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THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT.
Why early intervention matters more than ever.
approach could further improve the customer experience.
“ According to the
'Indebted Lives' study,
almost nine million
UK adults are now
living with serious debt.”
Lee Usher, UKAR Debt Advice Strategy Manager.
For instance, completing affordability assessments to ensure
arrangements are affordable and sustainable should be
the norm within any organisation. But this is not always
straightforward and capturing accurate information takes time.
For customers with multiple creditors, they may be asked to
repeat the process which can lead to them disengaging with
creditors. I'm keen to understand what we can do to simplify
the customer journey here - to provide the best possible
opportunity for those customers to return to a manageable
It’s a piece of research that demonstrates the scale of the
debt position. This will hopefully be something we can cover
UK’s debt problem – and suggests new ways of supporting
in more detail in future editions of UKAR ARena.
and engaging with customers may be required.
We know that early engagement with debt advice can
Despite national figures showing an overall decline in mortgage
help provide that holistic approach to managing multiple
arrears (our article on pages 16 and 17 examines these numbers
debt situations and I'm really proud of the work we’ve done
in more detail and provides valuable context) a recent Money
at UKAR to promote the awareness of sources of support
Advice Service report shows that more Britons than ever are
to our customers. The referral process starts even before a
experiencing financial hardship.
customer enters into arrears, offering advice when they
According to the 'Indebted Lives' study, almost nine million UK
start to show signs of being unable to cope.
adults are now living with serious debt but only 1.5 million of
Of course there is always more that can be done and we are
those are seeking professional advice. A significant proportion
continuing to work with you, our colleagues across the debt
of these people have been finding it hard to pay their bills for
advice community, to ensure the customer journey continues
at least a year, and a further 48 per cent say they are in so
to improve.
much debt they are struggling to buy ‘the basics’.
On another note, November saw Debt Advice Policy Analyst
It is crucial that creditors do not lose sight of the impact
and editor of UKAR ARena Kevin Shaw join the Money
debt can have on people’s lives and more important than
Advice Service on a six-month secondment, giving him
ever we ensure effective Debt Advice referral strategies exist.
a great opportunity to share knowledge and skills across
Here at UKAR, we encourage early engagement with debt
two sectors.
advice services, intervening before problems become
serious and taking a holistic look at finances.
Naturally, we’re sorry to see him depart for now but I'm
delighted to welcome Stuart Laidler to the team. He’ll be
We know other creditors are also working hard to support
taking over Kevin’s role and I’d like to take this opportunity
customers in financial difficulty although a more co-ordinated
to wish them both the best of luck in their new ventures.
WINTER 2013 UKAR ARENA
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