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Client Bulletin – January 15, 2021

Martin Luther King Day Holiday

In observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday, Cenlar’s corporate offices will be closed on Monday, January 18, 2021. Any files received on Monday, January 18th, will be processed the night of Tuesday, January 19th, and output will be available the morning of Wednesday, January 20th.

While our corporate offices will be closed, our Customer Service and Default Call Centers will be open with reduced staffing to serve borrowers who require assistance. If you have any questions, please contact your Client Manager. And, be sure to visit cenaccess.com for more Cenlar News and Advisories.

1098 Borrower Tax Information Available This Month

Cenlar is currently notifying borrowers via email, IVR and CenNet messaging regarding availability of 1098 documents. Samples of 1098 messaging for each of these channels follows below. Borrowers receiving paper statements will be mailed 1098’s by January 31, 2021.

Email: Your 1098 is now available online There are two different versions of the email: one version to borrowers currently on a COVID-19 forbearance plan; the second version to all other borrowers.

IVR Messaging
January 11 – April 15: Your 1098 Mortgage Interest Statement is now available online. All year-end statements will be prepared, printed and mailed prior to January 31, 2021. If you would like to hear the responses to frequently-asked-questions concerning Year-End Information and how to obtain your statement online, press 1.

CenNet: 1098 Campaign Web Messaging
January 11 – April 15: Your 1098 Tax Form is now available online. Click here to download your 1098 Tax Form now. If you receive paper statements, a copy will be mailed to you by January 31, 2021. Borrower statements are also available on Global Teller. If you have any questions, please reach out to your Client Manager.

 New Cenlar Telephony System to Deliver a Better Borrower Experience
The contact center industry has gone through major shifts in recent years, most of which were designed to advance customer interactions. Yet, despite these improvements, legacy contact center technology constrained the ability of on-premises contact centers to stay abreast of the latest improvements in communications technology. Starting this month, Cenlar will begin transitioning its contact centers to a unified, cloud-based operating platform. This transition, which will go beyond a traditional telephony systems upgrade, will enable borrowers to connect with us through multiple voice-related interactions. Sophisticated call routing, for example, will route calls to the right agent at the right time. Similarly, more complex calls will be routed to specialized agents able to address detailed issues in a timely and efficient manner. This will reduce call transfers as well as the need for borrowers to make repeat calls to the contact center.  Connecting with Borrowers at Different Parts of the Journey Our Virtual Assistant is an increasingly popular channel to borrowers. On a regular basis, we receive inquiries from borrowers seeking basic information about their accounts, such as when a payment is due. Our Virtual Assistant is a great alternative to self-serve non-complex inquiries. Through this new platform, borrowers will have more options on how they want to communicate with us. This platform will include multiple enhancements, such as the ability for borrowers to hold their place in line or schedule a call back through the IVR during high call volumes. Going forward, we will continue to meet borrowers on their terms and how they want to reach us. If borrowers choose to self-serve, they can connect with us through our digital points of contact. Future enhancements will include the ability to schedule a callback, and make an appointment through our mobile app, Cenlar MobileSM and CenNet, the borrower web site. The Next Step It’s all about the borrowers’ choices, the channels they select and their preferred interaction. Phase one of the contact center transformation begins this month. By first quarter, customer interaction will be up and running on the new platform. The default contact center is expected to move to the new platform by Q2, with company-wide telephony systems to follow. More details about the contact center transformation to follow throughout the year.

Coming Soon! Centralized Cenlar Case Management System (CCM)

Providing fast and efficient support is a top priority at Cenlar. That is why we will be introducing a new Cenlar Case Management (CCM) system in the second quarter of 2021. CCM will provide an automated solution that will enable you to enter and track all of your requests in one consolidated system. Through CCM, you will have a single entry point for submitting requests. You will also be able to track the status of your request at any time.

Key Benefits

  • Centralized process to escalate issues and obtain status
  • Real-time view of activity on requests
    • Improved pipeline management
    • Greater achievement of targeted response times
    • Ease of prioritization and escalation of client requests
    • Streamlined problem resolution, both internally and externally
  • Improved resolution and reporting of loan-level issues
  • Improved client response
    • Enhanced accountability based on management reporting that does not existing in current email environment
    • Better management of resources and staffing levels

Thank you for your continued partnership. Specific timelines, rollout, and training activities will be provided by your Client Manager.   

 Updated CenNet Guide
An updated guide for our borrower website, CenNet, is now available on CenAccess. Should a borrower contact you directly about the website, the guide will help you to better understand the site content and functionality. Some of the useful guide features include annotated screen-shots of the borrower website screens and “how-to” instructions for basic functions such as making a payment. The guide may be found under Training & Reference > User Manuals.  We’ll update CenNet on a quarterly basis so be on the lookout for new guide information in Q2.