Job Details
Main Purpose:
The post holder will work as part of a specialist team with responsibility for collecting service charges. They will be required to manage a large portfolio of service charge accounts and to maintain contact with account holders to ensure that payments are kept up to date, issuing letters and statements where necessary. They will be responsible for authorising payment plans and checking that these are maintained. Liaising with other teams as required, they will ensure that customers’ service charge queries are resolved. They will also be responsible for recommending legal action in
instances of non-payment. The post holder will be expected to work to financial targets agreed with their manager. They will be required to have a good working knowledge of the Council’s IT
and accounting systems, the law relating to service charges and the statutory legal basis of the landlord and tenant relationship, and of the principles of service charge account administration. In addition the post holder should ensure that the Council’s core values, expectations and service standards are promoted and upheld.
Principal Accountabilities:
Manage a portfolio of service charge accounts, working to targets set by the Collections Manager
Monitor individual accounts, determining and taking appropriate action to ensure that account holders pay service charges in accordance with the obligations under their lease
Authorise and check payment plans
Maintain contact with account holders through letter, email, telephone, or face-to-face as appropriate; issue statements and other account documentation on request from the account holder
Advise the account holder on the legal and statutory basis of service charges as appropriate
Investigate any issues raised by the account holder with the accounting process, with service charges, and other issues, working closely with other teams within Home Ownership
Advise the account holder on alternative sources of information, such as the CAB, and liaise with the CAB where necessary
Liaise with and respond to elected members on collections issues as required
Investigate issues with the lease and determine that service charges are in line with the provisions of the lease; ensure that any billing errors are noted and corrected
Ensure that any other queries are dealt with and resolved by the appropriate team; contact other teams as necessary and monitor the progress of queries to ensure that the account holder receives a satisfactory response
Ensure that the collections process is undertaken in line with statutory legislation and in accordance with the council’s standards
Ensure that customer accounts are handled with strict fiduciary control and that all transactions are fully audited and documented
Instruct court / recovery action as necessary
Request write-offs, write-backs and other account adjustments as appropriate
Report on performance to the Collections Manager Stakeholder Engagement and Partnerships
Liaise with residents, lending institutions, agents and solicitors as required
Liaise with members of the Council, the Citizens Advice Bureau and other external bodies to ensure that any queries raised during the collections process are addressed
Umbrella day rate – £191.92
