How non-domestic energy companies can recoup customer debts

Identifying priority debts

Only 30% of businesses in debt are prioritising their commercial energy debts, with mortgage, loans and revolving credit agreements being put above water and energy bills. The data suggests that suppliers may be more likely to have to take debt collection action to recoup unpaid bills. But for non-domestic energy and water firms, it is often challenging to get what they’re owed.

The challenge of commercial debtors

One of the trickiest aspects of non-domestic energy debt collection and debt management is the quality of address data held on commercial customers. Without clear sight of the individuals who are responsible for accrued debts, it can be extremely difficult to initiate fruitful debt resolution conversations or collections action.

For domestic customers, occupier data is challenging to find for just 2% of residential properties. The issue is much larger with commercial accounts, as 25% of the UK’s commercial properties lack quality and up-to-date address data.

What’s even more frustrating is that many challenging commercial accounts are considered either undeliverable or unmatched – meaning the debtor can’t be located or the address is too vague or incomplete to pinpoint the debtor. 13% are also in the hands of a new owner by the time collections action is taken, which typically have 41% higher debts than commercial properties that haven’t changed hands.

Tackling commercial debts with data

One of the best ways to improve the success of your collections action is to use quality data sources to unearth accurate occupier information.

“Using multiple data sources and score cards can really speed up the identification of who the liable occupier is for a premises. It’s something we’ve noticed is having a huge impact on debt books and billing, particularly when it comes to the resources allocated to and efficiency of the debt collection process.”

Andrew McKinney, CFO at IDenteq

Colette Land, Head of Consulting at Experian, agreed, concluding: “You may be looking to address regulatory issues, cost pressures, your collections capabilities, fraud or identify vulnerable customers. To take any meaningful action, you need to have relevant, high-quality data on business customers to help you tailor your actions accordingly.”

Watch our webinar

With Commercial CAIS, you’ll have access to data on over £193bn of outstanding UK commercial credit. Find out how Experian’s intuitive solution can help you overcome some key commercial debtor challenges in our latest non-domestic energy and water webinar – How the power of data can help tackle the challenges of debt management in 2023.