NEWS CCR-PS
DEBTORS NEED ACCESS TO ACCURATE INFORMATION
The rise of internet forums advising, or frequently misadvising, debtors on how to deal with debts, must be tackled to ensure they reach the best outcome for their situation By Stephen Kiely
LEGAL and enforcement professionals must work to ensure that debtors have access to accurate information about the late-stage collections and enforcement process, and do not rely on online forums, according to a group of senior industry professionals. Speaking at a debate, run by CCR-PS
sister publication CCR, in association with Equita, part of Capita Debt and Legal Services, Wendy Miles, litigation executive at Barlow Robbins, said: “One of the major changes in the past few years has been the growth of forums and the kind of information that debtors are getting from them and are coming back to us with. This is growing month on month as they try and find ways to either get out of paying a debt or to delay paying it.” Alan Smith, operations director, high
court enforcement at Equita, agreed: “It is very prevalent in our world that we face a lot of people who have gone onto an internet forum and have been advised, incorrectly, of what to do to avoid enforcement action. Good advice is
Paula Swain, finance litigation and
consumer credit partner at Lester Aldridge, said: “I think that there can be downsides. Too much information can be a dangerous thing and it is getting
Good advice is a wonderful thing, but bad advice is very dangerous: we need more good advice as opposed to the growth of forums
a wonderful thing, but bad advice is very dangerous, so we need more good advice as opposed to the growth of these forums.” Frances Coulson, senior partner, head
of insolvency and litigation at Moon Beever Solicitors, said: “It also assists people in avoiding paying their debts, which is not necessarily better for them in the long run. Even as collectors, you find that, whatever approach you take, it will be blogged around in five minutes along with advice on how to react to it, or some of these extraordinary American documents that you see coming.”
June 2015
more noisy out there, in terms of what consumers are hearing and who they are hearing it from. Are they hearing it from government agencies or from free advice organisations, or are they hearing from the wrong kinds of sources and so misunderstanding it entirely?” Gareth Raisbeck, associate solicitor
and head of legal procedure and advocacy for the litigation sector at Brethertons, added: “I have seen one forum where advice was given on an ‘I am not an expert’ basis. When it had all gone wrong, the debtor came back for more help and everybody went quiet. So not
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only can it put somebody in a very difficult position, but then it leaves them ‘in the lurch’ and they do not know where to go next.” Meanwhile, Robert Thompson, partner
at Brachers, added: “I think we all agree with the benefits of signposting people to good advice, but there is too much thinking that, once you have done that, the problem is solved, but, of course, they then have to actually go and get that advice and then find a solution that works for everyone. “I think that there needs to be a
recognition that there is an obligation on the customer, as well, to find solutions. “There is also the aspect of the
‘freeman of the land’ style letters that you receive and it is a shame that more cannot be done to clamp down on that. Because it is bad news both for creditors and for customers – people are receiving the wrong advice and being led up the garden path in a way that will, ultimately, work to their detriment.”
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