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Built on Firm Foundations
The CSA has a new president – Dr Roger Lucas, vice president of the Lewis Group.
Well-respected as a thinker throughout the collections industry, Dr Lucas has swept into office with plans that will tackle – head on – the issues that really concern CSA members, particularly skills and compliance.
He explained: "In terms of skills, I think that these underpin the whole industry, everything that we do. You can talk forever to politicians and regulators and do all the lobbying that you like and get the right regulatory position to defend our views, but unless you can show that you have got collectors' skills right it undermines everything.
"Not that I am saying that skills level are bad – very far from it, they are excellent – but I feel that there is more that we can do. We need to have the right skills training in place so that all collectors are knowledgeable and so that skills can be benchmarked against each other and an accreditation given."
"As I say, it is not a question of there being a problem with skill levels, but it would be beneficial for all collectors to see where they have faults, compared to their peers, and where we can give them a pat on the back. It will put us in such a strong position to be able to say to government that all these people within our industry have been taking courses and have therefore been accredited. And this accreditation needs to be on a regular basis, it cannot be like a driving licence where you pass it and then have it forever, or it will love its value."
Compliance is another key issue and Dr Lucas admits that his thinking has bee moulded by discussing the challenges ahead with leading members of the CSA.
"Why should the CSA not provide a compliance audit of a company as a service? So that company is, effectively, accredited by the CSA. This accreditation would mean that anyone wishing to sell to that company, or to pass work to them, does not have to check out the company, because that would have already been done by a trusted authority. They would only need to check out the particular portfolio of piece of work.
"Again this will allow us to go back to government and show them how thoroughly we are doing the job and how seriously we are taking our responsibilities."
Working with government is obviously one of his priorities and he has even been in correspondence with a former cabinet MP about the 'warm blanket that the CCA wraps around debtors, whether they deserve it or not'.
He insists that, when it comes to the debt collection industry, the debtor will always receive help if they ask for it. However, what he doesn't agree with is people giving collectors the 'run around' for three, four or five years before turning around and saying "OK, now I want to see a copy of the original agreement or you can't enforce".
And he speaks for many in the industry when he adds: "It must be possible to change the way people think about things – how they feel about their responsibility to pay back their debts. It is not only a question of challenging legislation, but also of challenging attitudes. We must try and lose this debt avoidance culture."
It is a progressive message – and one that rings true with many members of the CSA.
In addition to Dr Lucas becoming CSA President, there have been other changes to the CSA board. New additions include Jacky Cooper, Godfrey Lancashire, John Ricketts, Rob Sands, Maria Wadsworth and Peter Wallwork – as well as Tessera's Leigh Berkley, who joins as treasurer, with special responsibilities over finance and data.
And, with this mixture of experience and new blood, the industry looks very well represented for the years ahead.
Original article courtesy of CCR.
