Unique Techniques
In our experience working final bill accounts, there are tools that greatly increase the likelihood of account resolution, and the most successful programs are those that enable us to employ each of these tools. For example, the possibility of a service interruption is one of the most powerful tools to persuade debtors to address their overdue balance. Harris & Harris recognizes that shutting off a utility is a very serious matter, and regards this important option as a last resort. We have developed rapid-response processes to quickly restore service as soon as the debtor’s past-due balance has been paid. In general, we have found that our clients who allow Harris & Harris to request permission to initiate shut-off procedures, have a more successful collection programs overall.
Other points of leverage that Harris & Harris’s most successful final bill collection programs employ include:
Exceptional Staff
Harris & Harris’s utility collections department is tremendously successful, and a great deal of that effectiveness is attributed to both our collectors and management team. We attribute our above-average utility recoveries directly to our ability to maintain an experienced staff with very low turnover, and the ability of the utility division management to continually shape innovative collection strategies for the utility marketplace.