‘Hello, we come for the money’

THE Housing Development Corporation (HDC) is clamping down on clients who are in arrears. Up to a few months ago, government officials said clients from developments throughout the country owed more than $100 million to the corporation.

Yesterday, the HDC announced that a vehicle had been allocated specifically as part of its debt collection strategy.

From next week, staff from the recoveries unit and other departments will begin visiting the homes of clients. This is part of the corporation’s efforts to improve its client service relationship and its debt collection effort.

HDC corporate communications manager Dike Noel told Newsday the corporation intends to visit an estimated 3,000 clients.

He said if the clients have questions or want to express concerns, they can do so when the officials visit.

“Recoveries personnel of the HDC will visit customers in arrears directly at their residence. It is expected that this approach will reduce the number of customers who claim ignorance or non-receipt of official correspondence from the HDC,” the corporation said in a media release.

In the past, many people claimed not to have received correspondence from the corporation or to have seen advertisements in the newspapers about debt collection.

At times customers blamed it on poor postal services. The HDC officials will hand-deliver official correspondence to customers in arrears. No cash transactions will be made and HDC urges customers to make payments at its offices.

“The branding and labelling on the vehicle will make it easily identifiable to the HDC’s client base and encourage delinquent customers to clear their outstanding debt.

It is hoped that the public will also see the HDC’s commitment to recover the outstanding money,” the HDC said.

In April last year, the corporation’s managing director Brent Lyons said some 3,155 errant clients owe $106 million in arrears. He was responding to a query from Opposition Senator Wade Mark during a sitting of the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee of Parliament.