ARTICLE...
Making a Real Difference
Claire Aynsley, Head of Membership & Compliance at the Credit Services Association, has given her view on the new Debt Collection Guidance:
"I was asked by the Institute of Money Advisors recently if the OFT's Debt Collection Guidance had made a difference?
"The short answer is yes! But of course, the Credit Services Association would have always expected that they would, considering the foundation of the Debt Collection Guidance was based on the CSA Code of Practice.
"The CSA has always welcomed the OFT Debt Collection Guidance and was engaged heavily in the process when it was originally published back in 2003. The Guidance has been incorporated within the CSA's own Code of Practice, ensuring that Association members comply with the requirements set by the OFT.
"We also welcomed the review of the guidance in 2006, which concluded that the guidance was a success in terms of content and awareness to the guidance had increased leading to positive changes within the Industry.
"However, there is a down side. The Association feels that current legislation and regulation concentrate heavily on the rights of the consumer and not on their DUTIES to fulfil their financial obligations. A culture that ignores the rights of the creditors, purchasers and collectors of that credit, and encourages people to avoid paying their debts, can also encourage them to get into debt in the first place.
"Whilst there is recognition by Creditors, Government departments and agencies, and Regulators of the high value of the debt service industry, in that it provides a safety net for the recovery of sums of money, which would otherwise be lost to the economy, there is a definite relationship between a regulatory culture which enables consumers to avoid their debts and the growing problem of over-indebtedness.
"There needs to be a fair balance between the needs of protecting consumers and the needs of providing the credit economy with the means to recover its debts.
"In conclusion, the OFT Debt Collection Guidance is a very useful document and one that the CSA actively endorses and promotes. We see it as complementing our own Code, rather than being in competition against it."
Original article, by Claire Aynsley, courtesy of DBSG. For further information visit www.dbsg-uk.com/dbsg
