Case Study: Car Finance Provider
Drive lower costs and reduce stress.
Client: Major US car financing provider and a subsidiary of one of the world’s largest financial institutions.
Challenge: Recover delinquent consumer debts in a high-stress situation in which the debtor is in danger of losing their car or, in some cases, has already had their car repossessed, but the value was insufficient to cover the debt.
Strategy: As an alternative to phone-based collections, invite debtor to visit a self-service website – customized to the lender’s brand – to negotiate a settlement or payment plan.
- Approximately 40% of responding debtors chose the web vs. phone option. 40%
- 80% lower cost vs. phone-based collections contact. 80%
- Web recovery rate nearly identical to that of a collection call. 100%
Case Study: Mobile Phone Network
Ring up payments from debtors not contactable by phone.
Client: One of America’s top wireless communications carriers.
Challenge: Once a customer’s service has been cut-off for nonpayment, the mobile operator loses their main point of contact for collections: the phone. In addition, a terminated customer has little remaining incentive to pay.
Strategy: The mobile operator, via their collection agency, mailed the ex-customer with an invitation to go online to negotiate a settlement for less than the total balance due.
- Over 75% of visitors to the website made a settlement bid. 75%
- Over 66% settled, and the vast majority made an immediate payment. 66%
Case Study: Healthcare Provider
Bring expired patient accounts back from the dead.
Client: An anesthesiology practice associated with a major hospital in the New York metropolitan area.
Challenge: After an average of 4 years since date of service, and numerous unsuccessful collection agency calls, the doctors deemed these accounts to be uncollectible.
Strategy: Mail former patients a warm and inviting letter – directly from the healthcare provider – recognizing widespread economic difficulties, and the doctors’ willingness to accept an online settlement offer for considerably less than the balance due.
- 70% settlement rate among registered visitors to the website. 70%
- 3.5% response to the letter in the form of registered visits to the website – an excellent response rate in any case, but unprecedented with debts this old. 3.5%
FAQs
Why is settl.it so effective?
Two main reasons:
- Contactability: The traditional means of collecting is by telephone, and in recent years, most debtors have become expert at avoiding collection calls using their phone’s caller display feature. Debtors still see their email and postal mail however.
- Positive psychology: Unlike the typical collections contact, a settlement offer brings “good news” – you can now settle the debt for less than the total amount due.
What’s unique about the settl.it method?
settl.it’s patented triple bid system. The debtor can name their own price via up to 3 settlement bids, but a bid will only be accepted if it meets your confidential minimum amount. As a result, debtors feel more in-control of the process, yet pay more than minimum required.
How do I transfer account information into settl.it?
Simple. Just upload a spreadsheet file (Microsoft Excel, .csv or similar) with your account data following the simple instructions, or call us and we will walk you through it.
Is settl.it secure?
Yes. settl.it uses industry-standard SSL (secure sockets layer) encryption for data sent over the Internet, as well as any data held on our servers. This is similar to the security used in online banking. Furthermore, settl.it does not collect or hold sensitive personal information such as bank account numbers on our servers.
How are debtors invited to settle online?
By email and/or post. If your account data contains email addresses, settl.it will send emails to your debtors to invite them to go online and settle with you. In addition to (or instead of) email. you can send a postal letter. settl.it provides an easy-to-use template containing a letter proven to be effective that includes a “mail merge” feature so you can address it using your customer list.
Do I need to buy or install new software?
No. settl.it is a web-based (“cloud”) application that you access via your computer’s existing web browser and internet connection.
How do I get data from my accounting program?
Also simple. Most accounting packages – including Sage, QuickBooks, Xero, etc. – make it easy to export account data into a spreadsheet file, and even to select the specific accounts you want to export – such as accounts more than 60 days past due. If you don’t know how, ask your IT consultant or call the helpdesk of your software provider.
Talk to the team to see how we can help your business
We offer a bespoke solution for all companies.