Advertising feature Sector leaders unite to raise standards When two sector heavyweights collaborate, the results reverberate through their respective industries. This is what is happening as the UKs leading debt-resolution provider, DCBL, and the UKs largest car park management company, Parkingeye, come together for a three-year exclusive partnership to resolve unpaid parking charges CBL and DCB Legals managing director, Darren Connor, explains: Our expertise is being able to recover debts through our bespoke services, which has its undoubted benefits. When people receive a letter, because they know who we are, they will engage with us. That helps us gain a much higher resolution rate than our rivals. We try to avoid escalation wherever we can. DCBL has always achieved high levels of debt resolution, focusing on finding the best outcome for debtors and DCBLs clients. Parkingeye is the largest provider of parking management services in the UK, managing more than 3,000 car parks. David Greenbank is head of enforcement, a position that sees him working closely with the team from DCBL. D Meeting the clients interests Our focus is to provide our clients with the best possible solution and meet their interests, but at the same time we have strong ethics and values, so there is a lot of emphasis on how we do things. We are very much about resolution, over obtaining payments. For us, resolution is about finding a compromise, such as through affordable payment plans. And that is the first point of synergy between the two companies. Both believe in trying to open doors at every step of the way. As Greenbank points out, a minority of 24 motorists will end up facing legal action, but Parkingeye and DCBL will go the extra mile to prevent that happening. We are not out to penalise people who make a mistake, or even those who have deliberately broken the rules. We would rather try to change their behaviour and help them see why complying with the rules of the car park is in everyones best interests. The enforcement process is an important part of the whole jigsaw; if you dont have consequences, you wont stop the minority who make it difficult for everyone else to use the facility. Connor explains how the relationship has evolved: We have worked closely over the past four years to get to know each other well and our teams work collaboratively. Working with Parkingeye, we have seen an evolution over time, moving from debt recovery to debt resolution. It is about how we protect the reputation of Parkingeye and its clients by identifying trends and sharing data where appropriate. Thriving under pressure Both companies are the largest in their respective fields, so there is a unique pressure on them. Greenbank explains more: The main thing for us is always the quality of service. As the largest operator in the field, we are under continuous scrutiny, so we have to make sure that we not only meet the industry standards, but that we also seek to set them higher. It is a point with which Connor is in total agreement: When you are the biggest, people like to knock you, so we work harder because the levels of scrutiny are greater than on other businesses. Both companies work closely with their respective regulatory bodies and this, says Greenbank, is the second point of synergy: We both set ourselves incredibly high standards and make sure we are doing the things that are fair and reasonable. While the companies had been working together for a number of years, the formal agreement leading to the exclusive deal took just a couple of months. There were talks about how the relationship would work and what both companies could do to make improvements. Before anyone even came within touching distance of a formal agreement, there was a rigorous trial process, where DCBL was put through the hoops to prove it was the right fit. Just how right it was as a fit was demonstrated when Parkingeye outsourced some legal work to DCB Legal the first time it had made such a move. While Parkingeye has in-house legal support, DCB Legals team is able to take up some of the work. Rigorous trials lead to new direction We have never outsourced legal work before,