Consumer vulnerability moves. Collections needs to keep up.

There’s no single reason a customer falls into debt, and no single way to help them out of it. That message ran through every session at the Utility Week Consumer Vulnerability and Debt Conference.

We spent the day with regulators, suppliers, network operators, charities and debt advice organisations. Sessions ranged from water and energy regulation to the Priority Services Register (PSR), debt collection strategy, customer communications and AI. Here’s what stood out, and what it means for collections teams supporting customers in arrears.

Get in early, and make support easy to find

Across energy and water, speakers agreed that waiting until arrears reach hundreds of pounds means missing the best chance to understand what’s going on. Early contact can be as simple as: “Is everything okay? How can we help?” The aim isn’t just to recover money sooner. It’s to stop one missed payment becoming a pattern.

Support needs the same proactive approach. Social tariffs, hardship funds and debt advice already exist, but available isn’t the same as accessible. Customers may not know what’s on offer, or may be reluctant to admit they’re struggling. Providers should make support visible and easy to reach, with charity and debt advice partners helping to reach people who’d never call their supplier.

For more on acting before the first missed payment, read our guide to implementing an effective pre-arrears strategy.

Ability to pay isn’t the same as ability to pay today

One line stuck with us: ability to pay and ability to pay on a particular date aren’t the same thing. Fixed amounts on fixed days don’t suit irregular incomes or Universal Credit. Flexible payments and open banking give customers more control, and give providers a clearer view of affordability.

The same goes for channels. Online journeys, email and SMS let customers engage privately, at a time that suits them. But digital shouldn’t mean less human. The best model pairs accessible technology with well-supported people who can step in when judgement or empathy is needed.

Non-payment is an outcome, not a reason

Speakers pushed back on the traditional split between customers who can’t pay and those who won’t. It’s too blunt to be useful. A missed payment might come from a drop in income, vulnerability, a disputed bill, worry about getting in touch or payment dates that don’t match payday.

Two customers with the same arrears can need completely different treatment. The takeaway: understand the circumstances before you decide the treatment. Plenty of customers labelled “won’t pay” simply haven’t been asked the right question yet.

Vulnerability moves, and registers struggle to keep up

The PSR stream asked delegates to design their “dream PSR”: who qualifies, how often it’s reviewed and who owns the data.

Those questions matter because vulnerability moves. Bereavement, job loss, illness or a sudden bill can change a customer’s ability to engage or pay, sometimes for weeks, sometimes for good. A register refreshed every few months will always lag behind real life.

There was strong support for one principle: customers shouldn’t have to tell their story more than once. Secure, consented information sharing across suppliers, charities and debt advice would make support feel joined up to the person who needs it.

AI and data should spot signals, not make assumptions

Combining data sources can reveal patterns no single dataset shows, but only if the data is good. Out-of-date contact details, tenancy changes and fragmented systems all make it harder to reach the right person.

AI is already easing the admin load: categorising emails, extracting details, creating cases and prioritising work. The bigger opportunity is connecting insight to action, such as flagging possible vulnerability or giving agents context before a call, within clear safeguards.

The principle: technology should identify signals, not make assumptions. Data can tell you something has changed, but not why. Human judgement and a proper conversation remain essential.

Lived experience belongs in the design, not the survey

Sessions on financial vulnerability and mental health, plus a workshop reviewing real customer communications, put customer voices at the centre. Lived experience shouldn’t be collected in a survey and filed away. It should shape policies, processes, communications and technology.

Customers spot what organisations miss: a letter that reads as threatening, or a form that’s hard to complete in a crisis. Test every template, script and self-service screen with the people it’s meant to help.

Three things to take with you

1. Measure sustainable outcomes, not just recovered balances. A customer who clears a debt and falls back into arrears three months later hasn’t been helped, and neither has the provider.
2. Ask before you assume. Use data to spot that something has changed, then give the customer the chance to explain before deciding the treatment.
3. Make help easy to find and easy to use. Flexible payments, private digital channels and visible support, tested with people who have lived experience of debt.

Regulation is heading the same way in both sectors. Ofgem’s outcomes-based approach puts payment difficulty at the heart of its Consumer Outcomes, and suppliers will need to evidence good results. In water, Ofwat is being replaced by a single supervisory regulator, and CCW has started piloting debt audits with individual companies. Our guides to preparing for Ofgem’s Consumer Outcomes and preparing for water’s regulatory reset cover what that means in practice.

This is the work we build for. Flexys gives utilities and lenders one system for collections: a customer self-service portal, agent desktop, workflow automation and the complete record of collections activity. That means engaging customers earlier, tailoring treatment to their circumstances and keeping the evidence of every decision in one place.

Book a demo to see how Flexys supports customers from the first missed payment to a sustainable arrangement.