Reducing Direct Debit failures
How we helped reduce high levels of Direct Debit failures

Overview
Sigma Connected became the partner of choice for a medium sized energy supplier that wanted to reduce the high volume of Direct Debit failures they were encountering.

The challenge
Following a reassessment, the client had high volumes of Direct Debit’s that failed with large segments of customers regularly missing payment.
This was a significant issue as 30% – 40% of the complaints received by our client were as a result of customers being “shocked” by their bill amount after their Direct Debits had failed.

The solution
Sigma proactively contacted customers to identify those who were at high risk of Direct Debit failure.
Customers were identified by checking if their Direct Debits had recently increased in value, or through one our bespoke propensity modelling.
A team of 15 FTE were appointed over three consecutive months in order to positively influence the payment habits.

The result
Considerable improvements were seen in the payment habits of customers. This resulted in reduced bad debts for the client, reduced complaints from the customers and increased CSAT scores.