provident agents [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM]

TheLoanMan

Like I said you clearly have no knowledge or understanding of providents business, every self employed collection agent currently working for the company will know exactly what I mean.

TheLoanMan

Well we have a first quarter update from the company today, provident doing well on the whole however the same can't be said for home collected.

I make it another 71,000 customers approx lost during the first 3 months this year. In 2013 home collected had a million and a half customers currently standing at about 1 million and will clearly be under a million through the course of this year.

Another 500 redundancys in administration and managers on top of the 250 redundancys a couple of years ago, higher than I thought, probably branch mergers next on the cards.

You don't have to be clever to see the pattern emerging here.

The company sees growth in the credit card and satsuma.

If your an agent I just see tough times ahead.

demoralised

Most of the lost customers is down to the merging of greenwoods with provident, where there were duel accounts these became 1 with a subsequent loss of customer numbers, I know of agents who lost up to 40 customers because of this, but then again Provi was only fiddling customer numbers in the first place by doing this, they weren't real customers, just splitting the issue between 2 companies for the same customer, who then had 2 customer numbers, just so they could fool the shareholders and push up the share price, house of cards. The rumour is that management centres are closing, and managers will instead visit agents at their homes, that is why they were issued with iPads, does anyone know when this is due to happen. It's very true what a previous poster wrote, they are trying to get rid of older, longstanding agents with clean books that cost them 11% in commision, what they dont seem to realise is that when that agents goes so do half their customers, I have watch many rounds dessimated when their long standing agent has been forced out, these are also long standing quality customers, who built a relationship over many years with that agent. Some silly person in head office thinks that a young, so called keen, agent can do better, but only very rarely do they, yes I don't dispute they bring in more new customers, but not of the same quality as the ones they use, and when after a few months being paid at 7% the penny drops that they are earning less than the minimum wage, after petrol etc has been accounted for, they leave, further upsetting what few old customers are left. If this is progress I'll eat my hat.

TheLoanMan

I think it's very true that senior management under estimate the relationship long standing agents have with their customers, many of these customers keep renewing because of that relationship and pay up when the agent finally leaves.

I think the company is happy when old agents leave as they are more set in their ways and harder to manipulate, at the end of the day they are in complete control of their commission bill, they can lower and raise the thresholds when they feel like it.

I guess your right in the end they will save money by closing branches and having managers visit agents at home, the technology has enabled this, probably a little way off for now.

jeanm_2

I said from the day this commission scheme came in, it would work for a short period for most,then each quarter you hit thosr targets,they will put them up. I was told they would never ask for more than 70% as payers but my threshold 1 was 74% of my total customers. I have agreed rates that seem to vanish with no warning. I know they have expiry dates and i have a note of when they are. Also, I have some customers who have two loans,one is ahead and one not. Still asking for full total rate to be a payer,even though customer has every right not to pay the one they are ahead on. Some other customers in same position only need to pay the rate due on the loan that requires payment. Just no consistency.
This wad of envelopes and leaflets given to write our own phone number on and hand deliver to complete strangers- notice the envelopes have a 'stamp' paid for on provi's account if posted. Wonder how much it would cost the company if we all just wrote provi head office address on them and dropped them in the post box- I was going to sit in there are car park, seal them all and post them through our office letterbox til I discovered we don't have one! I would certainly not put my own number on them if I was putting through doors in my collection areas anyway. Put the office,or if feeling a tiny bit naughty,the manager or area managers mobile number and let them field the idiot callers!
I am now a 7% agent. I managed 9% last week but purely because I collect on a Tuesday evening and could include a few of those in with it being a bank holiday . this week will be rubbish though. My thresholds did reduce slightly but not enough. Especially when you have managers phoning customers telling them to pay a fiver cos its better than nothing,with no mention of waivers or agreed rates.then not telling the agent they have contacted them at all! The effort i put in now reflects that 7%

TheLoanMan

The days of an open and transparent bonus scheme are long gone, back in the day seven and a half per cent on loan and eight per cent on voucher collections, the full % on refinance as well.

This current system is not as blunt as the fines but the company clearly hold all the cards on it. T here has to be someone as head office monitoring the company commission cost on a weekly/monthly basis if it's cost to much one month there going to raise the targets the following month.

Leaflet drops are a complete waste of time but I guess it shows how desperate they are in some offices and how much pressure they are under. The customers aren't out there and the ones that are and do get put on are poor and you've done well if you can keep them in quality for 6 months!

When you consider you are supplying your own smartphone and paying the bill yourself, using your own car, insuring it, taxing it putting fuel in it, wearing it out stopping and starting and driving like a mad person trying to get round to everyone in time.

The company pays you zero holiday pay, zero sick pay and makes no pension provision for you.
With the increased compliance massively increased accountability and continued hassle and aggravation the rewards just don't make it worth it anymore. Your 7% is much less when you factor in your expenses let alone the benefits the company gets out giving you by you being self employed.

demoralised

Well the days of a Provi agent look like they will soon be gone! Just spoke to an agent from another office in differant area and they have all been told that agencies are being merged and agents will go, who will be decided by end of next week, and then it will be goodbye and never mind how long you have been an agent etc. looks to me like this is the for runner to agents becoming employed, minimum wage and they will expect to own our soul!

TheLoanMan

Provident will never make agents employees as opposed to self employed, trust me will never happen. Probably just someone getting the wrong end of the stick.

Can see them merging inner city branches to save money.

demoralised

Sorry Loan Man it is defo happening, not the employed bit that's just my theory otherwise I can't see why else they are doing it, and it is being roled out branch by branch, you will be getting a phone call apparently to tell you soon.

TheLoanMan

The only logic for a move like that would be less agents means less managers required to manage them, so they can push through redundancys.

One agent with 300 customers or two agents with 150 each will cost them roughly the same in commission.

It's a dangerous policy if true.