Mitesh Patel
London,United Kingdom
Summary
Accomplished professional with extensive expertise in debt recovery and credit control, demonstrating proficiency in FCA/FSA compliance, complaints handling, and negotiation. Proven track record of overachieving collection targets and reducing aged debt through strategic collection activities and effective customer relationship management. Skilled in leading teams, developing collection strategies, and implementing technological solutions to enhance efficiency. Adept at liaising with sales divisions, conducting investigations into financial affairs, and maintaining regulatory compliance. Career goals include furthering expertise in global financial systems and driving innovative solutions for debt recovery challenges.
Driven professional with strong analytical and communication skills, highly capable in problem-solving and negotiation. Proficient in managing financial records and building client relationships. Committed to optimising collections processes and enhancing revenue outcomes.
Offering strong candidate for this role with keen understanding of customer relations and financial processes. Knowledgeable about negotiating payment plans and maintaining accurate records. Ready to use and develop communication, problem-solving, and organisational skills in Collections roles .
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
Work history
Collections Specialist - Remote Role
Secure Trust Bank
Birmingham, West Midlands
2025.10 - Current
- Facilitated resolution of complex cases with tact and professionalism.
- Reviewed credit reports and financial statements for efficient collection processes.
- Collaborated with legal team for successful debt retrieval.
- Reduced company losses by enforcing strict payment schedules.
- Improved customer service standards during collections process by implementing new procedures.
- Negotiated repayment plans with customers, improving financial performance, by identifying vulnerabilities, through models such as TEXAS, BRUCE, IDEA, Harm etc...
- Assisted in budgeting process by providing accurate data on collectibles. Completing income and expenditure forms to assess customer affordabilities before setting arrangements.
- Handled communication with delinquent account holders, resulting in timely payments.
- Resolved customer disputes, maintaining good relationships with clients.
- Quickly escalated high-risk cases to management for immediate action.
- Consistently met targets set by management without compromising customer relationships. Call quality targets of with a minimum of 90% pass and above per month.
- Contacted customers to arrange or collect payments.
- Offered debtors assistance with payment planning.
- Facilitated official agreements outlining terms of repayment.
- Maintained professional tone when corresponding by phone or email.
- Stored customers' information securely to maintain confidentiality.
- Identified needs of clients by conducting comprehensive assessments.
- Calculated debt amounts using financial records.
- Conducted investigations to trace and locate debtors.
- Investigated cases of debt to uncover details of debtors.
- Enforced rules governing customers' debt repayment.
- Ensured compliance within the team to follow Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
- Maintained detailed records of collections activities for auditing purposes.
- Consistently met targets set by management without compromising customer relationships.
- Negotiated repayment plans with customers, improving financial performance.
- Train new staff members on collection policies and procedures, ensuring consistency across the team.
- Communicated with customers diplomatically and respectfully.
- Created solutions to overcome obstacles impacting customers' ability to repay debt.
- Maintained up-to-date collection of files relating to caseload.
- Adapted payment plans to suit individual financial situations.
Collections Specialist
YouLend Ltd.
London
2024.11 - 2026.02
- Providing first-class service relating to merchant resolution of any non/under paying merchant.
- Collections and recoveries understanding (customer contact strategy awareness).
- Case management of high-value accounts in arrears across varying and unique circumstances.
- Handling inbound and outbound telephone calls, creating ad hoc letters and email content with high levels of care, awareness and accuracy.
- Build positive relationships with merchants to validate their circumstances and resolve with a positive outcome for both parties.
- Negotiate, implement and execute positive solutions with the merchants circumstances in mind, while balancing the best interest of the business.
- Data input, accurately inputting data across multiple systems including Hubspot.
- The ability to deal with an variety of challenges, be innovative and think on your feet.
- Business acumen, entrepreneurial spirit with real enthusiasm for helping SMEs.
- Dealing with insolvency cases.
- Legal escalation knowledge
Collections Executive
Starling Bank
London
2023.02 - 2024.11
- Speaking with customers and businesses that may be experiencing financial difficulties or are vulnerable, who need support.
- Reviewing each case to understand customers or businesses overall situation to help agree a correct plan of action on personal/joint accounts, business accounts and bounce back loans.
- Liaise with customers and other areas of the business to obtain information and supporting information.
- Paying attention to detail, to produce high quality written reports and recommendations to managers.
- Demonstrating proactive, inquisitive and problem solving qualities to assist customers and the business.
Collections Executive - Contract
Splend Ltd.
London
2022.07 - 2023.02
- To deliver accurate and timely processing of vehicle rental administration activities and other various daily tasks.
- Regular communication with customers who are experiencing payment/financial difficulties.
- Discussing and negotiating arrears workout options e.g., arrangements, time frames of repayments, etc.
- Chasing terminated debts from customers by where rental agreement have been terminated for various reasons, such as unpaid subscriptions, damage costs, insurance excess costs, early termination fees, etc. Appointing repossession agents with agreements where the vehicle is required to be recovered.
- Dealing with the Police when they are involved, such as vehicles being impounded.
- Approving payments of invoices relating to the collections department.
- Preparing and issuing Money Claims Online for non-payment of balances, subsequently entering judgements for CCJ’s if no response.
- Analysing problems, thinking creatively, and making effective decisions in an appropriate timescale.
Arrears & Litigation Specialist - Contract
Pepper Advantage
London
2022.04 - 2022.07
- To deliver accurate and timely processing of Mortgage administration activities and other various daily tasks.
- Regular communication with customers who are experiencing payment/financial difficulties.
- Discussing and negotiating arrears workout options e.g., arrangements, capitalisation, loan workouts, shortfall sales etc.
- Monitoring agreed workout strategies to ensure they are complied with and taking further action in accordance with the Special Servicing Manual where appropriate.
- Analysing problems, thinking creatively, and making effective decisions in a appropriate time scale.
Collections & Recoveries Executive - Contract
JBR Capital
2021.02 - 2022.03
- Making outbound collection calls in an professional manner while keeping and improving customer relations.
- Resolve client-billing problems and accounts receivable delinquency, applying good customer service in an timely manner.
- Collect customer payments in accordance with payment due dates.
- Identify issues attributing to account delinquency and discuss them with management.
- Review and monitor assigned accounts and all applicable collection reports.
- Provide timely follow-up on payment arrangements.
- Mail correspondence to customers to encourage payment of delinquent accounts.
- Tracing customers who have absconded with the vehicle and agreement without making payments.
- Appointing recovery agents to recover the asset.
- Assisting in the re-marketing of the asset to achieve best price possible for both company and customer to minimise any potential shortfalls.
Customer Service Assistant - Covid-19 Role
Morrisons Plc
London
2020.04 - 2021.01
- Commenced due to Covid-19 and general care for local community stock replenishment of produce stock
- Reductions of prices on dated products.
- Stock Count.
- General customer services
Collections Executive - Contract
Hampshire Trust Bank
London
2020.06 - 2020.08
- Making relevant payment arrangements to clear outstanding arrears/balance in relation to customers experiencing financial difficulties in line with company policy and procedures for both regulated and unregulated agreements.
- Identify and work with vulnerable customers in line with TCF and internal policies and procedures.
- Assessing when agreements are required for termination and repossession of assets.
- Liaising with insolvency practitioners, repossession agents, re-marketing agents, auction houses etc....
- Collecting debit card payments as well as applying these payments to agreements.
- Preparing files for legal action, compiling up to date credit checks, land registry searches, property valuations etc...
- Liaising with external debt collection agencies such as Anglia for agreements passed to them.
Collections Administrator - Redundancy
Simply Asset Finance
London
2018.10 - 2019.08
- Working closely with the Head of Collections.
- Managing the manual arrears process – taking arrears list from previous day and getting a copy from Finance the next day to add on and work through.
- Putting manual spreadsheet of cases together – currently 50-100 cases with a third of these cases having material arrears and remainder with technical arrears.
- Mixture of chasing via phone calls and emails.
- Liaising with the Sales division who deal with some of the early chasing.
- Implementing the correct course of recovery action, such as having equipment repossessed, accepting temporary payment arrangements, passing for legal action, settling agreements or negotiating an discounted settlement, in house tracing.
- Help develop and test accounting systems to manage collections.
- Design collections workflows.
- Full exposure up to Litigation stage
Senior Collections Advisor - Redundancy
RateSetter
London
2017.03 - 2018.05
- Working in a busy Collections team you will handle customer calls, providing technical and product specific support to other departments and customers internally and externally.
- Work in close partnership with customers in financial difficulty to understand their individual circumstances resolving any enquiries or disputes in a manner that is sensitive to the customer’s individual needs whilst managing their expectations.
- Actively resolve complaints in line with Financial Conduct Authority compliant handling requirements and ensure that all third parties are notified.
- Displaying the highest level of verbal and written communication to customer’s suppliers and third parties.
- Underwriting existing and previous customers.
- Take responsibility for resolving disputes, ensuring that caller concerns are addressed correctly, and all parties are notified.
- Set out and deliver training for new employees or staff members that require development.
- First point of contact for customer/internal escalation’s.
- Involved in managing outsource partners (DCA) to ensure files are securely sent, MI collated on all accounts issued/collected.
- Continuous review and update of team process/policy guides.
- Collate and distribute accordingly monthly MI.
- Working with Collections Project Management for ongoing road map development.
- Complete first line audits to cover Forbearance, Vulnerability and DCA Outsource to highlight process change, training requirement and failure of agents that are compiling with policy/procedure.
- Lead by example, motivate team members, be proactive and positive behaviour
Credit Controller - Contract
IHS Markit
London
2016.04 - 2017.02
- Driving the day-to-day collection activities for multi-currency invoices.
- Taking direct responsibility of a receivables ledger.
- Reducing aged debt.
- Reduction of DSO.
- Building global relationships both internally and externally
Education
GCSEs - Maths, English, Science, IT, Sociology, German, Geography
Claremonth High School
LondonGNVQ Intermediate & Advance - Business Management
Copland High School & Technology Centre
londonSkills
- In house financial systems
- FCA / FSA Compliance in Debt Recovery and TCF
- Complaints Handling/Resolution
- Negotiation
- Prioritising/Queue clearance
- Overachieving collection targets
- Compliance
- Customer service
- Person/Asset Trace
- Use of Experian - Motor, Business and individual
- Implementing correct course of recovery action
- Design collections workflows
- Full exposure up to Litigation stage
- Lead by example, motivate team members, be proactive and positive behaviour
- Reducing aged debt
- Building global relationships both internally and externally
- Effectively collect outstanding debt by telephone and in writing in a busy department
- Meet daily targets including call volume, cash collection and call monitoring and call quality
- Maintain awareness and implementation of all regulatory guidelines
- Collecting payments and ensuring a suitable ongoing arrangement is in place to minimise the chance of the customer falling back into arrears
- Collection strategy development
- Technological proficiency
- Data entry accuracy
- Ethical conduct
- Motivating debtors
- Knowledge of bankruptcy laws
- Customer dispute handling
- Integrity maintenance
- Microsoft office suite proficiency
- Empathy and understanding
- Debt recovery techniques
- Payment arrangement planning
- In-Depth industry trend awareness
- Professionalism in all interactions
- Customer relationship management
- Effective time management
- Negotiation expertise
- Telephone etiquette
- Resilience under pressure
- Negotiation planning
- Time efficiency
- Debt recovery laws
- Data entry proficiency
- Communication proficiency
- Critical evaluation
- Insolvency procedures
- CRM software usage
- Customer Service
- Cultural awareness
- Team Leadership
- Resourcefulness
- Conflict Resolution
- Arrears management
- Relationship-building
- Emotional intelligence
LANGUAGES
English
Advanced (C1)
Gujarati
Proficient (C2)
Affiliations
- Fottball, Cricket, Gym, Practicing Midfulness, Volunteering in the local cmmunity
References
References available upon request.
Timeline
Collections Specialist - Remote Role
Secure Trust Bank
2025.10 - Current
Collections Specialist
YouLend Ltd.
2024.11 - 2026.02
Collections Executive
Starling Bank
2023.02 - 2024.11
Collections Executive - Contract
Splend Ltd.
2022.07 - 2023.02
Arrears & Litigation Specialist - Contract
Pepper Advantage
2022.04 - 2022.07
Collections & Recoveries Executive - Contract
JBR Capital
2021.02 - 2022.03
Collections Executive - Contract
Hampshire Trust Bank
2020.06 - 2020.08
Customer Service Assistant - Covid-19 Role
Morrisons Plc
2020.04 - 2021.01
Collections Administrator - Redundancy
Simply Asset Finance
2018.10 - 2019.08
Senior Collections Advisor - Redundancy
RateSetter
2017.03 - 2018.05
Credit Controller - Contract
IHS Markit
2016.04 - 2017.02
GCSEs - Maths, English, Science, IT, Sociology, German, Geography
Claremonth High School
GNVQ Intermediate & Advance - Business Management
Copland High School & Technology Centre