The Analysis News & Opinions
Need for ‘root and branch’ review of advice delivery
Debt buying members of the Credit Services Association (CSA) are on target
to
contribute at least £25.5m in voluntary ‘Fair Share’ payments in 2018 to help fund free- to-customer debt advisers. This is an increase on the 2017 total of
£23m which at the time represented 46% of the £50m the Money Advice Service (MAS) reports as contributed by the financial- services sector in its entirety to StepChange Debt Charity, PayPlan, and Christians Against Poverty. The contribution, which has risen from
around £15m in 2016, an increase of 70%, has led some senior debt industry executives to question both the existing funding model and whether the debt-advice sector itself should be re-organised. “The industry is paying more than its fair
share of ‘Fair Share’, and not shirking its responsibilities,” said John Ricketts, president of the CSA. “In fact, our members voluntary Fair Share contributions, when added to the recent substantial increase in the Financial Conduct Authority levy on debt buyers to directly fund the MAS, means that debt buyers are being asked to contribute a total of £30m to help fund debt advice in the UK. “Where we should really be looking is
at the effectiveness and efficiency of a fragmented debt-advice sector, who all fundamentally deliver the same thing. “There certainly needs to be an ongoing
review of how all free-to-use debt advice is funded in the future – it needs to be fair and proportionate funding from all sectors that benefit including utilities, local authorities, and central government. “But there also needs to be a root-
and-branch review of how debt advice is delivered and whether consolidating and therefore simplifying those activities will deliver a better, more cost-effective, and more sustainable service to the consumer. “We remain committed to working with
the regulator, the MAS and the debt-advice sector in finding a fair, workable, and sustainable long-term funding solution.”
December 2018
Court closes fraudulent interior-design firm
An interior-design company has been wound up by the courts after it was found to have been used as a vehicle to fraudulently secure credit. Bluethorne Trading Limited was wound
up at the High Court, with the Official Receiver appointed as liquidator. The firm claimed to be an interior-design business, operating from an office in Medway, Kent. But the Insolvency Service was made
aware of complaints about Bluethorne Trading and, following an investigation, the High Court ordered the company be put into provisional liquidation following a petition presented by the secretary of state. It was found the company relied on false
and inflated accounts to give the impression it was a profitable in order to apply for credit for a variety of products, some not typically associated with their stated business.
www.CCRMagazine.com Investigators found no evidence that the
company ever carried out any legitimate business to support the accounts filed with the Registrar of Companies and Bluethorne Trading failed to co-operate with enquiries, providing further evidence that they could not back-up their activities. In making his ruling, Judge Jones found
that the company’s 2017 and 2018 accounts were false and applications made on the back of those accounts were also fraudulent. Judge Jones added that the conduct of the
firm and its officers was wrong and “such conduct cannot be allowed to continue”. Irshard Mohammed, case manager for the
Insolvency Service, said: “The company was used as a vehicle for the fraudulent application for credit, relying on the false accounts filed to make the company appear a good credit risk.”
9
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52