Debt Recovery and Collections Assistant / Collections Officer

Job Title: Debt Recovery and Collections Assistant

Location: Guildford

Salary: Competitive

Job Type: Full Time, Permanent

Lovetts Solicitors is an innovative, market-leading law firm that specialises in commercial debt recovery and litigation. Based in modern offices on the outskirts of Guildford with ample parking, there is a vacancy in their focused, but friendly, Pre-Legal department.

Role Overview:

This is a full-time job that requires a dual role. For Pre-Legal UK and Overseas debt recovery collections, you will be required to collect client’s debt on a no collection fee basis through correspondence and telephone calls. You will be working in a professional and established firm of Solicitors, not in a call centre environment.

Tasks will include chasing debts by way of correspondence, referring cases to overseas agents and assistance in research.

The ideal candidate must have previous experience of debt recovery, collections or credit control in a business to business environment. Experience with business to consumer debt recovery will also be considered. Experience of the legal process of debt recovery would be beneficial but not essential as training will be provided.

Key Areas:

• Telephone reception
• Accurate entering and processing of new cases; Letter Before Actions and Pre-Action Protocol letters to agreed client service levels
• Scanning, photocopying and filing
• Assisting with postal duties including packing and franking outgoing post
• Processing electronic client instructions received via website
• Preparing spreadsheets for BACS payments on a weekly basis
• Responsible for the daily tasks related to collection efforts for a portfolio of client accounts primarily chasing pre-legal debtors by phone and letter
• Be able to communicate with debtors in a clear and professional manner
• Negotiate payment terms with debtors where appropriate
• Have good research skills using resources and tenacity to achieve a thorough under-standing of the debtor
• Actively pursue knowledge of skills and tools to be used in all collection efforts
• To liaise with client contacts, build and develop relationships by providing a quality service
• Provide reports and analysis as required
• To input solutions to maximise opportunity
• Communicate and support the department Managers collection goals

Key Responsibilities:

• Answering and directing calls, with incoming calls being answered within 3 rings
• Ensuring that all LBAs received late on the previous day and before 2pm on the present day are issued, printed and packed
• Filing/scanning of post and other documents
• Dealing with debtor calls where possible and recording these in the in-house software
• Ensuring BACS payment requests are passed to accounts in time for processing
• Provide administrative support to all members of the Pre-Legal and Overseas Collections Department

The Successful Candidate will have/ be:

• Computer skills including Internet Explorer and all Microsoft Office programmes
• Excel­lent com­mu­ni­ca­tion & people skills (writ­ten, ver­bal and tele­phone)
• Target dri­ven
• Able to multitask and handle several client accounts
• Basic under­stand­ing of debt recovery legal process
• Problem solver
• Initiative, motivation and focus
• Good knowledge of company products and services
• Per­sis­tent, assertive and com­pet­i­tive natured
• Good nego­ti­a­tion skills
• Pos­i­tive atti­tude
• Reli­able, depend­able and hon­est
• Ability to work unsupervised
• Strong work ethic

Judgment and Decisions:

• Organisation of working day
• Decisions upon when the matter should be referred to other members of staff
• Identifying the needs of staff in the department and providing assistance to ensure its smooth running.

Please click on the APPLY button to send your CV and Cover Letter for this role.

NO AGENCIES – Any calls from recruitment agencies will result in permanent deselection from the recruitment process in the future.

Candidates with experience of: Debt Recovery Coordinator, Debt Recovery Specialist, Debt Advisor, Collections Advisor, Accounts Assistant, Financial Assistant, Accounts Administrator, Payment Processing, Accounts Receivable, Credit Control, Bookkeeper, Finance Clerk, Bookkeeping Assistant may also be considered for this role.