Anglian Water has gone out to tender with an AMP8 contract for debt collection services with an estimated value of £16 million including VAT.

Anglian Water is seeking to appoint multiple Debt Collection Agencies (DCAs) under a framework of up to eight years to recover household and related residential debt. The framework is based on a commission-led model, supplemented by fixed-price value-add services such as affordability referrals, customer vulnerability support, tracing, deceased account identification and bankruptcy notifications. Suppliers will be expected to deliver strong collection performance while maintaining excellent customer service and supporting vulnerable customers.

The procurement is divided into six lots, reflecting different debt types, customer circumstances and collection approaches. All accounts relate to household (residential) properties and primarily domestic customers, however billing may include non-household landlords or developers where responsible for water charges. No guarantee of work volumes is provided.

Successful suppliers will be required to:

• Operate on a commission-based debt collection model.
• Provide pricing for mandatory value-add services.
• Deliver customer-focused collections aligned to affordability and vulnerability support.
• Support Priority Services Register (PSR) identification and referrals.
• Provide trace, collect and settlement services where applicable.
• Exchange outbound and inbound account data files with Anglian Water.
• Provide weekly payment reporting and account updates.
• Support recurring card payment arrangements.
• Comply with applicable health and safety requirements where field visits are undertaken.
• Participate in ongoing performance monitoring, audits and benchmarking against other suppliers.

The contract is being tendered in the following Lots:

• Lot 1 – 1st & 2nd Standard Collect Placements
• Lot 2 – 1st & 2nd Placement Financially Vulnerable Customers
• Lot 3 – 3rd Placement Collection
• Lot 4 – 1st & 2nd Court Account Placements
• Lot 5 – Standard Trace & Collect Placements
• Lot 6 – Court Trace & Collect Placements

Accounts may be allocated across multiple placement stages, but the same agency will not normally work the same account twice. Suppliers are expected to maximise collections while maintaining customer care and regulatory compliance.

Affordability referrals, PSR identification, vacation date updates, deceased customer identification and bankruptcy notifications form part of the expected value-add services.

Performance will be monitored through collection rates, payment arrangements, penetration rates, audits and contractual KPIs.

Field visit activity is mandatory for Lot 3, optional in Lots 1 and 2, and subject to health and safety approval.

Anglian Water's overall objective to establish a competitive multi-supplier framework that improves debt recovery performance, supports vulnerable customers, drives affordability outcomes and delivers value for money while maintaining a strong customer-focused approach.

Current estimated start and end contract dates 29 July 2027 to 29 July 2031 with further possible extension options up to 29 July 2035

Deadline for submission of enquiries about the tender is 11:00pm on 26 August 2026 and deadline for requests to participate is 11:00pm on 3 September 2026. Estimated contract award decision date is 1 April 2027.

The contract is being tendered through the RFI/RFP Ariba Event platform – click here for further information.

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