A DEBT collection agency said yesterday it had seen a four-fold increase in responses from debtors after using text messages to contact them.
Agilisys Contact Services said it had substituted stern letters and curt phone calls to people who had fallen behind on repayments with friendly text messages asking them to call and discuss an issue with their account.
Within two hours of texting 1,000 people, 40% of them had responded to the message and contacted the group.
It said this compared with a 9% success rate from spending two hours telephoning people, or a 35% success rate if the whole day was spent making face-to-face calls.
It added that only around 10% of consumers responded to letters sent out chasing arrears within two weeks.
Agilisys said it thought texting people was more effective because it was less intimidating than other means of contacting people.
It added that the new approach had also reduced the cost of debt recovery by between 15% and 20%.
Mike McGuckin, managing director of Agilisys Contact Services, said: "Times have changed. The days when people agonised over the management of their finances and planned ahead are over.
"Today's consumers are much more focused on living for today and as a result tend to put their finances at the bottom of their priorities, or in the case of financial phobes ignore them all together.
"Texts are less threatening and more effective because they put individuals back in control of their finances, without being put on the spot or made to feel embarrassed."
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