Case recording
It is common for agencies to use an electronic case management system to support effective case recording – eg, CABx use the CASTLE system. A significant amount of information is gathered from a client at initial interview, but also through follow-up contact with the client and other relevant third parties. Effective case recording and written communication skills are vital attributes for a debt adviser.
If electronic case recording and storage of documents is not available, all documents relating to a case must be kept in an adequate file. Keep all the papers in date order. Incoming letters could be stored on one side of the file and outgoing on the other. You could also use dividers to separate each different creditor, so it is easy to access each debt and monitor its progress. Alternatively, papers relating to each creditor could be kept together with a separate sheet on file to indicate the action on each debt.
You must comply with data protection legislation and obtain your clients’ consent to hold sensitive personal information about them and, where relevant, to share information about their cases with third parties – eg, for monitoring or quality-checking purposes.