Collections Calls Go Unanswered as Right Party Contact Rates Fall 80.8%

(London, UK) Outbound right party contact (RPC) rates in Collections have fallen 80.8% year on year, from 2.19% in August 2025 to 0.42% in August 2026, according to Auriemma Group’s monthly UK Collections and Recoveries benchmark. Auriemma’s latest Collections and Recoveries Roundtable explored what is driving the decline and how firms are adapting their contact strategies in response.

“Outbound contact in Collections has changed dramatically over the past year,” says Nicole Toussaint, Director of Industry Roundtables at Auriemma Group. “Customers are increasingly wary of unknown numbers, and now their phones screen calls before they even ring. Firms are having to rethink not just how they reach customers, but how they judge whether that outreach is working.”

Roundtable members point to several factors behind the declining RPC rate. For example, many customers suspect that unknown outbound calls are fraudulent and choose not to answer, a habit reinforced by years of scam awareness messaging. In addition, younger demographics are also notably averse to speaking on the phone preferring digital channels, such as chat, or to self-serve.

Most interestingly, members report that Apple’s call screening feature, introduced with iOS 26, is routing many of these calls straight to voicemail. For firms using an outbound interactive voice response (IVR) system, the call flow is failing when it meets the screening prompt, and the call is dropped altogether. The 12% of members using answer machine detection report facing the same issues.

Firms are responding in a number of ways. Those with outbound IVRs are working with their providers to fix the call flow issues. Some are sending an SMS at the start of the day to let customers know they will be calling at some point that day. Others are reducing the number of outbound numbers they dial from and asking customers to save the number in their contacts.

Firms are also making better use of their apps. Some now show customers with the app (through a banner or push notifications) when their bank is calling them, reassuring them that the call is genuine. Others are shifting towards channels such as push notifications and in-app banners.

Perhaps most notably, some firms are placing less weight on outbound RPC as a measure of effectiveness. They have found that a missed call or voicemail often prompts customers to act, whether by logging into their account, making a payment, or contacting the bank. A failed RPC does not necessarily represent an unsuccessful intervention.

“A missed call isn’t necessarily a wasted call,” says Toussaint. “Members are telling us that a voicemail alone is often enough to prompt a payment or a call back. Looking at RPC in isolation can understate the real value of outbound dialling.”

One firm saw this connection first-hand when a temporary technical issue prevented all outbound dialling and voicemails. Over the same period, the firm saw a corresponding decrease in inbound volume. With live polling at the roundtable showing that three-quarters of members leave a voicemail on every outbound dial attempt, the effect is likely to be felt widely.

Contact strategy is expected to remain a key topic at the upcoming Collections and Recoveries Roundtable meetings as firms test which approaches best restore customer engagement. The next Collections and Recoveries Roundtable meeting will take place in London on 26 and 27 November. If you or any of your colleagues are interested in attending as our guests, please contact us via roundtables@auriemma.group.