In Focus Consumer Credit


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Function of technology Still, it was useful to see how this up-


to-date technology functioned as well as it did, although I suspect that, within a year, newer, faster, and even more expensive touch or voice gadgetry will have taken over, especially when communicating with a client who wants a quick, if not an immediate response to an urgent request for credit, with the lender also needing double- quick information on the client’s credit (or is it a ‘risk taking’?) score before deciding to grant a loan or not. One of the more interesting topics that


writers on credit comment on, is the close relationship between mental health and being in debt, with each of these factors having an adverse effect on the other, with, unfortunately, the ‘whole being greater than the sum of the parts’ insofar as the chances of a client’s recovery and return to financial solvency are concerned. However, when compared with many


other kinds of business, those working in the credit industry appear to be at the forefront, in that a person’s mental state should be taken into consideration before an application for credit – or the selling of a ‘product’ – is approved, and also to what extent an unpaid debt should be pursued.


In some instances, where there is little,


if any, chance, because of say, depressed mood and being unable to work, of a large loan being repaid, perhaps the debtor could be offered a short course of psychological treatment on a prompt and private basis, thereby improving the chances of a return to work, if only part-time, which could be of benefit to both parties.


Positive outcome The ‘risk-taking’ here would then focus on the chances of a ‘positive outcome’ instead of a negative one. From my experience in medico-legal practice, some insurance companies acting for defendants in personal injury cases are willing to pay for treatment to accident injury victims, which could then hasten recovery (from psychological as well as physical injury), along with a return to gainful employment. Or, to put it another way: it is better for


a debtor to return, as soon as possible, to a normal way of life and employment, and then be able to pay off an outstanding debt, rather than ‘settle into’ a chronic state of long-term invalidity when the likelihood of ever making even a partial repayment becomes less and less likely, an outcome, which is obviously of no benefit to the


From my reading of so- called expert opinion on the problems arising from personal debt (including all those in gainful employment), which show little sign of abating, either on an individual or national basis, I still wonder where it is all heading?


lender who will be left with yet another bad debt to write off.


Conclusion From my reading of so-called expert opinion on the problems arising from personal debt (including many suffered by those in gainful employment), which show little sign of abating, either on an individual or national basis, I still wonder where it is all heading? Will its continuation at current levels be


a good or not such a good thing? Will it continue to be exposed to events outside anyone’s control? Is there a day of reckoning approaching or, instead, are we in for a decade of opportunities for growth and increased standards of living? Who knows, and, if anyone does, there


will almost certainly be many other people with opposing views, although I suspect few, if any, will give airtight guarantees (with either a choice of cash or credit refund) that they are totally in the right, which is something to reflect upon when reading or listening to convincing-sounding media gurus on where it will all end. Still, what else should one expect when


the continuation of our now well embedded uncertainty is, almost certainly, the most certain of outcomes, if the not too distant past is anything to go by? But, given that there may be even more


questions arising from the ones already posed, it may, therefore, prove necessary to keep tuned to what will turn out to be a very long-term monetary soap, with much more in the way of episodes to come. CCR


26 www.CCRMagazine.com April 2018


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