Our proactive customer contact service
Universal credit means weekly housing benefit payments can be paid directly to landlords, alternatively a single monthly income - to cover a range of benefits - is paid directly to tenants.
With the need for tenants to manage their money differently, there has been an increase in missed rents payments, arrears and tenancy eviction, with a knock-on effect on social landlords who are facing a rise in court orders to recover debts, an increase in costly tenancy terminations and increased demand for temporary accommodation.
We help you better support your tenants, while minimising the impact on revenue collection, budgets and services, with our fully-managed rent collection and arrears management service. We work alongside your existing teams to support profiling and contact management, taking and making payment arrangements, as well as signposting to wider support and preparing court documentation for non-payers.
The resilience service provided by Capita has enabled Southwark to effectively manage workload fluctuations following the implementation of universal credit full service within the borough.
The team delivering the service have assisted in initially maintaining then improving performance helping to mitigate the risk of a significant increase in arrears following direct payment of benefit.
We use insights to profile customers in areas that are more likely to be impacted by universal credit, have the propensity to miss payments or have rent arrears. Our team contacts tenants to explain the available payment options, arranges to take rent payments and helps eligible tenants who need alternative payment arrangements (APAs) applied to their universal credit. As part of our rent collection and arrears management services, we focus on:
Promoting automated and digital payment methods
Providing information on how universal credit works
Helping vulnerable people and families with complex needs
Arranging alternative payments (APAs) for those eligible
- Dedicated revenues and customer service specialists, fully trained in the latest legislation, handling sensitive, outbound communications and setting up payment arrangements to meet differing needs.
- The ability to switch our service on or off, so you can access capacity when you need it most.
- Use of insight, analytics and behavioural science techniques for customer communications to promote the right outcomes for your organisation.
- A telephony platform to support outbound and inbound activity and ensure we have the right level of resource to meet demand
- Options for extended service opening hours, after work and at weekends to contact customers around their lifestyles.
- Digital customer experience function to help shape continuous service improvement and efficiency.
- Commercial arrangements to deliver results based on agreed and monitored performance measures.
- Tenants will understand better their responsibilities, the appropriate communication channels to use and the support available to them to prevent debt.
- Wider and more convenient payment options that reduce the risk of missed payments and arrears
- More financial stability and an improved credit rating for individuals.
- Better signposting to information, advice or financial support a tenant might be entitled to.
- Fewer tenancy terminations and reduced risk of homelessness.
- Action to prevent wider debt related issues, including mental health housing and employment.
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