Gone-away accounts: a practical UK business guide

1. Diagnose: has the customer really gone away?

Before anything else, separate genuine gone-away accounts from accounts that are simply unpaid. Work through these questions in order for each account:

1. Is there evidence the address has failed? Returned post marked “gone away” or “addressee unknown”, a new occupier, or a property known to be re-let or sold. A single unanswered letter is not evidence.
2. Have you checked what you already hold? Recent emails, phone numbers, change-of-address notes, payment records and any correspondence on file. The answer is often already in your own system.
3. Is the balance correct and owed by this person? Confirm the amount and that the individual is actually liable — not a relative, guarantor or someone at the same address — before you look for them.
4. Is an address the missing piece? If you would act differently once you had a current address, tracing may help. If not, it will not.

2. When tracing will not help

An address trace answers one question: where might this person live now? It does not resolve other problems, and using it as a substitute can make matters worse. Do not trace, or pause first, where:

• The customer disputes the amount or the service. Resolve the dispute; an address does not.
• The issue is affordability. The person may be reachable but unable to pay — handle that through your own policies.
• There are signs of vulnerability, such as illness, bereavement or financial difficulty. Follow your vulnerability process before taking any further step.
• You still have a working contact route and the person is responding.
• You have only one or a handful of cases. Locate needs at least 10 genuine cases in each CSV upload and does not sell single traces.

3. Eligibility checklist before you trace

Run each account through this short checklist. It is on the page so it can be printed or copied into your own procedure; it does not ask for or store any personal data.

4. Identity and data minimisation

Good tracing depends on accurate identity details, not more of them. Send only what helps identify the right person — typically their name, last known address and, where you hold it, date of birth. Do not include account notes, payment history, reasons for non-payment, health information or details of other people at the address. Fewer, accurate fields beat many uncertain ones.

Source: ICO — A guide to the data protection principles

5. Preparing a batch of 10 or more

Locate works in batches. Once you have bought Locate Reports and signed in, your account provides the Locate CSV template next to the upload button. Use that template exactly as it is — do not build your own layout.

1. Export the gone-away accounts that passed the checklist from your ledger.
2. Remove duplicates and anyone who has since been in contact.
3. Download the template from your account and paste in one person per row.
4. Check spelling of names and the last known address against your source records.
5. Confirm the file has at least 10 people and leaves either no credits or at least 10 unused.
6. Confirm lawful, proper use when prompted, then upload.

You do not have to use all your credits at once. You can split them across several uploads, as long as each has at least 10 people.

6. Worked examples: 30, 50 and 100 accounts

These use the current one-off price for the quantity shown, excluding VAT. Prices are taken from the same pricing rules as checkout, so they stay in step with the site.

A business with 30 gone-away accounts could send all 30 in one file, or two files of 15. With 50, it might send 40 now and hold back 10 for accounts still being checked. With 100, a finance team might send them in several batches as each part of the ledger is reviewed. For regular volumes, see the monthly plans on the pricing table.

7. Reading match confidence

Each Locate Report shows how strongly the result matches the person you submitted. Treat it as a guide to how much checking is needed, never as confirmation:

• Higher confidence: the details line up well. Still verify with a light-touch, neutral step before relying on it.
• Lower confidence: treat as a lead only. Compare against your own records before using it.
• Conflicting information: stop, recheck the identity details you submitted, and do not act on the address until the conflict is resolved.

See how this is presented in the demo Locate Report.

8. A verified address is not the same as valid service

A traced address tells you where the person may now live. It does not prove residence, liability or ability to pay, and it does not on its own make an address suitable for serving legal documents. Those questions depend on the rules for your matter and need your own advice.

9. After an inconclusive result

• Recheck the identity details you sent: spelling, previous names and the last known address.
• Look again at your own records for any later contact route.
• Record the outcome and the date, so you do not repeat the same trace without new information.
• Decide, in line with your own policy, whether to hold, write off or take advice on the account.

What Locate does and does not do

RecoverAble Locate is a business-to-business tracing service. It returns a Locate Report explaining the result and suggested next step. It does not contact the people traced, collect debts or give legal advice. For a wider overview, read the debtor tracing guide, or the guide to tracing lawfully in the UK.

Source: ICO — How do we apply legitimate interests in practice?

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