Councils can recover written-off debt with Opus by revisiting losses that were previously deemed unrecoverable. What is often viewed as a closed chapter is an opportunity to recover funds that were lost not due to liability, but due to a lack of time.
In many cases, council debts are written off because the recovery process can be complex. This is particularly common with damage to public infrastructure such as street furniture, signage, lighting, traffic assets, and other immobile property. Liability may be clear, but without the time or systems to pursue recovery, these losses are absorbed and recorded as unrecoverable.
Opus steps in at this point to bring structure and momentum back to the process. By reopening historic claims and reviewing the circumstances around each loss, Opus identifies where recovery is still viable. This includes examining liability, assessing available evidence, reviewing incident reports and police references, and checking repair records to build a clear and proportionate recovery case. What may once have felt too complex or too time consuming becomes manageable when handled by a team dedicated solely to this type of work.
Once a claim is identified as recoverable, Opus manages the entire process on the council’s behalf. From the first steps in the claims journey to handling correspondence and negotiation and working towards settlement. Councils are kept informed, but the operational burden is removed, allowing internal teams to focus on their core responsibilities while knowing recovery is being actively pursued.
Even older or lower-value losses can become worthwhile when handled at scale. Individually, these amounts may seem modest, but collectively they add up to meaningful financial recovery.
Recovering written-off debt is not about reopening old problems or assigning blame. It is about recognising that many losses were written off due to constraints rather than impossibility. By applying expertise and experience, Opus helps councils turn previously lost costs back into recoveries.
In short, Opus helps councils recover what was written off not by reopening old problems, but by applying expertise and persistence to your claim.
