8
TURNING A TRICKLE INTO A STREAM.
With Auriga Services.
Helping clients maximise income has always been
a priority for grant management organisation
Auriga Services. Auriga specialises in looking after
charitable trusts and assistance funds on behalf of
some of the UK’s biggest utility companies, including Severn
Trent, United Utilities and Thames Water.
It has recently widened the scope of its support by offering a
designated telephone-based Debt Advice Service using its
expertise and customer contact to provide tailored financial
help to those in crisis. Debt Manager, Aadal Shafiq, explains how
it works and outlines why closer working with the debt advice
industry is going to be key to the organisation’s future success.
He says: “Customer support is at the heart of what we do.
Auriga currently handles some 90,000 customer contacts
each year, (calls, emails and letters) and assesses around
33,000 annual requests for hardship applications; providing
around £200,000 in grant aid every week.
“Even when we can’t give direct financial help we will try and
make a referral for wider support. We set up our designated
Debt Advice service last year. We use the engagement we
have with clients when they come to us for help with other
things, most commonly water bill arrears, and take a wider
look at their finances to help them get back onto their feet.
“We’ll negotiate with priority and non-priority creditors,
provide support working with the organisations that refer
their customers to us for debt advice and complete Debt
Relief Orders or look at bankruptcy where appropriate.
“We can help customers obtain any extra benefits they are
entitled to, if necessary taking them to appeal stage. In the
8
UKAR ARENA AUTUMN 2013
85%
of those we’ve seen
took action and achieved
a positive outcome.
last 12 months and taking a sample of just 21 cases, we’ve
helped clients access £44,000 in benefits and have £22,000
of debt written off.
“We’ve also dealt with another £95,000 of priority and
£325,000 of non-priority debts for customers. It means
that 85 per cent of those we’ve seen took action and
achieved a positive outcome. Now we’re looking to build
on that to create closer partnerships with banks, lenders,
housing associations and debt advice providers, ensuring
we can offer the best support possible.
“As part of our wider role, we also publish a quarterly Utility
Schemes Booklet for debt advisors; a comprehensive list of
up-to-date sources of funding and relevant contacts. Details
can change very quickly so we have a designated member of
staff to review and manage this and we hope it will be a useful
resource for advisors looking to help clients access funding."
Printed copies can be made available
but it can also be downloaded, for free,
via our website aurigaservices.co.uk