size5 wrote:
Forgiven, a sense of humour, as well as perspective, is a necessary pre-requisite in our line of work.
It is actually a fair question. I would say, and this is only my own anecdotal evidence, that half of them don't need help at all but are worried and are ringing up to see what options they have should professional help become necessary. The rest would be taken up by a combination of other solutions, whether they be BR, which I advise all but the most complicated cases to do themselves to avoid any unnecessary expense, DRO, which I direct to CAB or CCCS. Remortgage and secured loans are options that some have, I direct those to seek out their own independent advice and similarly for those that may benefit from an unsecured loan, and some who would fall below the threshold of affordability that we work with but for whom DRO or BR would be unsuitable. I normally direct those towards the token payment scheme with CCCS. I would say that I direct at least 2.5 to 3 times the number of enquiries that I get to CCCS or CAB than I do offer help directly from here.
Regards.
Hi there Mike
Its a well thought out and very good response.
We are little surprised to be honest - our debt advice boss has had to go out into the car park for some fresh air after reading this and maybe a cigarette (and he doesnt smoke)
It was tongue in cheek so fair enough (we are quite sure you know what we mean so we will not mention our waiting times etc) [:)]
As far as the O/P is concerned it sounds like you have had a less than perfect adviser but as others have mentioned not all are the same.
MelanieGiles wrote:
Mike's statistics are very similar to our own so I am not suprised by that. I often refer clients we cannot help to the CAB, or to debt management companies, and a few of them really only need to restructure their budgets or make some lifestyle changes to avoid formal insolvency proceedings altogether.
This may sound a trifle cheesey, but sometimes we get more job satisfaction from helping people to help themselves rather than dealing with formal insolvencies. OK it doesn't pay the wage bill, but it is just simply the best thing to do.
MelanieGiles wrote:
This may sound a trifle cheesey, but sometimes we get more job satisfaction from helping people to help themselves rather than dealing with formal insolvencies. OK it doesn't pay the wage bill, but it is just simply the best thing to do.
Hi
Not cheesey at all Melanie (well maybe a little bit)
No seriously -
As you know there are some who can help themselves with the right advice, tools and support however there are many that cannot for a variety of reasons and circumstances.
In our sector the emphasis at the moment seems to be on the self help route backed up with specialist advice and support.
Sounds obvious to us at NEDCAB and the trick will be getting the overall mix right and it wont be for the lack of trying as far as we are concerned.
Let's hope these people decide to go to you for advice before things get too bad. We often have clients whose circumstances lead us to think - "why didn't you seek help a year ago".
Hi
I think it is very common for people to wait far longer than they actually should before seeking help and advice. Many people are just hoping that their situation will improve but of course it seldom does.
Another factor is that it takes a huge step to actually ask for help and admit that you can't cope, this can be a mixture of pride and denial. I guess that most people only seek help when their credit lines have finally run out.
Regards
