Roger Williams presents the Trophy to winner of Best of Pies, Supreme Champion, Mrs V Cockin, with Howden Show Chairman, Mr Philip Parkin of Parkin Family Butchers looking on

On a cloudless Sunday morning, 3rd July 2011, home baked pies were arriving in the judging area of  Howden Show. Reviving the ancient custom of  ”Cunctator Crustulum” (the Delayer’s Pie), Roger Williams had initiated a Sponsorship of the First Howden Show Savoury Pie Competition, and the pies were on their way. If it was warm in the summer sun, it was warmer still in the judging tent where Roger Williams and pie specialist Ian Gill were preparing to embark on the judging of 25 pies.

There were awards for the most unusual filling, the most unusual shape and of course the Best of Pies, for the Supreme Champion Pie.

After breaking the journey in the beer tent due to the heat, Ian Gill (pie specialist) and Roger Williams (pastie specialist) prepare to undertake the judging process in line with ancient custom

The response to the Competition had been excellent and there was a magnificent array of impressive pies.

25 pies were entered into the competition

At last, with the arduous task of judging the pies complete, it became clear that it had been a very close run race for the Best of Pies. However, after very significant consideration and debate the winner was declared to be Mrs V Cockin of Stainforth near Doncaster, pictured above receiving her Trophy and prize money of £60 from Henriksen Managing Director Roger Williams.

Godfrey Bloom MEP and Roger Williams (real ale specialist)

After handing Mrs Cockin her award Roger Williams announced that the First Prize for the overall winner of the Pie Competition at the 2012 Howden Show would be worth £100, and this is expected to attract interest from further afield than the immediate Howden area.

Allensway's MD, Allen Williamson

The Allensway Group of Companies, comprising Allensway Transport Ltd, Allensway Recycling Ltd, and Allensway Recycling (Grimsby) Ltd, one of the UK’s most progressive haulage and waste recycling companies, has appointed Henriksen Limited to provide a complete credit control service.

Henriksen Limited introduced the complete credit control service early in 2011 as an extension of its core debt collection service. The move reflects Henriksen’s belief that in many cases the credit control process is best outsourced from a company’s accounts department to trained specialists handling this vitally important work.

Henriksen Managing Director, Roger Williams, explains that clients of the new service benefit twice by the move. “Companies opting in to our complete credit control service can save money on the overhead of a slimmed-down accounts function, and at the same time have credit control handled by people whose main job it is, and who have been specifically trained in credit control, resulting in better cash flow.”

Henriksen is providing Allensway with a service which takes responsibility for credit control as soon as the invoice is issued, and the first steps are to ensure that as many customers as possible pay their invoices within Allensway’s 30 day terms. Henriksen personnel will handle credit control for Allensway up to 90 days at which point, if necessary, Henriksen will continue to pursue the debt through their specialist debt collection team.

Allen Williamson, Managing Director of the Allensway Group, believes that the appointment of Henriksen will bring immediate benefit to the company. “Anything which enables us to concentrate on our core business of providing excellent haulage and waste recycling services to our customers is a good thing. Henriksen are specialists in their area, and I have total confidence that they will do an exceptional job for us.”

Cost-effective Terms and Conditions provided by Henriksen can save money.

Many companies may be losing money by not passing the cost of debt collection on to their debtors. In all business to business transactions, Companies are legally entitled to add charges for late payment of invoices through the “Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 and European Directive 2000/35/EC”, so the cost of using Henriksen can in many cases be zero.

When the debtor is a private individual, they can also be legally required to pay the cost of debt collection if they have been made aware of this being the company’s policy when supplied with the goods and services. The company can simply make customers aware of their policy on an invoice or in their Terms and Conditions.

As some Companies do not have comprehensive Terms and Conditions, or they do not regularly keep them up to date, Henriksen now provide a Terms and Conditions service in conjunction with Solicitors. These Terms and Conditions will make the company policy clear in regard to passing on the cost of debt recovery. This is a new and cost effective service which could save Henriksen’s clients significant sums. Call Roger Williams for details.

Enhance your credit control function

While accounts departments often get the job of credit control and chasing payments, it is increasingly a specialist job. Henriksen now provides a free service for reviewing a Company’s credit control and arrears letters and will advise how improvements might be made. This service can also go further, to review a Company’s entire credit control function. Henriksen will advise on possible areas of improvement, and if requested will quote for the specialist provision of a service which would enable the Company to outsource the whole credit control function following the invoicing stage.

Recovering rent arrears

This is a specialist area and one which is presenting increasing problems as the economy continues to struggle. Henriksen will now accept rent arrears instructions and will ensure that the instruction is passed to a solicitor most suited to the arrears problem.

The Henriksen team receives top Business Excellence Award 2011

Henriksen Limited, the Yorkshire-based specialist debt collection business, has won two awards at the Goole and Howdenshire Business Excellence Awards, including the overall winner, Business of the Year 2011. The company also came first in the ‘Best Small Business’ category.

Managing Director Roger Williams said “We are obviously delighted to have won these awards in recognition of our business and the quality of our service, which is a new approach to an old problem, cash flow.  We can make a positive difference to business, particularly in today’s difficult economic climate. When times are tough, it’s more important than ever to keep the debt level in your business as low as possible. The old adage that “if I lean too hard on my customers I might lose them” should read: “if I don’t keep on top of my debtors, I might lose my business”. This is where the Henriksen service can help. We have built our business on quality staff and systems, and we are delighted that this has been recognised in these Awards.

Mr Williams says in the past there has been a feeling in business that if you have to send a debt to a debt collector, you might get your money, but you will lose your customer in the process. But times are changing, and there is a new generation of specialist debt collector business like Henriksen which recognises that it’s as important to try and retain a customer as it is to get them to pay their bill.

The use of the right type of specialist debt collection approach need not result in losing the customer, unlike a bailiff knocking on the door, and standing in reception. A Court summons for non payment of a debt, or a combination of threatening behaviour probably will result in the loss of the customer, whether or not you get your money.

This is why a new generation of debt collection service can today be seen as a natural extension of the accounts, or credit control department, even taking some of the strain, and cost, out of those departments.

Is this service new? In the way it is provided by Henriksen, yes; because their service seeks to make expensive Court action unnecessary. The specialist debt collector, through the process of dialogue with the debtor, can form a good understanding of the debtor’s situation, thereby increasing the probability of achieving payment of the debt, and presenting a better, and far less costly solution than Court action.

The Goole and Howdenshire Business Excellence Awards were held at Cave Castle on Thursday 3 March 2011.

For further information please contact:

Roger Williams, Managing Director, Henriksen Limited, UK and International Debt Collectors, based in Goole, East Yorkshire. 0845 413 0502 or email  roger.williams@henriksen-limited.co.uk

The old adage that “if I lean too hard on my customers I might lose them” should read: “if I don’t keep on top of my debtors, I might lose my business”.

Poor cash flow can spell disaster

There has also been a feeling in business that if you have to send a debt to a debt collector, you might get your money, but you will lose your customer in the process.

Times are changing though, and there is a new generation of specialist debt collector business which recognises that it’s as important to try and retain a customer as it is to get them to pay their bill.

We all know of businesses which have gone bust because a large customer didn’t pay their bill, or a lot of smaller customers all took too long to pay their bills. It has to be good sense to maintain a steady pressure on a customer to pay their bills on time, but the credit control department often tussles with the problem of not wanting to be too heavy handed, yet wanting to get the customer to pay their bill, by prioritising their company over all the others if necessary.

The use of the right type of specialist debt collection approach need not result in losing the customer, unlike a bailiff knocking on the door, and standing in reception. A Court summons for non payment of a debt, or a combination of threatening behaviour probably will result in the loss of the customer, whether or not you get your money.

This is why a specialist debt collection service can today be seen as a natural extension of your accounts, or credit control department, even taking some of the strain, and cost, out of those departments.

Specialist debt collection businesses use highly trained staff and bespoke software programs working in a coordinated way to ensure that regular communication is maintained between the debt collector and the debtor organisation. Whilst it is clear that the debt has been passed to the debt collector by the client, the dialogue is not aggressive, the tone is one of resolving any dispute underlying the debt, and the aim is to get the client’s debt to the front of the queue and paid.

Is this service new? In the way it is provided by the new generation of specialist debt collectors, yes; because specialist debt collectors seek to make expensive Court action unnecessary. The specialist debt collector, through the process of dialogue with the debtor, can form a good understanding of the debtor’s situation, thereby increasing the probability of achieving payment of the debt, and presenting a better solution than Court action.

There should be no up-front charge to the client, and payment to the specialist debt collector is usually on the basis of a fixed commission on sums recovered. So no recovery would mean no fee payable; significantly different to pursuing a debt through the Courts. Also, in all business to business transactions, Companies are legally entitled to add charges for late payment of invoices through both UK and European law**, so the cost of using a specialist debt collector can in many cases be zero.

Customers are hard won. Good debt collection will get the debt paid, it will not antagonise the debtor customer, and it should seek always to keep that customer’s custom.

** Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 and European Directive 2000/35/EC.

Roger Williams is Managing Director of Specialist UK and International Debt Collectors, Henriksen Limited, based in Goole, East Yorkshire. For more information on specialist debt collection services call Henriksen Limited on 0845 413 0502.

Henriksen Limited, the Yorkshire-based specialist debt collection business, has won two awards at the Goole and Howdenshire Business Excellence Awards, including the overall winner, Business of the Year 2011. The company also came first in the ‘Best Small Business’ category.

Managing Director Roger Williams said “We are obviously delighted to have won these awards in recognition of our business and the quality of our service, which is a new approach to an old problem, cash flow.  We can make a positive difference to business, particularly in today’s difficult economic climate. When times are tough, it’s more important than ever to keep the debt level in your business as low as possible. The old adage that “if I lean too hard on my customers I might lose them” should read: “if I don’t keep on top of my debtors, I might lose my business”. This is where the Henriksen service can help. We have built our business on quality staff and systems, and we are delighted that this has been recognised in these Awards.