Thames Water has gone out to tender with a contract for outsourced debt collecion agencies services worth an estimated £17.5 million.

The water company says it has redesigned its customer debt journey focusing on delivering "right customer, right treatment path" and ensuring financially vulnerable customers are supported at all stages of the journey, explaining:
“With the cost of living rising, we recognise the importance of collecting debt in a socially responsible manner and as result we are seeking partners who are committed in supporting our customers on this journey while helping Thames Water achieve our goals.”
Thames has a commitment to collecting unrecovered debt and intends to outsource unrecovered water debt, provided mainly on a commission basis with some specific customer outcomes chargeable on a fee structure. Both collect and trace solutions are required within various parts of the portfolio.
At the later stages of the process, litigation and field services will also be required where any unrecovered debts will be assessed and selected depending on their suitability.
The utility is offering a 3-year contract with the ability to extend up to an additional 2 years.
The contract is being tendered in the following Lots:
- Lot 1 Placement 1 - Active and Final including trace and collect
- Lot 2 Placement 2 - Active and Final
- Lot 3 Placement 3 - Litigation - Active and Final
- Lot 4 Placement 4 - Field Services - Visit and Call Handling
The field service work will initially be offered on an 1-year contract with the potential after year 1 to bring this in line with the other contracts mimicking their contract terms.
Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate is 6 July 2023 – click here to access the tender documentation
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