s circumstances to improve returns and enable the lender to deal with them fairly.

The flexible nature of Experian Collections & Recoveries means that clients can take the whole suite as an integrated end-to-end collections proposition, or simply integrate the specific capabilities they require. These include:
* Dynamic workflow software: to automate high volume, standard processes in the collections process, enabling organisations to segment and filter customers into the most appropriate collections cycle for their particular circumstances, and apply individualised debt recovery plans.
* Portfolio monitoring and alert services: to identify changes in the credit status of existing customers, providing organisations with an updated risk assessment. Organisations are able to immediately flag at-risk customers and act quickly to prevent loss before they are exposed to it.
* Tracing services: to enable organisations to confirm an existing address, trace the forwarding addresses for customers that have moved home without notifying them, and provide an indication of the strength of connection between the customer and the address.
* Payment validation services: to confirm that bank account details are correct and actually belong to the customer, preventing unnecessary administrative errors due to major increases in early collections activities.

Experian Collections & Recoveries also enables organisations to more accurately forecast the eventual loss they may have to write-off, based on the levels of outstanding debt and risk in their portfolio. In addition, organisations can benefit from Experian’s range of consultancy services, such as collections strategy optimisation, performance reviews and industry benchmarking.

Jonathan Westley, Collections Product Director at Experian, said: “Debt collection is no longer a cost centre – it has become a front-line profit driver. The focus on debt management has increased and retrieving delinquent loans and making cash recoveries are now key priorities for organisations.

“Our clients are asking us for help in managing the total credit lifecycle, from customer acquisition through to collection and recovery. Experian has served the collections market for years and now provides the widest range of tools in the industry. By integrating them to create an end-to-end debt management capability, we are driving innovation where it matters most.

“Each of the elements within Experian Collections & Recoveries can help an organisation to improve its collections efforts. By blending these capabilities, they can start to achieve even greater returns and make a bigger difference to the bottom-line.”