credit_management_procedures

							B&B online Credit Management Procedures
The following procedures are to be used for all B&B online customers who are overdue in paying
their accounts.


Account types

 Account No       Description               Comment
 001              Premium Accounts          High spend customers
 002              Corporate Accounts        Companies, Pty Ltd, etc.
 003              Risk Accounts             Continual bad payers
 004              Priority Accounts         Low spend customers

NB: Anything under $30.00 is not pursued beyond the original invoice and is merely carried
forward to the next billing run.


Account status

              Status                              Description
               201                                   Active
               301                                 Bankrupt
               401                               Overdue bill
               501                                 Not used
               601                       Account with collection agency
               701                             Suspected fraud


Live account progression

 Account type                          Account types           Account types
                                         001, 002               003 & 004
 Bill issued                              Day 1                   Day 1
 Bill received                            Day 6                   Day 6
 Due date                                 Day 30                 Day 14
 Overdue Notice issued                    Day 35                 Day 25
 Courtesy call                            Day 60                 Day 45
 Cancellation of service                  Day 90                 Day 65
Debt recovery progression

    Account types                        Arrears Cancellation        Customer request
                                                                       cancellation
    Cancel all services                         Day 90                    Day 90
    Send Letter of Demand                       Day 106                   Day 106
    Contact legal representative                Day 120                   Day 120
    Transfer to collection agency               Day 140                   Day 140
    Default added with credit agency            Day 141                   Day 141


Initial Credit Contact
It is imperative that all accounts highlighted for action are investigated on a daily basis. Accounts
will continue to highlight to an operator until action is taken.

When a customer’s account highlights for action, the customer will need to be contacted to
arrange payment. When speaking to the customer advise them of the:
      Full amount of their arrears
      Amount of the administration fee that will apply if they are cancelled.

The outcome from your telephone conversation will be one of the following:
1. You are unable to contact the customer
2. The customer will make a promise to pay
3. The customer will provide receipt details
4. The customer will make an extended payment arrangement

The steps you follow will be dependent on the above outcome. The correct option should be
followed as outlined in the following pages.

If the customer has made a promise to pay
Access the customer’s account and add notes indicating the arrangement made.

Record detailed notes including the:

     amount to be paid
     date payment is to be made
     method of payment.
Taking bookings for customers in default
No customer who has an outstanding bill of more than $30 is allowed to use their line of credit for
further bookings until all outstanding amounts have been paid in full. This is based on actual
payment and not just a promise to pay.

All CSO’s must refer booking requests above $1000 and/or for customers in arrears >60 days, to
their Team Leaders for authorisation. All bookings for customers in default must have the
following conditions:

1. Customers must pay 50% of their total accommodation and booking costs prior to their stay
   at the B&B.
2. This payment must be made by either cash or card
3. The customer is to be informed of this decision when they make any booking, until all arrears
   are paid in full.
4. CSOs must email their team leaders with details of any bookings outside of their discretion to
   approve. They should make a recommendation with this email.
5. Bookings may be denied to some customers in default. Team leaders alone make this
   decision within their discretion.
6. No booking can be made to any customer who is >90 days in arrears.


Payment terms
When an account is overdue, special payment terms may be required until the debt is cleared.
These terms can be negotiated, but cannot exceed 30 days in length.

Once an account is 90 days overdue then debt recovery action must be started (65 days for risk
accounts). A payment plan cannot take payments beyond the time when debt recovery is to be
started.

Two types of payments can be accepted:

       One single payment
       Multiple payments (not to exceed five separate payments).

There should never be longer than 30 days between payments and they should be spread as
evenly as possible until cleared.

Try to avoid:

        Customers making a single payment close to the debt recovery period.
        A multiple payment plan that has most of the amount owing being paid later in the plan. Try
         to ensure the payments are as even as possible.

When any type of payment plan is agreed to, firm dates must be established for each (or the only)
payment. These dates must be recorded on the system and tracked to ensure they are made.

Note that in certain cases, a customer can be asked to clear an overdue amount within 14 days.
This option can be used when:

       The overdue amount is under $1000
       The account has been overdue for longer than 60 days.
Factors to consider
All operators are expected to take into account the volume of customer business and their net
worth to B&B online when making a payment decision. If you are unsure about making a
decision on any particular customer, you should refer the matter to the Senior Team Leader
Credit.

Other criteria to consider in this regard include:

   The length of time the customer has been with B&B online
   Previous payment history
   Whether any cheques have been dishonoured in the past.


Cancellation of service
Once a customer has reached 90 days in arrears then all services must be cancelled. There are
no exceptions to this rule.

A note is to be added to the account that no further bookings are to be taken.

Any existing bookings taken prior to this date will be honoured.


Debt recovery procedures
Refer to the debt recovery progression chart for the days when appropriate action must be taken.
Once an account reaches the debt recovery stage, they must follow the correct times for action.
There is NO discretion to move from these timelines for any customer.
Once a customer is in the debt recovery stage, they may make repayments to their debt, however
action will only be stopped if the debt is paid in full. Action cannot be suspended for a part
payment.
If a customer does clear the amount during the debt recovery period then normal service is not to
be resumed straight away. All such accounts must be referred to the Senior Team Leader Credit
for special review.
Remember to note action taken on an account during each stage of this process.