Hi All, [:)]
For those of us inside the industry there is a lot more that we know but can't say publicly at this time. Just keep your eye on the
http://myvesta.org.uk/articles/ section and watch for new industry information.
What I can say is that solicitors have reviewed information from the article and other public and private sources that are now talking and are thinking of putting together a class action lawsuit for consumers that were not properly advised to go into an IVA by CCCS and instead put into a DMP.
The primary issue appears to be that since the person was not presented with the IVA option that creditor terms have changed significantly and that it is now too late to get into an IVA where your debt could be reduced for less than it would be if you could get across the hurdle rates now. Those consumers would have now been financially harmed.
And for the record, while your personal experience with them may have been brilliant, I think what people are talking about is the overall picture. I have no doubt that there are many wonderful, caring and compassionate people at CCCS and I would love to meet them, give them a hug and take them to lunch. I think it appears from all discussion that the issues that might exist are the result of corporate policies and business plans and not the hearts and souls of front line staff.
I'll let you draw your own conclusions to the following public information but it is interesting that someone from the CCCS public relations department was so busy editing out information about them in Wikipedia. What were they trying to hide, if anything? Generally that is considered to be inappropriate. Read the entire discussion at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Consu ... ng_Service for more information and to make your own assessment.
As a former director of a U.S. Consumer Credit Counseling Service major office I do have experience and knowledge from inside that you might not and I'll just have to ask you to trust me that there is more here than you know. I've been to the closed door meetings and know what happens there.
It is a bit puzzling that the article from last Sunday is no longer on the This is Money site. Not sure what to make of that.
What I am surprised about is how vigorously Martin Lewis stands behind CCCS, which is fine if that's what he wants to do, but I wonder how much research his staff have done to try to get some good answers to some very valid questions that have been raised, here and elsewhere. Maybe if someone has a line to him you can ask him to look into these issues.
Steve
P.S. As far as what I'm working on now, I should publish a story in the next few days about sub-prime lenders targeting IVA clients for new small loans while in an IVA, and they say there is no need to tell the IVA Supervisor. I even have a recorded call to publish in the article as well. You've got to love the recording, especially when the lender representative tells the person to apply in someone else's name or how to get two small loans at the same time without telling anyone.
P.S.S. My goal is not to fight with CCCS or anyone, but to fight for and defend consumers and I hope you will understand that and look at all my efforts in that light. I am not a hater, but a lover of fairness, justice and people.
One Last Thing: If you get a chance you might find the discussions about banking ethics interesting. If anyone has a problem with me putting this link here, admins have my permission to edit it out. But if it is appropriate and you are interested look at The Ethical Banker blog at
http://ethicalbanker.org.
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Steve Rhode
President of Myvesta Foundation
Member Agencies
Myvesta US | Myvesta UK
Myvesta EU | Myvesta NL
Myvesta UK IVA Help:
http://myvesta.org.uk/programmes/myvesta_iva.html
Blog:
http://creditdebtlife.com
LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/steverhode
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/steverhode
