Having been committed to various roles in ‘Recoveries’ for the last decade or so …
The sceptic in me always does a rigorous check to see if all angles have been covered before legal action is even considered.
Now, you might be thinking –
“Yes, I’ve covered everything All my letters/calls have been ignored.”
Are you absolutely, 100% sure?
As a Recoveries Consultant, dealing with the plethora of cases, I can tell you that around 9 out of 10 cases eventually cause or lead to problems.
Out of those 9, usually 3 of those reverberate around a complaint of some sort or another.
Likely one that hadn’t been dealt with from the start, in a proper or sufficient manner.
Why is dealing with complaints crucial?
Well, there are some major angles to bring forward here.
Dealing with them could bring to surface one or more in-house issues:
- “Sales mis-sold me my service or product.”
- “The product itself is not up to satisfactory service or no longer fit for purpose.”
- “I don’t want this additional service/product – but no one listened to me initially.”
- “No one has taken ownership of my problem.”
- “I’m waiting for you to come and visit me to discuss my issues.”
- “We are awaiting a follow up.”
- “You don’t talk internally.”
- “The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.”
Does any of the above look or sound familiar?
If so, these are my 5 tips ….
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Investigate internally
Together with any or all documentary evidence and/or with initial conversations and calls with your Sales teams.
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Involve the customer
If necessary, and depending on the size of the debt – investigate the matter jointly, going back to the Customer.
This gives the notion that you are dealing with or reviewing the Customer’s wishes, in a more rounded approach.
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Address legal problems NOW
By addressing any would-be legal problem at an early stage, you may avoid an account being passed to your Debt Collectors, and/or Solicitor’s/Accountants.
Thus avoiding any further unnecessary costs if a complaint had not been addressed early enough.
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Keep the customer informed
This generally restores trust from your customer that you are dealing with the complaint and/or case in an effective manner.
It shows that all departments, be it a large or small businesses, are looking into collectively tackling the problem together, rather than leaving the Customer feeling frustrated.
Antagonising your Customers will only increase your Legal Bills.
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Mediate
The Courts are inundated with cases too, and although the Court processes are being streamlined, they are encouraging people to mediate debt problems at an earlier stage.
If a claim is lodged, and a Defence from your Debtor (Respondent) is received, if it is for a service delivery from your side, then you have wasted valuable time and resources in not dealing with the problem initially.
It’s better to deal with the complaint than to take legal action.
If you require any further cost saving recommendations, or suggestions then seek advice from your current advisors, or request a call with Ron.