Debtfree Magazine July 2018

Have you ever given a homeless
person part of your lunch out of
concern that they are hungry,
only to be horrified when they
reject it or worse, throw it away
when they pass the next rubbish
bin? It can be a real kick in the
gut and makes you more than a
little angry and disappointed in
people in general. You can’t help
but think the person ungrateful
and bemoan the loss of a few more
bites of your cheese and tomato
sandwich. Sometimes this is how
Debt Counsellors feel about their
own clients.
Debt review can help consumers
deal with their debt in a dignified
way and helps credit providers get
their money back in a reasonable
time frame. It is a great process
that works well and can help over
indebted consumers get back on
their feet.
The service is so good that it is very
troubling to those in the industry
when we see the high number of
people who start the process but
never finish it. We understand that
many consumers who enter debt
review might do so without thinking
things through very well and may
do so, somewhat, on impulse. This
means that later another impulse
may make them want to ruin their
debt review and financial future
by abandoning the process before
it is done. We get that but... it is
frustrating to credit providers and
Debt Counsellors alike. We would
like to see people get the help they
need and pay off their overwhelming
debt. We want to see people use the
process to start a better future for
themselves and their families.
Stats show that as many as 20%
of the clients drop out within the
first 60 days. That’s a lot of work
for no money and it means that
20% of these clients are stuck with
a debt review status at the credit
bureaus and are thus unable to go
get more credit (which they wouldn’t
qualify for anyway). These drop out
consumers then cause a lot of ruckus
and extra work for themselves,
credit providers, the NCR and Debt
Counsellors. It is a real strain on the
industry.