By: Arjan Stigter, General Manager Ultimoo Group BV
Wow, wow, say, can I just take a breather. What a crazy time we are living through. From one day to the next, life as we were used to it is completely turned upside down. Let me start by carefully expressing my interim conclusion. Apart from all the human and business suffering, which of course you don't wish on anyone, there are also positive outcomes. Especially when I look at the way in which we do our work every day.
In our case, we were able to get almost everyone working from home within a day. The technical infrastructure made that possible. I was, and perhaps still am, a bit conservative. Working from home is not for everyone and I have never really allowed it structurally in our business operations. Now I had to, I had no choice.
This huge experiment shows that working from home really is a solution for the future. Not every day like now, but certainly partly. The benefits are clear on a personal, business and social level. Much less travel time, lower costs, smaller housing, happy employees, less traffic jams, less exhaust fumes and so on. There are a number of preconditions that we have set. Because no matter how we turn it or turn it, our customers must be able to rely on us to deliver the quality and performance that they are used to. And so we pay attention to three elements; quality, quantity and time. If these conditions are met, someone should be able to work from home, even post-corona. That will bring about a major change.
“Apart from all the human and business suffering, which of course you wouldn't wish on anyone, there are also positive outcomes”
The first month was a month of adjustment for our customers.
After we had recovered internally from the biggest shock, it also became clear that carrying out debt collection activities during the corona period was put in a different light. The debt collection sector is of course not very popular, but now also in these miserable times asking people and companies to pay their overdue invoices really did not seem possible for some parties/clients. A number of them have therefore even decided not to handle any debt collection cases (at all) for a certain period. Others have become more lenient in entering into arrangements. Of course, these reactions were justified and appropriate to the initial situation, to pause for a moment and assess what can best be done.
From our amicable perspective, going to court was now, more than ever, really the very last option, apart from the fact that the courts were also partly closed. In short, the first month was a month of adjustment. Our government quickly took measures that should ensure that everyone could continue to pay all their bills. If you think about it carefully, this is of course what needs to happen. If we were to suspend the payment of all invoices, the damage would be incalculable. For example, if salaries cannot be paid as a result, then you really have the dolls dancing, then you end up in a downward spiral that is difficult to stop.
Fortunately, it soon became clear that ensuring timely payment of invoices contributes to preventing even more misery. And of course, enforcing it must be done with the utmost care, but that payment must be made and preferably on time must remain the norm. Providing customized solutions for specific and visibly distressing situations is something we have always done, but is now happening more often. In short, you can actually say business as usual with even more attention to amicable customized solutions.
“If we were to suspend the payment of all invoices, the damage would be unimaginable”
The debtor is not (yet) actually abusing the situation
Where we have to adapt internally and our customers have had to find their way in the new normal, we have found that debtors do not often fall back on corona as a reason for not paying. I suspect that this may take some time. Of course, there are people or companies that have already been affected by this and have therefore encountered financial problems. But they also receive special treatment that is necessary to prevent bigger problems. Using corona as an excuse not to pay is of course another point.
When you are busy collecting debts, distinguishing between what is real and what is just an excuse is the hardest thing there is. Imagine not believing someone who really has a problem, that will never be right. But the other way around is just as wrong, what if you believe someone who does not have a problem. Being able to make this distinction was already an art in itself, but is now even more important. That is precisely what makes debt collection a profession in which the human dimension is an important factor. Debt collection in corona times is still a matter of listening well to debtors, continuing to communicate and offering solutions. Most debtors want to be helped and that is exactly what needs to be done.
I myself expect that the real blow is yet to come, when the new economy has started up again, it remains to be seen whether it is positive for everyone. There will inevitably be more bankruptcies and more people with problematic debts. Let us therefore agree with each other that everyone who can pay does so on time and does not abuse this situation. The money must keep rolling and the norm remains that you have to pay for what you buy or borrow.
“When you're in the business of collecting debts, distinguishing between what's real and what's just an excuse is the hardest thing to do.”
How can we limit the damage?
Now that we have left the first phase behind us, we need to ensure that the damage is limited. This requires close cooperation in the debt chain. From creditor to collection agency, to bailiff, to court, to debt counselling and back. Initially, an attempt must be made to find an amicable solution, but please let us not go overboard. For example, making it legally mandatory that a claim may be paid in installments seems fantastic, but it will also lead to delays in payments that can be made on time.
The cancellation of debts is also a subject on which parties differ in opinion. We will soon experience that problematic debts will take off. At that stage we have to deal with it well and make concessions where possible. The most important thing is that we ensure together that we do not let the debt monster grow too big. Not being able to pay is a clear consequence of financial problems that we have to do something about, but the cause is often along the same lines, namely not getting paid! Not getting paid means that you have insufficient liquid assets, which means that you can no longer pay. In other words, the solution lies at the beginning of the chain, the standard is and remains that you have to pay on time. If we take the latter as a starting point, we can limit the damage, postponing payments or, as a last resort, cancelling debts should not be seen as the solution to the problem.
“The most important thing is that we work together to ensure that we do not let the debt monster grow too big.”
Arjan Stigter
General manager
Ultimoo Group BV
Nederlands