cx-collections-conductlisted

# Collections and financial-difficulty conduct These are the highest-stakes conversations a support operation has. The customer is under financial pressure, the agent has a collections objective, and the outcome affects whether someone can pay for essentials. In many sectors there are specific duties about how this is handled. The structural problem is simple and worth stating plainly: **the agent has an objective that can conflict with the customer's interest.** Every finding below traces back to that, and the incentive structure is usually the root cause rather than the individuals. **Requirements vary by jurisdiction, product and circumstance and are a compliance and legal determination.** Nothing here states one. ## What to audit **Recognition of difficulty.** Did the agent identify that the customer was in financial difficulty, as opposed to simply late? These need different handling and the distinction is frequently missed. Signals: statements about affordability, prioritising essentials, other debts, a change in income, or asking for time. **Forbearance offered, and appropriate.** Where a difficulty is identified and options exist — a payment plan, a hold, reduced payments, a breathing space — were they offered proactively, or only if the customer knew to ask? **Options offered only on request are options most customers never receive**, and that pattern systematically disadvantages the least confident. Measure the proactive-offer rate. **Affordability actually a