Debt Collection

What the buyer is asking for

The Scope of this proposed service will be for supply of Specialist Debt Collection Agency and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) providers to deliver standard Live 1st and 2nd, Doorstep visits, specialist vulnerable customer, Final accounts, Trace & Collect, low value placement & Probate/Deceased. DCAs play a key part in reducing the debt currently held by United Utilities. The scope of this tender covers household (Domestic) debt only. The objective for all Suppliers to undertake Debt Collection activities and secure payment of money owed by debtors, in-line with Fair Pay Guidelines. United Utilities will provide Customer Data containing the details of the Debts to the Supplier who will work through the agreed processes to collect the Debts and remit the collected funds back to United Utilities including any additional information obtained whilst securing payment. All Suppliers must adhere to all applicable industry standards and Good Industry Practice and be able to ensure compliance and how failures are managed and resolved.

How this is scored

Published by the buyer. A winning response is written to these weightings, not to the question.

• 50%qualityTechnical
• 50%priceCommercial

5 lots

You can usually bid for one lot without bidding for all of them.

• Lot 1 - Live, vulnerable & leaver FA£14m

  Live, vulnerable & leaver FA The scope of this service will be for the supply of live, vulnerable and leaver FA services Activities: - Live debt 1st placement -Live debt 2nd placement -Leaver FA debt 1st placement -Leaver FA debt 2nd placement -Live debt early collection -Vulnerable Customer

• Lot 2 - BPO Outbound service (1)£5.5m

  BPO Outbound service The scope of this service will be to Provide a White Label service to UU. The supplier should provide UU with expert outbound dialling collection activities.

• Lot 3 - Trace & collection final debt (1)£3.0m

  Trace & collection final debt The scope of this service will be for the supply of Trace and collection final debt services Activities: -Leaver debt NFA 1st placement -Leaver debt NFA 2nd placement -Leaver debt NFA 3rd placement -Low value leaver

• Lot 4 - Tertiary & Reconnect (1)£21m

  Tertiary & Reconnect The scope of this service will be for the supply of Tertiary and reconnect services -Live debt 3rd placement (Tertiary doorstep visits) -Live debt for affordability reconnect visits

• Lot 5 – Probate services/deceased (1)£399k

  Probate services/Deceased The scope of this service will be for the supply of probate services/deceased -Specialist probate recovery services

How contested is this?

Buyers publish how many bids they received. Across 54 comparable procurements we can tell you the typical field size, how often one of these goes uncontested, and whether the buyer awards on price or on quality.

Timeline

4 published dates · Europe/London

1. Tender notice published11 days ago

   11 Sept 2026, 10:24 BST
2. Clarification questions byin 10 days

   2 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
3. Submission deadlinein 99 days

   29 Dec 2026, 16:00 GMT
4. Award decision expected byin 252 days

   31 May 2027, 23:59 BST

Commercial outcome and contract awards

Nothing awarded yet

Notice history

2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender

1. Tender notice9 Sept 2026, 12:03 BST085336-2026
2. Tender updated11 Sept 2026, 10:24 BST086252-2026

Documents

• Tender notice on Find a Tender