Larger debts are being left on death by many more people compared with previous generations, thanks in part to today's generally high levels of personal debt.
Many of those will have left other family members legally responsible for repaying that debt. From a creditor's point of view debt is still debt, even after death, but many can be intimidated by the sensitive issue of approaching executors to recover the funds owing.
More often than not, the executor of a deceased's estate is a close member of their family, and emotions, of course, are running high. Sensitive, compassionate handling is a must but - and here lies the nub of the matter - do the creditor's in-house collectors necessarily have the skills required? How do we successfully recover the owed monies, when we are not equipped to handle the deceased's grieving relatives?
Probate Collectors require special training to combine their innate compassion with professional collections expertise. Probate collections are, indeed, sensitive by nature and, to be successful, rely on a sensitive yet firm personal approach that a specialist agency can provide in a non-call-centre type way. For a bereaved individual to overhear other collectors in the background, as calls with call centre operators often risk, they can feel as if they are on a production line. This is bound to compromise the process and lessen the likelihood of a positive outcome.
At Oriel we put our probate collectors through our specialist training programme, selecting those who have a compassionate telephone manner and can empathise with the bereaved people we encounter. We are the antithesis of a call centre environment - and our results prove the point.
The amounts of individual debts collected start at £1,000 upwards, although the same procedures are followed regardless of the size of the collecting challenge. Contracts come through the website, or email, and even off the street. The Oriel probate team collects unsecured debt for credit card companies, outstanding bank charges for banks, as well as debts for HP agreement providers, car dealerships and retailers.
The market for probate collections is definitely developing in a number of areas. In addition to credit card and bank loan companies we are now seeing local authorities' social care departments needing collections services, where social care clients have died owing them monies. One has outstanding debts of over £1.5M. Their collectors potentially lack the specific skills sets and training required so they are outsourcing. Writing off such debts is no longer an option.
Often probate collections do not sit comfortably within the collection culture of more traditional debt collection companies and debt purchasers so they are now outsourcing as well. Now it is more difficult to write that off, so they are outsourcing.
Speed is of the essence in probate collections. A good probate collector will undertake the whole process starting with purchasing a copy of the grant of probate from the local probate office. Once we have the name of the executor, initial contact is made by letter inviting the executor to contact us when they feel ready. The first telephone conversation is very important and the collector needs to ensure it is conducted with emotional composure. Its success paves the way for a positive outcome allowing the creditor's claim to be lodged as quickly as possible on the assets and liabilities documentation. This will either be in the hands of the executor or their accountant - given that they have a duty to keep clear and accurate accounts of their dealings with the deceased's estate. Miss the time limit and the collection process can become more costly, pursuing settlement from beneficiaries.
There are only a few operators in today's market with a fully trained probate team and this, coupled with an increasing awareness of the fact that probate collections need careful handling augurs well for those who can adapt to the requirements in this market.
By Trevor Deacon of Oriel Group.
For more information on how Oriel Group can help you outsource this specialist area of collections please call 0845 226 1812 or read about Probate Collections.
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