These included such choice examples as: “The accident occurred when I waved to the man I knocked over last week” and “I saw a slow-moving, sad-faced old gentleman…as he bounced off the bonnet of my car.”

Excuses ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous. However, every single one of them was written to convey the driver’s belief that the incident was not their fault and there had been a range of mitigating circumstances that should be taken into account, regardless of how bizarre they might appear.

It will perhaps be no surprise that when collecting payment from mortgage borrowers, collection teams across the land will hear excuses that can appear equally bizarre.

Take, for instance: “The poltergeist told me not to pay you”.

What do you say to that?

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Or how about: “My dog ate my crash helmet and, as it’s against the law to ride my motorbike without one, I can’t get to work to earn money to pay you.” A unique variation on the traditional ‘dog ate my homework’ excuse.

The borrowers in question might think that this sort of excuse is acceptable and the lender representative will be only too happy to go back to head office and wait for the money to come in.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t do us, the lender, or the borrower any favours if we take a stand-back approach from our borrowers.

As a lender that has focused exclusively on managing our mortgage book over the last couple of years, I am here to say that only the most proactive of collections teams taking a hands-on approach will get results.

Official figures show arrears and possession levels are falling. However, this will not continue without all stakeholders actively working together and establishing individual solutions for individual problems.

Arrears and missed payments cannot be treated as if they are all the same, because they are not.

For instance, take a home loan borrower who has recently lost their job. Their situation may mean that for a few months they are not able to pay the full monthly payment amount.

In these circumstances, we can stop this moving into arrears with early communication of the facts and a solution can be put in place very quickly.

However, how about this excuse that we came across last year: “It’s in CHL’s best interests to let my account go into arrears, so I can invest the money in my business. Then, when I become a millionaire, I will pay you.”

Now, this borrower clearly has the money to pay their mortgage, but is choosing not to do so. It’s certainly not in CHL’s, or any other lenders’, best interests to let an account move into arrears which is why we take such a proactive approach to stop this from happening. Clearly, here the money is available and we will do everything in our power to ensure the borrower pays up every month.

Given that our specialism is in the buy-to-let market, a common excuse from non-payers is to tell us their property is currently unoccupied and they are unable to pay the mortgage as there is no rental income.

Of course, the first thing we do is visit the property to see if this is the case. Often there are tenants in situ, who are paying their rent regularly and therefore that money could be used to pay the mortgage. Yet, the borrower is not following this through.

There are numerous options here to facilitate payment, such as using a receiver of rent. However, often the first port of call, if appropriate, will be to the borrower’s mortgage broker.

Many of our customers are portfolio landlords and they will always use the services of a broker. In many instances, a chat with the broker who in turn liaises with their client, results in payment or a quick payment solution. This is because clients often feel far more comfortable talking to their broker about the real, underlying issues of why they are not paying.

The broker is then able to advise and facilitate and hopefully spell out the potential consequences of non-payment, plus work with the two parties to get an agreeable outcome.

Where possible, we always look to liaise with the broker on issues such as this. Firstly, they often have the stronger relationship with the borrower and, secondly, the broker is willing to maintain ongoing client contact as they may be able to help in other areas, depending on what the real nature of the problem is.

Volcanic ash, a lack of fish and chip sales, and the fact a borrower was up on the roof were all reasons given for non-payment in the last year.

When confronted by these excuses it can be difficult to keep sight of the reality of the situation but this is vital. We do not want our borrowers to put their heads in the sand and expect us to do the same; we need to communicate freely and work with all stakeholders to ensure the right outcome.

Only by doing this can we continue to keep arrears and possession levels going in the right direction…down.

Bob Young, managing director of Capital Home Loans