Credit Management July and August 2020

OPINION
LADIES FIRST
A talk at a Ladies Club proved an eye
opener for our correspondent.
AUTHOR – Derek Scott FCICM
IN a previous article I mentioned my
first job in credit management as an
Assistant Arrears Supervisor. Two
recent unrelated events took me back
to that time. The first was a telephone
conversation with a speaker’s secretary
of a Ladies group for a booking of my talk on
credit and debt entitled ‘Never Pay Later’. The
second was a film from 1960 called ‘Light up
the Sky’.
‘Light up the sky’ tells the story of a searchlight
battery during the Second World War. It
starred Ian Carmichael, who some of the older
generations in the CICM may recall, as well
as a host of other film actors of the 1950/60s,
including the comedian Benny Hill.
By the time the film was released, I had
become the Arrears Supervisor after the sudden
departure of my boss. I was now in sole charge of
a team of 12. It was a soft start to be a number one
in credit management as despite being of many
different ages, the team all got on really well, and
probably knew more about the requirements of
the job than I did at that stage.
ROCK ON TOMMY
Another star of the film was the rock and roll
pop idol, Tommy Steele. Some of my team were
fans and asked me to write to the studio to see if
we could visit the set to meet him and the other
cast members. The film was being made at the
famous TV studios in Twickenham, only a few
minutes away. The Public Relations Manager
apparently thought it was a good idea to generate
some good publicity.
A few days later I received a call from the PR
Manager who explained that due to the shooting
schedule a visit was not possible, but she would
send autographed pictures etc. She then asked
me what my job was, and when I told her there
was a moment of silence, and then in a tone I
would soon learn that went with the public
image of debt collectors, she said: ‘So you’re one
of those people!’. Over the years I have constantly
come across this view of our profession and I can
think of many other examples. One in particular
that sticks in my mind, was when I had to provide
my details to someone at the local council. When
we reached the area of occupation I said, ‘credit
manager’, to which she responded with ‘that’s
not a very nice job, I bet you’re not very popular!’.
So, back to my conversation a few weeks
ago with the Speaker’s Secretary. She had been
told by the President to book me but was not
happy to comply. She was under the impression
that I would be talking about debt and didn’t
understand the difference between debt and
credit management. I shared the title of my
talk – Never Pay Later – but I could tell she was
still not convinced. After a further discussion
she decided that in order to encourage more
members to attend I would need to change the
title to ‘Would you Credit it?’.
NEGATIVE VIEW
My point is that even after more than 60 years, it
appears the public view of our profession is still
extremely negative, like we are the type of people
who throw old ladies out in the snow if they owe
money. Regretfully there are those who seem
to enjoy this reputation as they see themselves
as a cross between Atilla the Hun and Vlad the
Impaler.
I had hoped before I shuffled off this mortal
coil, we would be recognised for the key role we
play not just in business, but also in maintaining
the economy of the UK and every person’s life!
Even as I write this, in one tabloid there is a
piece about debt collectors chasing people who
do not owe any money or are even in credit. It is
in part headed ‘Receive Debt Threats!’.
We have been compared to ‘wheel clampers’.
There was the fiasco of the TV license fee where
people without televisions were harassed every
month for up to a year with collection letters
which must have been designed by someone
from the Dark Ages. There are still so many
amateurs working in our profession; look at the
debt burdens of even major companies who have
failed or are in serious financial difficulties,
and perhaps we only have ourselves to blame!
The television lends a hand with its undercover
investigations into debt collectors where the
training of the staff has to be seen to be believed.
The institute has, to its credit, raised our
profile so the importance of our profession is
accepted by the government and most major
players in the world of business. However, we
cannot expect to reach the same position with
the general public. We can only do that if we
formulate a mission statement to fight what
appears to be a campaign by the media, led by
the tabloid press, to only highlight negative news
about us.
To finish on the right note I did my talk at the
Ladies’ club and received one of the best notes of
thanks I have ever had. The president told me at
lunch she had never known her group to enjoy a
talk more on such an unusual subject and found
it interesting and humorous. Even the Speaker’s
secretary it appears was won over; she asked if I
was available for any other talks!
Derek Scott FCICM is a freelance writer.
‘Light up the sky’
tells the story of a
searchlight battery
during the Second
World War. It starred
Ian Carmichael, who
some of the older
generations in the
CICM may recall, as
well as a host of other
film actors of the
1950/60s, including the
comedian Benny Hill.
Advancing the credit profession / www.cicm.com / July & August 2020 / PAGE 47