Life at Factofrance

Discover the range of careers and positions available with Factofrance in its various offices across France.

The debt recovery agent

The job of the debt recovery agent is to obtain invoice settlements from defaulting parties. Payment reminders are made by phone following prompts from an automated system. This system uses RAO software to determine which accounts should receive a reminder on a given week, assigning each one a priority status based on the invoice due date, the amount owing and the days outstanding. Debt recovery agents receive roughly a hundred payment reminder prompts per day.

The Large Accounts department assigns each agent a portfolio of purchase defaulters. When a payment reminder is issued it covers the defaulter's debt across the whole of their relationship with the group, thus serving all of its creditor clients simultaneously. For purchasers, this offers the advantage of a single and personalised point of contact at Factofrance.

Conversely, recovery agents in the IDR (Integrated Debt Recovery) department deal with various purchase defaulters on behalf of a portfolio of creditor clients. In addition, IDR has set up a third category, containing 5 accounts known as the Large Purchaser Accounts. As is the case for Large Accounts portfolios, the companies concerned are issued reminders on behalf of a range of creditor clients.

An interactive department

It is the responsibility of the debt recovery agent to obtain as much information as possible from the purchase defaulters. Once this information has been obtained it is passed on to whichever departments are concerned. “We stay in close touch with the people in Operations, who are responsible for client relations,” explains Magali, a debt recovery agent who joined Factofrance in September 1997 with a degree in Business Administration. “When litigation is launched against a purchase defaulter we inform Operations directly. We also perform a sales role by providing our sales technicians with information about any purchasers with financing requirements, who can therefore be considered as potential creditor clients.”

Knowing how to listen

“Aside from a knowledge of accounting and good IT skills, this job demands the ability to listen,” says Laëtitia, who has worked in IDR as a debt recovery agent for three years now. “Purchase defaulters will frequently tell us about the financial problems facing their business, so we need to be able to listen, offer reassurance and manage any conflict that arises calmly and diplomatically.”

Increasing levels of responsibility

Debt recovery agents have been responsible for reconciling down payments for invoices received by bank transfer and the corresponding accounting entries for 4 years now. This is a radical development which widens the recovery agent's remit and opens up new opportunities. “Our job has developed a great deal since two years ago,” points out Hervé, an IDR recovery agent who used to work in the IT business. “Our skills base has widened considerably, and we have acquired a manager's role.”

Interview with Thi No, Large Accounts recovery agent

Thi No

“I've been a debt recovery agent with Factofrance for five years. Before that I worked for a pension fund in the Legal and Recovery department. I also worked for one of Factobail's clients on a year-long assignment before joining Facto. I get a lot of job satisfaction and I feel like I make a real contribution to the business. I enjoy dealing with people on the phone but I prefer face-to-face contact, and you'll often find me in our purchasers' offices.” In 2002 Thi No made the decision to take his career to another level by moving to the HR department to work with the Staff Administration team.