Like every business in the UK, the current COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the way we work at Finders International.
We want to reassure our clients and the public that we have implemented the necessary social distancing measures to ensure that the highest standards are maintained. Our offices in Edinburgh and Dublin are currently closed and the London office retains a skeleton staff so that workers can maintain the two metres and more distance.
For the most part, our staff are working from home where they have remote access to our management systems, case files, document sharing, telephone lines and email. We’ve also set up video conferencing so we can keep in touch with each other and our clients.
NEW Collection and signature services
We have an exclusive team of more than 40 representatives, who are mainly ex-police officers, around the UK and Ireland. During these unprecedented times, you may need assistance in a wide variety of situations, especially involving the elderly or terminally ill.
Therefore, we have decided to open our network, usually used exclusively for Finders business, to any firm such as those in the legal industry requiring personal pick up, drop off, signature or delivery of sensitive items or correspondence.
We can assure everyone that all such jobs are undertaken with full consent from those involved.
Our network can deliver/return any items door to door (including from home workers), obtain instructions or signatures, and pick up or deliver items, and search empty property, prepare inventories to tie in with Finders Property Sales and Services.
To maintain security, health and safety, each assignment is undertaken as a ‘one-off’, so there’s no chance of multiple collections and deliveries from various different locations in one job.
Management of the deceased
The clients we work with fit the Ministry of Justice classification of key workers; “those responsible for the management of the deceased”.
Our representatives are criminal record checked and trained in sensitivities including dementia awareness, and they use their own private vehicles door to door for all work. The service covers all the UK and Ireland, however remote, and is also GDPR and data protection compliant. If a female representative is preferred, this can be arranged too.
Our local representatives follow all the official guidance for the delivery of items in order to keep themselves, clients and beneficiaries safe.
Again, like many other businesses, we’ve needed to rethink how we work. For several years now, we have been running successful, free of charge Deputyship Development conferences for public sector employees and others to help them deal with the challenges the role involves. They are for those acting as deputies and thus dealing with vulnerable clients.
E-conferences
This week, we went ahead with one in e-conference form with talks on appointee bonds, investment issues and advice and tips on working during a pandemic and more.
The live events for the North-West, the Midlands and Wales have all been rescheduled for next year and our Private Client, Wills and Probate Solicitor event has been rescheduled for 20 October 2020 – you can find more information about them here. We still plan to run our National Development Day on 10th September 2020, providing we are able to follow the Government and the Department of Health and Social guidance on the matter. You can book a place at the event here.
Danny Curran, Finders International’s CEO and founder, said: “We continue to monitor the situation very closely and adhere to guidance issued by the Government, Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England providing any updates where necessary.”
If you have any queries, or if you would like to enquire about our new collections and signatory services, please do not hesitate to contact us on freephone 0800 085 8796 (UK only) or [email protected]