oneSource Debt Resolution Services

Public sector debt collection run by council officers

oneSource Debt Resolution Services is a shared support service within the public sector that handles the collection of local authority debt. Its stated aim is to increase collections while working in what it describes as an ethically different way. The operation is staffed by a team of experienced council managers and officers, a background the service presents as central to how it works: it says this gives it an understanding of the pressure to maximise income and cut expenditure inside a local authority environment.

The service is part of oneSource, the wider shared support structure named throughout the site. Its work is aimed at councils and other public bodies rather than private creditors.

Collection channels and technology

The teams cover telephone collections, enforcement, tracing, data analytics, data segmentation, doorstep collections and sundry debt recovery. An integrated Welfare Team sits alongside the collection work and is described as actively addressing vulnerability and financial exclusion. The service reports using industry-leading software together with SMS and voice messaging technologies.

Enforcement services

The enforcement arm is presented as a fresh approach designed specifically for the public sector. Its distinguishing points, as set out by the company, are:

• All enforcement agents are local government officers rather than self-employed.
• Agents have many years of practical experience collecting council tax, business rates, NNDR, parking debt, commercial rent and sundry debt.
• Operations follow high ethical and local government standards and the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.
• The service can be scaled up or down to suit the client.
• Secure, industry-leading debt recovery systems are used.
• Tracing services can locate mobile and landline telephone numbers.
• Management information is tailored to the client's requirements.

Welfare support for vulnerable debtors

The Welfare Team is made up of trained debt and welfare benefits advisers who give impartial and confidential advice and guidance to vulnerable debtors. The service is built on processes and procedures adopted from the money advice sector, with a model the company compares to that of an independent debt advice service. It takes a partnership approach, maintaining referral and signposting links with welfare and debt advice agencies across its area of benefit, and describes a seamless service intended to make the client journey between agencies as smooth as possible.

The team uses the Advice Pro system, which the company notes is used by most UK independent advice agencies. This allows caseloads to be recorded and reported, helps target vulnerability and financial hardship, and produces detailed management information on the levels of hardship and vulnerability within a partner council. The service also actively seeks out residents who are struggling financially or through other vulnerabilities so that they receive the help they need.

Sundry debt collection through oneSource Collect

oneSource Collect handles sundry debts such as trade waste, market rents, nursery fees and housing benefit overpayments. Officers work with local authority systems including One Oracle, Ash and CARS. The approach is described as assertive but ethical, aimed at maximising collection and reducing aged debt, with customer service placed at the centre of practice and attention to protecting the client's brand.

The team covers the full span from revenue management and early arrears collections through to aged debt recovery, focusing on affordable and sustainable repayments and fair treatment of customers. It draws on a team of doorstep debt collection agents and can call on resolution solicitors where necessary. Analytics and tracing capability allow it to identify residents who may no longer live at the address provided or who may have died. Management information and reporting are tailored in format and frequency to each client's requirements, and the company describes its price structure as competitive.

Debtor-facing information

The site also addresses debtors directly, with sections on how to pay, payment in instalments, fees and charges, new occupier guidance, welfare services and frequently asked questions, alongside a payment facility and account management.