Collections Officer

Main Purpose 

The post holder will work as part of a specialist team with responsibility for collecting service charges. They will be required to manage a large portfolio of service charge accounts and to maintain contact with account holders to ensure that payments are kept up to date, issuing letters and statements where necessary. They will be responsible for authorising payment plans and checking that these are maintained. Liaising with other teams as required, they will ensure that customers service charge queries are resolved. They will also be responsible for recommending legal action in instances of non-payment. 

The post holder will be expected to work to financial targets agreed with their manager. They will be required to have a good working knowledge of the Councils IT and accounting systems, the law relating to service charges and the statutory legal basis of the landlord and tenant relationship, and of the principles of service charge account administration. In addition the post holder should ensure that the Councils core values, expectations and service standards are promoted and upheld.

Principal Accountabilities 

• Manage a portfolio of service charge accounts, working to targets set by the Collections Manager
• Monitor individual accounts, determining and taking appropriate action to ensure that account holders pay service charges in accordance with the obligations under their lease 
• Authorise and check payment plans 
• Maintain contact with account holders through letter, email, telephone, or face-to-face as appropriate; issue statements and other account documentation on request from the account holder 
• Advise the account holder on the legal and statutory basis of service charges as appropriate Investigate any issues raised by the account holder with the accounting process, with service charges, and other issues, working closely with other teams within Home Ownership 
• Advise the account holder on alternative sources of information, such as the CAB, and liaise with the CAB where necessary 
• Liaise with and respond to elected members on collections issues as required Investigate issues with the lease and determine that service charges are in line with the provisions of the lease; ensure that any billing errors are noted and corrected
• Ensure that any other queries are dealt with and resolved by the appropriate team; contact other teams as necessary and monitor the progress of queries to ensure that the account holder receives a satisfactory response 
• Ensure that the collections process is undertaken in line with statutory legislation and in accordance with the councils standards 
• Ensure that customer accounts are handled with strict fiduciary control and that all transactions are fully audited and documented Instruct court / recovery action as necessary 
• Request write-offs, write-backs and other account adjustments as appropriate 
• Report on performance to the Collections Manager

Knowledge:

An good knowledge of leasehold issues, including but not limited to: service charges; repairs and maintenance responsibilities; current law and legislation

Broad knowledge and awareness of current issues and developments affecting the management of council housing

Experience:

Experience in leasehold management and practice, or of arrears management

Experience in working as part of a customer-facing team, answering queries through a variety of channels within a customer focused organisation

Experience of monitoring customer feedback

Experience of working to performance targets and deadlines and of managing workload to meet targets

Experience of liaising with resident, homeowner or comparable stakeholder groups

Qualification

Relevant degree or professional qualification or equivalent experience