[ref. a96386318] Telephone Collections Officer - Redditch

Based at their modern and easily accessible offices or working from home, you’ll be joining a customer focused team that answers telephone calls relating to Council Tax arrears and Penalty Charge Notices on behalf of local authority clients throughout England and Wales.

Full training will be provided with support from the in-house Learning and Development Team who will assist you throughout your journey. This is a full-time, permanent role. Initial training will be one morning in the offices in Redditch and there after work will be split between home and office.

About the role: Key elements of the role will include:

• Receive calls from customers that owe money to the local authority clients, or third parties acting on their behalf
• Occasional outbound calls to those who have failed to make payment / contact
• Collecting payment in full & ensuring a high standard of customer service at all times
• Remaining empathic, calm and acting in a professional, respectful and ethical manner, and have the confidence to deal with a range of different customers and make appropriate recovery decisions based on the current circumstances of each case.
• Obtaining questionnaire details from customers who may be in financial difficulties
• Negotiating payment arrangements in accordance with guidelines as well as using your initiative if payment in full cannot be collected
• Refer, where necessary, cases to relevant debt advisory groups and associated organisations where required to meet the needs of vulnerable customers
• Reviewing and updating the database notes and the status of accounts - ensuring information is recorded accurately and professionally

About you: To be successful in the role you would need to demonstrate:

• Confident in dealing with customers over the telephone - often in difficult circumstances
• Confident negotiator to achieve the shortest arrangements to fulfil client requirements
• Previous practical office administration experience
• Attention to detail
• able to spot errors and rectify mistakes quickly
• Being comfortable in using a variety of technologies and software systems
• Excellent verbal communication skills - able to interact effectively at all levels
• You will work to procedures and policies designed for the team As a prospective employee, it is important that everyone who works for our client is committed to their values.