There has been a lot of focus on debt management program providers over the last year or so, with some reports of bad practices being reported in various media sources such as the newspapers, BBC news and TV programs such as rip-off Britain. As a result of the OFTs investigation of the debt management uk industry, many media outlets have jumped at the chance to fill their newspapers or TV programs with reports detailing the OFTs findings, which in many cases has not painted a rosy picture for many of the firms involved.
However, it would be interesting to discover just how much influence the Creditors themselves have had in regards to the OFT investigation and the media reporting. The creditors will be jumping for joy that the debt solutions companies are receiving bad press, so will they be using their considerable weight to assist the media coverage and help uncover further bad practice?
If so, there can be no criticism of this in itself. Uncovering and stamping out bad practice is beneficial for all concerned in the industry from businesses to creditors and, most importantly, to the consumers themselves. But, creditors taking the high ground when it comes to treating customers fairly is surely an irony in itself! Does anybody remember the Bank Charges scandal of a few years ago? What about the Bankers bonuses scandal? And lets not forget the latest scandal currently happening at this very moment in time the PPI mis-selling scandal!
One of the criticisms that is regularly raised in regards to the way debt management firms go about their business is cold calling clients. Yet, in a recent report by the Daily Mail, its clear that the Banks are quite happy to make annoying telephone calls to their clients, and no regulatory body is complaining about that or threatening to revoke licenses. The Mail reported that Banks such as Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley have been credit searching their own clients to identify those currently struggling to meet their monthly commitments, and calling them to ensure they pay their debt before all the ones owed to other banks!
(The report can be found here) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2031934/Now-banks-ring-cash-strapped-home-owners-warn-Cut-spending--risk-losing-home.html
One of the interesting points that that article raises is just how serious the UK debt problem is at the moment. If Banks feel that they need to resort to cold calling clients because they are worried about their likelihood of defaulting, then the situation must be quite dire. However, judging by the reaction of many of the readers, taking this approach is not proving popular with many of the customers being canvassed by the Banks.
There is a long way to go for
debt management program providers to prove that they are trustworthy companies providing valuable services for clients. However, the Banks are also far from perfect and people should keep that in mind that the next time there is a witch-hunt against debt management uk companies by the press. It appears that there is room for improvement in both industries when it comes to truly treating customers fairly.
