The toxic cocktail of Covid, inflation and energy price hikes, is taking its toll on consumers’ finances and challenging utility companies to think differently about how they deal with a new cohort of customers tumbling into debt.
This was an important challenge to emerge from a Utility Week workshop which brought together customer and collections experts from both energy and water companies. The virtual event took place at the end of November with support from the AI and data specialist Inawisdom.
The workshop addressed the need for companies to adapt to the new vulnerability trends. It also debated how to ensure that all of those facing payment issues, including the long-term vulnerable, had equal access to multi-channel engagement and the diversity of journeys afforded to other bill payers.
The key takeaways from this fascinating discussion have now been summarised in a new insight report, which can be downloaded for free by filling in the form below.
Among the topics covered are:
- The challenges of dealing with new cohorts of vulnerability that have emerged in the wake of the pandemic
- How training needs must adapt to ensure these new needs are catered for
- Concerns around the ‘just about managing’ customers
- The urgent need to introduce digital routes to give customers more control over their payments