The challenge: Debtors who couldn't get through to pay often didn't call back

Sterling and Hart Collections manages consumer and commercial debt recovery across the UK for energy providers, local authorities, and retail lenders. Their inbound payment line received 4,800+ calls per month from debtors wanting to make payments, set up instalment plans, or discuss their account.
The payment line was staffed by six agents. Most calls were straightforward: verify identity, take payment, confirm the arrangement. But every call still took an agent off the floor for 5-6 minutes, and during month-end peaks, hold times exceeded 20 minutes.
Debtors who called to pay but couldn't get through would often not call back. Every abandoned call was a missed payment.

The solution: Instant payment processing with FCA-compliant hardship routing

Thrumble AI handles all inbound payment line calls. The AI verifies the caller's identity, presents their current balance and any existing arrangements, and processes payments (full balance, partial payment, or instalment setup) in real time.
For callers requesting hardship consideration, the AI captures income and expenditure details using a structured affordability assessment, then transfers to a specialist with the completed assessment already logged.
The voice is professional, measured British English. The tone is deliberately non-aggressive and empathetic, reflecting best-practice debt communication standards.
All calls comply with FCA Consumer Duty requirements, with required disclosures delivered at the appropriate points in every conversation.

The results: The numbers speak for themselves

• 4,800 inbound payment calls processed per month.

• 93% of calls resolved autonomously: payment taken, arrangement set up, or query answered.

• Average call duration: 2 minutes 10 seconds, down from 5 minutes 40 seconds with human agents.

• Abandoned call rate dropped from 22% to under 2%.

• 310 hardship assessments completed per month with structured affordability data, up from 180 when agents were doing them manually.

The commercial impact: £220K saved. £380K in recovered payments. FCA compliance strengthened.

£220,000 per year in payment line staffing costs saved.
The near-elimination of abandoned calls is estimated to have recovered an additional £380,000 per year in payments that would otherwise have been missed.
The improvement in hardship assessment capture has also strengthened Sterling and Hart's regulatory compliance posture, reducing the risk of FCA enforcement action.
Deployed in 5 weeks.

4,800 payment calls. 93% resolved. 2% abandoned. FCA-compliant from the first call.