Katie Tomasello

Repaying after repossession

Helping customers understand and resolve what they still owe

When a repossessed car sells for less than the loan, the customer still owes the difference. Most didn't know, or what it meant for their credit. I designed connected emails, self-service, and a partner agent tool that explained the balance and made choosing a plan easy. In three months, customers opened millions of dollars in repayment plans.

Role
Design lead
Year
2025
Scope
Research, email, self-service, A/B testing
Platform
Pega, email
A simplified recreation of the self-service flow.

Impact

Millions

in repayment plans opened in 3 months

2×

plan sign-ups after the three-option test

Above avg

email open rates for the industry

Challenge

After repossession, most customers didn't know they still owed a balance or that it could hurt their credit. They got generic past-due emails and calls from a collections partner they'd never heard of. The few who started paying often fell off.

Collaboration

I led design across email, self-service, and the partner agent tool. I worked with product and compliance on every message, analytics on testing, and engineering on what Pega could support.

Designing for two sides of one balance

The experience had to make sense to customers and give partner agents the full picture.

1

Customers

Don't know they still owe anything, and don't trust an unfamiliar name asking for money.

2

Partner agents

Can't see what the company's own agents already did, so customers get passed back and forth.

Research

There was little in place to study, so I pulled from four sources.

Lessons from charge-offs

Many gaps I'd just mapped in the charge-off process applied here too.

Competitors

The best experiences explain first, offer a few clear choices, and never require a call.

Behavioral science

Too many choices freeze people. A clear default helps them decide.

Hundreds of calls

Patterns in how people talk about debt became archetypes for tone.

Understanding the old journey

Following one customer after repossession showed where people got lost.

  1. 1. Repossession
    • Car is sold at auction
    • Sale price is less than the loan
  2. 2. Balance left
    • Customer assumes the loan is over
    • No clear explanation of what's owed
  3. 3. Unfamiliar calls
    • A partner they've never heard of calls
    • Many don't trust it
  4. 4. Falling off
    • A few start paying
    • Many stop, unsure what's next
Confusing and easy to ignoreCustomers didn't understand the balance, so pressure only pushed them away.
Key insight

People avoided the balance because it didn't make sense. Clear explanations would work better than pressure.

Design process

I started with a simple wireflow so everyone used the same words for each step, then ran lo-fi wireframes through three rounds of feedback. When leadership got excited about an AI prototyping tool, I brought its best ideas into what Pega could build.

Design directions

I explored three ways to show customers their options and got feedback on each from product, analytics, and design.

1. All on one page
Lo-fi direction one: payment options, date, and bank account on a single screen. Copy blurred.
Positive feedback
  • Fewest screens, quick to finish
  • Familiar checkout pattern
Negative feedback
  • Too much on one screen for mobile
  • Amounts read like a bill, with little room to explain each option
2. One offer at a time · Chosen
Lo-fi direction two: a single discounted offer on its own screen, with savings shown clearly. Copy blurred.
Positive feedback
  • One decision per screen keeps focus
  • Room to explain each option in plain language
  • Clear visual hierarchy on small screens
Negative feedback
  • More taps before reaching a plan
3. Every option at once
Lo-fi direction three: every payment option listed together on one screen. Copy blurred.
Positive feedback
  • Easy to compare every option
  • Short, predictable flow
Negative feedback
  • Blocks of text compete for attention
  • No clear starting point for the eye

Copy blurred for privacy.

From sketch to final design

Ultra low-fidelity sketch of a mobile screen, with lines standing in for text and Cancel and Next buttons. Lo-fi wireframe of the discounted offer screen, with the supporting copy blurred. Final discounted offer screen showing the balance, reduced offer, and discount, with the supporting copy blurred. Sketch Wireframe Final design
Example data. Copy blurred for privacy.

Partner agent tool

Wireframe of the partner agent tool: a form to create a payment plan above an account summary. Final partner agent tool in Pega: create a payment plan by choosing a plan type, above the shared account view. Wireframe Final design
Built on the same guided pattern as the charge-off tool. Customer and account details blurred for privacy.

Key features

Three connected pieces, from the first email to a plan.

Email Self-service Partner agent tool

What each piece does

1

Personalized emails

Tell customers what's left on their account after repossession and the ways they can resolve it.

2

Self-service site

Shows the balance, the options to resolve it, and what each means for their credit, then lets them pay.

3

Partner agent tool

Gives partner agents the same view of the account, so customers who call get consistent answers.

Email version with a comparison table of three options; copy hidden. Email version led by a photo of friends at sunset, with option cards; copy hidden.
Email versions, tested against each other. Copy blurred for privacy.

Illustrations, from sketch to screen

I made custom illustrations for the success screens, built around one idea: a bridge out of hardship.

Pencil sketch labeled Catch all: a bridge over dark water toward a rising sun, captioned crossing a bridge over dark waters of debt to a brighter future. Pencil sketch labeled Recurring: a person relaxing in a small plane flying over the bridge scene, captioned on autopilot. Final illustration: a person relaxing in a blue plane flying over a bridge and the sea toward a yellow sun.
A bridge over dark water, from hardship to a brighter future. Recurring plans show someone flying over it on autopilot.
Three pencil sketches for a recurring payment screen: a paper airplane with a payment check, a person crossing a bridge as payments check off, and a calendar with days checked.
Exploring ideas before committing. Early concepts for the recurring payment screen: a paper airplane, a walk across the bridge, and a calendar filling up.
Final illustration: a person walking toward a bright open door.
A first step through an open door, for customers who just set up their plan.

Key outcomes

Customers acted
Email open rates beat the industry average, and customers opened millions in plans.
Easier decisions
Plan sign-ups doubled after the options redesign.
One shared view
Partner agents could see each account's history and set up plans in one place.
A brand shift
The photography style from the emails was adopted more widely across the brand.

Results after launch

We launched an MVP, watched it live as a team, and shipped a stronger version within days. I set up FullStory event tracking to see which plan options customers chose and where they dropped off, which is how we decided which options would be most effective to show customers.

Millions

In repayment plans opened in the first 3 months

2× sign-ups

After the three-option redesign

Reflection

Clarity beat pressure. Clear explanations, trust, and an easy decision moved customers more than repeated calls. The biggest gain came from showing fewer options.

More of my work

  1. 1

    Charge-off payment plans

    Simplifying payment plans for agents and customers

    Read →
  2. 2

    Research agent & tool for content

    Turning content guesswork into tested theories

    Read →
  3. 3

    AI customer service assistant

    Giving a collections chatbot a voice customers trust

    Read →
  4. 4

    Design system & research templates

    Giving the team shared building blocks instead of blank pages

    Read →
  5. 5

    All work

    Every project, plus additional work and experiments

    See all →
Click the image to zoom