The best time to fix your collections technology is when you don't need to

Homeowner mortgage arrears have now fallen for eight consecutive quarters. UK Finance's latest data puts the number of homeowner mortgages in arrears of 2.5% or more at 77,940, down 1% on the previous quarter, with possessions 8% lower and well below the long-term average.

For collections teams, that reads like permission to breathe. Volumes are manageable. Agents aren't drowning. The board isn't asking difficult questions about cure rates.

Which is exactly why now is the moment to look hard at your collections technology. Not despite the calm, but because of it.

Quiet books hide expensive problems

When volumes are low, almost any collections operation looks like it works. Spreadsheets get updated. Manual processes get completed. Agents have time to chase the exceptions that fall between systems.

None of that means the operation is in good shape. It means the workload is currently small enough for people to paper over the gaps.

The gaps are still there. The arrangement that lives in one agent's inbox. The vulnerability flag recorded in a shared folder rather than against the account. The communications history scattered across three systems, none of which holds the full picture. In a quiet quarter, these are irritations. In a busy one, they become missed contacts, inconsistent treatment, and decisions you can't evidence when the FCA asks how a vulnerable customer was handled.

A calm book doesn't fix any of this. It just delays the day you find out how much it costs.

The cycle will turn, and commentators are already saying so

Industry reaction to the latest figures was notably cautious. Analysts pointed out that falling arrears shouldn't be mistaken for pressure on household finances disappearing, with many borrowers still adjusting to higher mortgage costs while inflation, household bills and a softer labour market continue to bite.

Nobody can call the timing of the next rise in arrears. But collections leaders don't need to predict it, they need to be ready for it. And readiness is built in the quiet quarters, not the loud ones.

There's a practical reason for that. Changing collections technology mid-surge is the operational equivalent of changing a tyre at 70mph. Teams are stretched, training time doesn't exist, and every workaround becomes load-bearing. The same change made during a calm period carries a fraction of the risk, costs less to deliver, and gives teams time to embed new ways of working before they're tested.

What "using the calm" actually looks like

This isn't an argument for ripping everything out. It's an argument for spending the quiet quarters answering questions that are impossible to answer honestly under pressure:

• Where does your collections activity actually live? If the answer involves spreadsheets, inboxes, or "it depends on the agent," you don't have a complete record of collections activity. You have fragments. That's a cost problem in normal times and a regulatory problem the moment an outcome is challenged.
• Could a customer resolve their arrears at 11pm without calling you? Self-cure is the cheapest resolution there is, and it's often the one customers prefer. If your only channels are phone and letter, every rise in volume converts directly into agent workload and cost to collect. We've written more on how self-service and automation cut call volume from one system.
• Could you evidence good outcomes tomorrow? Consumer Duty doesn't pause when volumes rise. If demonstrating fair treatment of a vulnerable customer means reconstructing a story from multiple systems, that job gets harder precisely when it matters most. Our guide to delivering better collections outcomes covers how to meet commercial targets and Consumer Duty standards at the same time.
• What happens to headcount if volumes rise 30%? If the honest answer is "we hire," your cost to collect is tied to the cycle. Automated workflows and digital self-service break that link, letting the same team handle more accounts without service quality slipping.

Low volumes are cheap conditions for change

Every one of those questions is easier and cheaper to act on now than it will be later. Implementation happens without firefighting. Configuration decisions get proper thought. Agents learn new tools with space to make mistakes. And when the cycle turns, the operation that greets it is one built deliberately, not patched together under pressure.

The lenders who came through the last surge best weren't the ones who reacted fastest. They were the ones who had already done the work.

Eight quarters of falling arrears is genuinely good news for customers and lenders alike. But for collections leaders, it's not a rest. It's a window. The only question is whether you use it.

Ready to look at your collections operation while the book is calm? Book a demo and see how Flexys gives you one system for collections, from customer self-service to the complete record of collections activity.