In Focus Collections
Facing up to financial control
Technology is a bonus, but also a potential risk to both to the financial safety of individuals and to the credit and collections industry
Judy Terry Independent public relations professional
judyterry@btinternet.com
Many of us face a conundrum when it comes to technology: smart meters can reduce ability to change energy supplier, yet customers face higher costs if we do not, social-media posts can increase vulnerability to abuse, stalking, or burglary, and broadband can be intermittent, especially in rural areas, frustrating the self-employed.
Unaware Technology may mean that the collections industry can face challenges in pursuing some debts, when the named debtor was unaware that their finances were at risk, and the lender wants their money back. Whilst computer games can be responsible
for people getting into unintentional debt, paying for upgrades as they play, or gamble, online, a number of recent reports have also highlighted the way children are accessing their parents’ credit cards to make payments whilst playing certain games, or to acquire expensive equipment, without permission. A recent radio investigation reported that a
teenager had accrued £3,000 of debt on his father’s credit card, which he is struggling to repay.
Conned People are being conned out of thousands of pounds through fraudulent telephone calls. One ruse involves advising victims that
their internet is compromised and demanding that they immediately provide access to their computers to remove the threat. Fortunately, some arrests have been made
No-one has focused on the financial controls which are often imposed in these situations. Victims forced to surrender their own income, with salaries paid into a nominal joint bank account, controlled online by the partner, who then transfers monies into his own account
34
in connection with these frauds, but they will not be the only people involved, and victims will not get their money back. Others have lost significant sums buying
shares that have been recommended through firms subsequently discovered to provide inadequate investment management. Under these circumstances, it can take
weeks, or even months, to identify the impact of such losses on everyday financial commitments, potentially getting someone into unintentional debt. And then we have ‘coercive control’, which hit the headlines repeatedly in recent
www.CCRMagazine.com
months. Usually – but not always – men controlling their female partners by preventing them from leading normal lives, interacting with friends and family; Canterbury’s Labour MP, who had suffered the abuse for years, made a passionate speech about the impact in Parliament. The control is insidious, progressive, belittling, destructive – and sometimes violent.
Financial controls However, no-one has focused on the financial controls which are often imposed in these situations. Victims forced to surrender their own
income, with salaries paid into a nominal joint bank account, controlled online by the partner, who then transfers monies into his own account. Victims may be allowed debit cards for
limited purchases, such as a weekly food shop, eating into overdraft facilities without
December 2019
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