Why work with Credit Style in 2022

Why work with Credit Style in 2022

In our latest blog, we reflect on why debt recovery continues to be essential for businesses across diverse industries, as well as why Credit Style remains a partner of choice.

At Credit Style, we pride ourselves on being a one-stop service for the entire debt recovery journey. We are uniquely placed to offer solutions from white label onboarding to office-based recovery and field visits all the way through to legal action and collection. Our experienced team of collectors and credit management professionals regularly help businesses recuperate funds, taking away a time-consuming but essential task so they may focus on their own business priorities.

By establishing the common issues that are preventing payments from taking place, we quickly increase our chances of resolving cases directly without additional client involvement. Every company is different, so we never adopt a one-size-fits-all approach. What does remain the same is our ability to reduce levels of bad debt provisions, the amount of debt on the ledger and improve write-off figures.

How can debt recovery be a positive thing?

It is important to remember that debt is a problem for the person owing money as well as the company that is currently out of pocket. Resolving an outstanding debt is good for all parties involved. Sometimes, an escalation point is needed for customers to recognise this and we have seen time and again that fresh communication by a third party can achieve the level of attention and cooperation that has previously prevented a situation from reaching the required conclusion.

When customers refuse to co-operate, our in-house legal team can issue county court proceedings and advise on the next steps. It is unfortunate when debts escalate, but we provide a professional service to ensure this experience is as smooth and fair as possible. Key elements of our quality and compliance systems are certified to ISO standards and we hold a consumer credit license regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for agreements formed under the Consumer Credit Act. We are also authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and remain members of both the Civil Court Users Association and the Credit Services Association.

A lot of success is down to working with clients to establish their current processes and suggesting when to introduce our own services, so that future activity is best placed to make maximum impact. What we do and how we do it is always built around the wants and needs of each individual client, positively and pro-actively working as an extension of their team. This close understanding ensures we are best placed to advise debtors on their options and give them the help and guidance needed to resolve their outstanding debt once and for all.

So, why Credit Style?

The longer a debt is left unpaid the harder it is to recover it, so we advise accounts that are greater than 30 days overdue are referred to us. The despatch of a Solicitors Letter Before Action can be required and our in-house legal team go beyond this by conducting telephone collection activity, which often accelerates payment and avoids the need for legal proceedings. Any sales ledger clean-up process is commenced gently in order to remove barriers to payment.

Up to date customer-centric knowledge is critical before issuing any form of legal action and as such we have developed a business debt, field visit recovery solution. Adopting this mediatory approach ensures every conceivable settlement option is explored before court action is commenced. CST LAW is available when the only way to recover monies owed is through legal action. Our in-house legal team comprises of highly experienced lawyers who remain available for full defence management services, ensuring cases are managed to a full and final conclusion.

We have also developed a specialist motor finance collection team that specialise in debt remediation.  Our approach is extremely successful in avoiding litigation and repossession by negotiating settlements. We believe visiting and agreeing a way forward with customers avoids expensive Return of Goods Orders and has proven to be attentive to most customers’ needs.

Our partnership with Bristow & Sutor and Debt Recovery Plus (DRP), making up the award-winning Bristow & Sutor Group, ensures we remain at the forefront of methodical and technological innovation. Our real-time case management portal management information, for example, can be provided routinely or on-demand and, thanks to an in-house team of software developers, we design and build individualised reports that are unique to every client. This ensures the insight we deliver goes beyond simple data collection and is streamlined into valuable and useful information.

A word from Credit Style Director, Steve Bramley…

“Over the past 28 years, I have worked in the debt collections industry and have had the good fortune of spending 15 of those years watching Credit Style grow into the expert, full-service debt recovery solution it is today.

There have been many changes over the years but our approach to doing the best that is possible always remains the same. The pandemic showed many people the benefits of having a flexible and agile approach, but we have always adhered to this way of thinking. No two clients are exactly the same and our willingness to understand these unique differences, factoring them into our strategy and approach, has resulted in many long partnerships and referrals.

Consolidating skills and expertise was a driving factor in forming our partnership with Bristow & Sutor and Debt Recovery Plus, which has been a highly successful experience for all three businesses. This ethos of collaboration for wider success is something we remain fully committed to and we look forward to furthering growth and development of our company in future.”