Moat discuss low-level arrears and working with Mobysoft
Following a highly successful 12 week trial of their Rent Arrears Module in late 2009, South East based affordable housing provider Moat, signed up to work with specialist housing software and business intelligence supplier Mobysoft on recovering low-level arrears.
Femi Odunaike, Moat’s head of income recovery and financial inclusion, and Derek Steele, MD of Mobysoft, discuss the issues surrounding the collection of low-level arrears and the benefits of using the Mobysoft solution.
The issue of managing low-level arrears
Femi explains: “Chasing low level rent arrears is a constant challenge for Moat, and if not dealt with quickly they can lead to chronic debts which are very difficult to collect.”
“Our tenant payment profiles can vary greatly, including the likes of full housing benefit, partial housing benefit, monthly payers, standing orders, static arrears and so on. So, as a result, every arrear our housing management system identified had to be double checked by an income officer before contact could be made, which we felt was a waste of time.”
Early intervention
Femi continues: “What we needed was a way of complementing our housing management system in order to automate contact for low level arrears, and although we had a generic text message package in place, it simply wasn’t designed to recognise all the various factors that can make an account appear in arrears.
“Following a recommendation from fellow housing providers A2Dominion, we began talking to Mobysoft, and were immediately impressed by their knowledge and experience in housing.
“They claimed to offer a uniquely intelligent approach to collecting low level arrears, so we agreed to a no-obligation 12-week trial of their Rent Arrears Module.”
The Mobysoft Solution
Derek Steele, Managing Director of Mobysoft, said: “Moat’s concern with low level arrears was very familiar as we’ve worked with numerous clients on this area.
“Mobysoft’s software is very different to other solutions on the market. Rather than focusing on simple low-value text message delivery, we’ve developed custom built, high value decision making software solutions, designed to sit alongside existing rent arrears protocols to make best use of an income officer’s time.”
Derek continues: “In short, Mobysoft does all the leg work, accessing the data, making the calculations and automatically generating and distributing a reminder, in this case a text message.
“At Mobysoft we already provide significantly higher returns for our clients than basic text messaging products. Our challenge is to constantly strive to improve our service and performance to offer even greater time and money savings”
The Benefits
“The system simply bolted onto our existing housing management system with no disruption to service.” Explains Femi: “And the results were immediate and noticeable, delivering two clear financial benefits from day one.”
“Firstly, our income officers saw a significant increase in inbound phone calls from tenants, with the system collecting over £37,000 in late rent over the first 12 weeks alone.
“Secondly, it made our income team much more efficient, saving each income officer half a day’s time per-week. This is because the system can intelligently recognise variables such as direct debits and income support, so when it automatically texts the tenant we can trust it. The income team just wait for the calls.”
“Mobysoft is the only provider we’re aware of that can execute this guarantee.”
“In short Mobysoft has helped our income officers to do their jobs better, allowing them to concentrate on higher level arrears where their skills prove more effective.”
Femi concludes: “Mobysoft have been excellent to work with, and because they’re market specialists you feel you benefit from their years of experience in housing.”
Gerri Scott, Moat’s director of housing and customer services, added: “Mobysoft requires zero upfront capital expenditure – this means that the efficiency savings and extra rent collected delivers return on investment month on month, which is extremely helpful at a time when budgets are shrinking.”
Read more about Mobysof’s work with Moat in this week’s Inside Housing Technology Special.
