---
title: "Debt Collection Agencies"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-03d858"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-03d858"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03d858.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03d858.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "THAMES WATER UTILITIES LIMITED"
published: "2024-02-02"
---

# Debt Collection Agencies

Buyer: THAMES WATER UTILITIES LIMITED  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-03d858

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-03d858)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03d858.json)

## Summary

Thames Water Utilities Limited, a water service company based in Reading, United Kingdom, has recently completed a procurement process for Debt Collection Agencies. The contract involves collecting unrecovered debt through various stages, including commission-based solutions, litigation services, and field services. The tender offers multiple lots, each with specific requirements and contract durations. The procurement method used was a negotiated procedure with prior call for competition, aiming to select suitable providers through a framework agreement. The award decision was communicated after a standstill period of at least 10 days.

This tender by Thames Water Utilities Limited presents business growth opportunities for debt collection agencies and service providers in the collection industry. Companies adept in handling debt collection, litigation processes, and field services are well-suited to compete for the different lots on offer. The contract offers a 3-year duration with potential extensions, providing stability and growth prospects for successful bidders. Interested businesses should review the detailed requirements for each lot, consider the performance-based allocation approach, and assess the suitability of their services to meet Thames Water's debt recovery needs.

## Notice

As part of our commitment to collecting unrecovered debt, we have redesigned our customer debt journey focusing on delivering "right customer, right treatment path" and ensuring our financially vulnerable customers are supported at all stages of the journey. We intend to outsource our unrecovered water debt, provided mainly on a commission basis with some specific customer outcomes chargeable on a fee structure. Both collect and trace solutions are required within various parts of the portfolio. Litigation and field services will also be required at the later stages of the process, where any unrecovered debts will be assessed and selected depending on their suitability. With the cost of living rising, we recognise the importance of collecting debt in a socially responsible manner and as result we are seeking partners who are committed in supporting our customers on this journey while helping Thames Water achieve our goals. We are offering a 3-year contract with the ability to extend up to an additional 2. Field service will be offered at an initial 1-year contract. After year 1 there's a potential for this to be brought inline with the with other contracts mimicking their contract terms.

### Lot Information

Placement 1 - Active and Final including trace and collect

Lot 1 will see circa 218 thousand active customer accounts and circa 54 thousand closed customer accounts placed annually, spread across 8 segments. 6 of these segments relate to the active customers and are allocated to the segment based on Equifax scoring. 2 of the segments relate to the closed customer accounts and are split by the accounts that have a forward address and require a collect solution and those that have no forward address and require a trace and collect solution. The successful supplier will be required to move the accounts with no customer contact from the collect strategy to the trace and collect strategy within their own system after the placement period has expired. Cases in all segments will be placed to the successful supplier daily along with account updates, closures and any new debts that are now at the recoveries stage for customers previously placed. Performance scorecards will determine the allocation % throughout the contract to award the higher performing suppliers with higher allocations.

Options: This contract will be for 36 months with a further two 12 months optional extension(s).

Renewal: This contract will be for 36 months with a further two 12 months optional extension(s).

Placement 2 - Active and Final

Lot 2 will see circa 156 thousand active customer accounts and circa 47 thousand closed customer accounts placed annually, spread across 5 segments. These accounts have been returned as uncollected from Lot 1. 4 of these segments relate to the active customers and are allocated to the segment based on Equifax scoring. The other segment relate to the closed customer accounts and require a trace and collect solution. Cases in all segments will be placed to the successful supplier daily along with account updates, closures and any new debts that are now at the recoveries stage for customers previously placed. Performance scorecards will determine the allocation % throughout the contract to award the higher performing suppliers with higher allocations.

Options: This contract will be for 36 months with a further two 12 months optional extension(s).

Renewal: This contract will be for 36 months with a further two 12 months optional extension(s).

Placement 3 - Litigation - Active and Final

Lot 3 will see circa 73 thousand active customer accounts and circa 40 thousand closed customer accounts placed annually for assessment of litigation potential. Accounts that are unsuitable for a litigation process will be closed and returned at no cost to Thames Water, and those selected to move into strategy will be initially placed through a pre-litigation strategy before moving into a formal litigation process. We expect a 3 staged approach and the customers to be reassessed before moving onto each stage and those not suitable to move to be closed and returned at no cost to Thames Water: Pre-Litigation = Contact attempts to resolve the debt with the customer before legal processes begin Litigation = Formal LBA/PAP and the issuing of the claim and judgement Enforcement = Enforcement end to end process. Closed customer accounts may require a trace solution in addition. All customer contact, plan management and payment processing to be handled by the supplier. Cases will be placed to the successful supplier once per month with daily account updates, closures and any new debts that are now at the recoveries stage for customers previously placed. This lot will be awarded on a commission basis, with alternative arrangements for defended cases which will be agreed and charged on a case by case basis.

Options: This contract will be for 36 months with a further two 12 months optional extension(s).

Renewal: This contract will be for 36 months with a further two 12 months optional extension(s).

Placement 4 - Field Services - Visit and Call Handling

Lot 4 will receive active customer accounts only that are unsuitable for a litigation process and or that have been closed and returned throughout the litigation process with an unsuccessful outcome. Placements will be made monthly and accounts should be assessed for suitability for a field visit. The volume of accounts passing through into the field strategy should be a joint decision between the supplier and Thames Water each month. Performance will be managed via KPIs assessing the positive outcomes of visits with a strong focus on governance and oversight to ensure the right customer outcomes. All customer contact, plan management and payment processing to be handled by the supplier. The commercial structure is expected to encourage a culture of fair customer outcomes and value for Thames Water.

Options: This contract will be for 12 months and if successful, the contract will continue for an additional 24 months with a further two 12 months optional extension(s).

Renewal: This contract will be for 12 months and if successful, the contract will continue for an additional 24 months with a further two 12 months optional extension(s).

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/003615-2024 |
| Notice type | Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Framework |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Negotiated procedure with prior call for competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 2 Feb 2024 |
| Submission deadline | 6 Jul 2023 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 17 Nov 2023 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Between 2 and 5 years |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £17,500,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | THAMES WATER UTILITIES LIMITED |
| Locality | READING |
| Post town | Reading |
| Postcode | RG1 8DB |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLJ16 Berkshire West |
| Local authority | Reading |
| Electoral ward | Thames |
| Westminster constituency | Reading Central |
| Delivery location | TLI London, TLJ South East (England) |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 8 |
| Supplier names | 1ST LOCATE; ADVANTIS CREDIT; ARVATO FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS; BPO COLLECTIONS; MOORCROFT DEBT RECOVERY; MORIARTY LAW; RESOLVECALL; UK SEARCH |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 79940000 - Collection agency services

## Release History

- 2 Feb 2024 at 20:12 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/003615-2024
- 21 Jun 2023 at 15:47 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/017705-2023

## Notice URLs

- https://www.thameswater.co.uk/
- https://www.thameswater.co.uk/about-us/our-suppliers/procurement

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-03d858. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03d858.json.