Case Studies

Financial Hardship Debt Recovery Case Study for Utilities

Financial Hardship Debt Recovery Case Study: Re-Engaging Hardship and Non-Engaging Accounts

Financial hardship debt recovery requires more than standard collections activity when customers have disengaged, fallen behind, or need a more flexible path back to payment. In this case study, Recoveriescorp partnered with a Tier 1 utilities client to reconnect with hardship-flagged and non-engaging customers, improve engagement, and create more sustainable payment outcomes.

This work shows how a more structured financial hardship debt recovery approach can improve customer contact rates, lift payment activity, and support stronger repayment behaviour across a challenged portfolio.

The Challenge

The client needed to reconnect with customers who had previously disengaged or had been identified as experiencing hardship. These accounts required a more considered recovery strategy than standard collections workflows alone could provide.

For organisations managing overdue accounts, hardship-flagged balances, and disengaged customers, the challenge is often not simply making contact. It is building a recovery process that improves engagement while also recognising financial stress, customer vulnerability, and the need for realistic solutions.

Why hardship and non-engaging accounts are difficult to recover

Hardship and non-engaging accounts are often harder to resolve because customers may be overwhelmed, financially constrained, difficult to reach, or unsure of what options are available. In these situations, effective financial hardship debt recovery depends on removing friction, improving communication, and creating a pathway that customers are more likely to act on.

The Financial Hardship Debt Recovery Strategy

Recoveriescorp designed an approach focused on re-engagement, tailored treatment, and sustainable outcomes rather than one-size-fits-all collections activity.

Tailored customer journeys

Customer journeys were tailored around individual financial circumstances. This allowed the debt recovery strategy to better reflect the reality of each account rather than applying the same communication and repayment approach across the full portfolio.

For organisations looking to improve hardship collections, tailored journeys can help increase relevance, reduce resistance, and encourage stronger customer response.

Proactive outreach supported by data-driven segmentation

Proactive outreach was supported by data-driven segmentation, helping identify which customers were most likely to respond to specific contact approaches and repayment pathways. This improved the efficiency of the campaign and supported more informed engagement decisions.

Segmentation can play an important role in debt recovery services because it helps organisations prioritise the right message, the right channel, and the right recovery pathway for each account group.

Multi-channel contact strategy

A multi-channel contact strategy was used to improve engagement and reduce barriers to payment. This gave customers more than one way to respond, making it easier for them to take the next step.

In financial hardship debt recovery, multi-channel contact can be especially valuable where customers are hesitant to answer calls, prefer digital communication, or need more flexibility in how they engage.

Continuous improvement through behavioural insights

The program was refined through ongoing monitoring of behavioural signals and conversion outcomes. This allowed the client and Recoveriescorp to keep improving the way the campaign operated rather than relying on a fixed collections model.

For portfolios involving hardship and vulnerability, continuous improvement is essential. Customer behaviour, engagement patterns, and repayment capacity can shift quickly, so recovery strategies need to evolve with them.

Financial Outcomes

The campaign delivered measurable improvements across engagement and repayment performance, demonstrating the value of a more structured financial hardship debt recovery strategy.

Positive outcome rate

71% of accounts achieved a positive outcome, showing that a tailored and engagement-led approach can drive better results across hardship and non-engaging segments.

Customers who made a payment

27% of customers made a payment, indicating that improved engagement and more relevant recovery pathways can help move inactive accounts toward action.

Kept rate for promises to pay and arrangements

70% of promises to pay and payment arrangements were kept, reinforcing the importance of practical and sustainable payment arrangements in hardship collections.

Right party connect rate

49% of contact attempts resulted in right party connection, helping create more meaningful customer conversations and stronger recovery opportunities.

Payment portal visits

61% of customers visited the payment portal, showing that removing barriers and supporting self-directed action can lift engagement across the recovery journey.

What This Means for Organisations Managing Hardship Accounts

This case study highlights an important point: hardship and non-engaging accounts often respond better when debt recovery is built around customer circumstances, tailored outreach, and sustainable resolution pathways.

Engagement should come before pressure

Where customers are experiencing financial stress or have disengaged from previous contact attempts, a stronger result often comes from improving engagement first. A recovery model that helps customers understand their options is more likely to produce sustainable outcomes than a model based only on pressure or repetition.

Better pathways can improve repayment behaviour

When customers are offered clearer next steps, better contact options, and more realistic solutions, repayment behaviour often improves. This is one of the key reasons financial hardship debt recovery should be treated as a specialised capability rather than a simple extension of standard collections.

Data and segmentation matter

Not every hardship account should be treated the same way. Better segmentation helps organisations understand which customers need support, which customers are likely to re-engage, and which contact methods are most likely to drive a response.

Where This Case Study Fits in a Broader Debt Recovery Strategy

This type of campaign is most effective when it forms part of a broader recovery framework that includes specialist hardship handling, stronger customer communication, and clear escalation pathways.

For organisations reviewing their current approach, this case study supports the value of combining debt recovery services with a more specialised financial hardship debt recovery capability.

Useful applications for similar portfolios

This approach may be especially relevant for utilities, essential services, and other high-volume portfolios where hardship, vulnerability, and customer disengagement are common drivers of non-payment.

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Talk to Recoveriescorp About Financial Hardship Debt Recovery

Recoveriescorp works with organisations to improve financial hardship debt recovery, strengthen customer engagement, and create more sustainable repayment outcomes across difficult portfolios.

For organisations dealing with hardship-flagged accounts, non-engaging customers, or underperforming repayment programs, a more tailored approach can improve results without losing sight of customer circumstances.

Contact Recoveriescorp to discuss how a stronger hardship collections strategy can improve engagement, support better payment arrangements, and lift recovery performance.