Welcomed News As OFT To Revise Debt Management Guidanceposted on 3 June 2011 | posted in General Category | ( 0 ) CommentsIntegrity Financial Services Limited has welcomed news that the OFT (Office of Fair Trading) intends to publish revised debt management guidance later in June 2011, designed to tackle a range of bad practices it has identified. This follows a period of high profile enforcement action following a warning to 129 debt management businesses in September last year. This follows an OFT crack down on companies cold calling in respect of loans and a recenty 'super' complaint by the CAB: John Fingleton, OFT Chief Executive, said: 'The super-complaint from Citizens Advice has been timely given our ongoing work to protect vulnerable consumers from poor practice in the credit sector. 'Our evidence suggests some businesses are deliberately taking people's money upfront with no realistic expectation of finding them the type of loan they need. 'We will continue to take robust enforcement action against businesses using unfair or improper business practices and we are providing new guidance making very clear the kind of behaviour we expect from the industry. We are also asking the Government to look at the impact of a ban on upfront fees.' The time has come for IVA and DMP Companies to be fully regulated and have their fees capped. On daily basis advisors at Integrity are hearing stories of how they were cold called or text by some debt management companies who offered to 'clear' their debts quickly, and in some cases quoting 'Through a government led scheme'. These companies took money from people upfront before any advice or work was done with no clear intention of ever helping them get out of the financial and debt situation that they were in. To make matters worse, Integrity are constantly hearing stories from people who entered into a debt management plan with 'certain' companies, only to be told approx 6 - 12 months later that they now need to enter into an IVA (individual volutary arrangement). This means that after already paying fees for the DMP (debt management plan) they then faced high fees and monthly repayments for the IVA over a period of a further 5 - 6 years on average. This can happen in a number of ways and in some cases the DMP Company is an umbrella company of the IVA Company. This practice is not welcomed as it can lead to further financial pressure and stress for the person in debt. Companies that intentionally do this should be exposed and investigated and it is only a matter of time before the OFT catches up on them. Advisors at Integrity commented: "For someone to be passed around from a DMP to an IVA without the process being fully explained is totally unacceptable. 99% of the time the person in debt has no idea that the two companies are linked. This person is then charged more fees and more monthly repayments. People who need debt help should be advised on ALL the UK's debt solutions fully and not just advised about one or two that ultimately suits the company or charity thats advising them. By doing this the person in debt is then free to decide what solution bests meets their own individual financial situation, knowing that they have been advised professionally and impartially on all solutions". Integrity remains at the forefront of professional and impartial debt advise companies in England & Wales and the reputation it has built up is second to none. If you have any debt concerns or you are currently in a solution you feel is not right, then contact us now on 01743 272900 Share this blog entry:
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