Staff desert crisis-hit Provident Financial

STRUGGLING doorstep lender Provident Financial has lost thousands of staff to rivals, a competitor claimed yesterday.

Around 600 alone quit the Provvy for fellow industry player Morses Club, according to its chief executive Paul Smith.

In February, the Provvy launched a shake-up which saw it axe 4,500 freelance debt collectors with plans to replace them with 2,500 permanent staff. But few workers wanted to go fulltime, leaving the company with a severe shortage of staff to collect loans.

Smith said the chaos had delivered a huge boost to Morses, which revealed profits in the half-year to August 26 of £6.7m, up 46pc on the same period in 2016. The growth was driven by 400 debt collectors from Provvy who brought clients in their neighbourhood with them; 117 who joined the firm and filled vacancies there; and 55 managers, Smith added.

Provident Financial declined to comment.