Since the introduction of the dialler we are making an additional 40,000-50,000 outbound calls to customers with outstanding payments each month. While only 19% of people may answer a call, this increased call volume means we are speaking to an additional 350-400 people per day regarding their overdue accounts. More importantly, we are also leaving significantly more messages and alerting people to their issues. This has had a twofold effect: - We are receiving more calls into the Contact Centre about overdue accounts – up to 51% of inbound calls from 40%;
- We have seen a significant increase in payments being made through the PAYNOW portal – an additional 20,000 payments a month.
This has seen the percentage of overdue customers drop to a 10 year historical low during the months of January and February, which are usually tougher months for payments following on from the Christmas and New Year period. Typically missed payments spike in January and February as the follow on from Christmas spending, holidays, and back to school activities impacts household cash flows. |