Debtfree Magazine June 2017

Be careful what you wish for…they say the
sentiment of being ‘careful what you wish
for because you may just get it’ is attributed
to Aesop from around 550CE. Regardless of
where the saying comes from, it is often
true of so many things in life. We think we
are desperate for something (and often we
are) and then we get it and yet we feel a bit
cheated and unsatisfied.
People in Britain said they wanted to leave
the EU (not realising it came with a huge
bill for doing so). Year after year, around
the world people, go to the polls to put
politicians into power they later complain
about. It is a very human thing to do. People
in the Cape were desperate for rain (they
still are) and then along comes a storm to
thunder and pour down with real ‘gusto’.
People’s homes were flooded and roofs
blown off, trees and walls fell over in the
wind. Scary stuff really but it did bring the
rain wished for.
Many consumers who enter debt review are
sick of being chased by collections agents
over unpaid debts. They wish they could
sort out their situation and not have to
deal with that situation ever again. While in
debt review, credit providers can not grant
you credit until your review is complete. It
is then strange when the same consumers,
a few months later, start to long for credit
use again while still under debt review.
While still paying off the debt they already
have. They start to dream of getting credit
again so that they can buy new things: a car
or a house or maybe just a short term loan
to cover bills they have run up. They forget
they had problems paying for the things
they already have and don’t qualify for new
credit since they are over-indebted. They
wished they had no more credit problems
until they were in debt review and suddenly
they want to use credit again. It is like the
cravings for sugar dieters seem to get after
only a day or two of their diet.
‘It is like the cravings for sugar
dieters seem to get after only a
day or two of their diet’
Not too long ago, a credit provider
association asked the NCR and DTI to
review fees their members could charge.
Their wish was granted and the fees they
could charge for unsecured credit were
slashed (they later took it to court to have
that changed back). Payment Distribution
Agencies wished to be part of the NCA and
their wish was granted, along with slashed
fee rates they could charge.