ARTICLE...
Tessera Viewpoint
You may remember the wily old desk sergeant in Hill Street Blues, who finished each morning briefing with a stern reminder to 'be careful out there'. As the year reaches its midpoint, it's hard to avoid such counsel for anyone involved in debt sale and purchase.
The focus on our industry by government, regulators and the media continues unabated, but it's not all bad news. Our links with BERR have been improving steadily over the last 12 months and have resulted in a much more constructive and balanced view from government and the opposition parties. Gareth Thomas, Minister for Consumer Affairs at BERR has now agreed to be our keynote speaker at the annual CSA/DBSG conference in Brighton, and he has worked with us very effectively on such issues as the 30-day grace period, the raising of compliance standards and consumer information. Mr Thomas and his officials have taken the time to understand the processes and benefits of debt sale and collections to the UK economy and (in the vast majority of cases) to the consumer.
Regrettably, this approach has not been followed by all our elected MPs. In his recent adjournment debate, MP Andrew Mackinlay (Lab - Thurrock) described our whole industry as 'rotten to the core', saying that the OFT still needed to be 'beefed up' to better regulate creditors and collectors, and that legislation should be introduced to prevent debt sale.
All of us devoting our time to the development and enforcement of guidance and best practice for our industry clearly share Mr Mackinlay's feelings about stamping out any collection activity which unfairly affects the consumer. However, it is vital to retain a sense of proportion when talking about the industry as a whole. It is apparent that Mr Mackinlay has scant regard for the hundreds of honest companies operating with integrity in accordance with all the necessary legislation and regulation, or the hundreds of millions of perfectly civil contacts with debtors which take place each year to try to resolve their issues. In fact, he seems blissfully unaware of the strides being taken to improve data accuracy and thereby reduce mis-trace, failed to mention our good track record on FOS complaints, and I am sure he would not wish to talk about the websites advising debtors to deny the existence of their debts and even their own identity whenever contacted by a creditor.
I was pleased that the Minster was able to update Mr Mackinlay's apparently selective knowledge about the new powers of the OFT, which I am sure no seller, buyer or collection agency would describe as 'limp and late action by the OFT'. TO the contrary, the new regime of CCA licence renewal and information gathering is far-reaching and thorough, backed up by sanctions which can be extremely serious for any licence holder. We are working closely with the OFT to help ensure 100% compliance with the OFT debt collection guidance, and Claire Aynsley, CSA Head of Membership & Compliance, has been central to this effort on behalf of members.
Like many of you, I felt personally offended at Mr Mackinlay's one-sided and all-encompassing insults about creditors, buyers, agencies and the OFT. I am hopeful that our continuing campaigns to improve standards of data accuracy, best practice and communication with the consumer will belatedly come to the attention of Mr Mackinlay. In the meantime, he should certainly read our new industry fact sheets (see below) and perhaps take the time, like the Minster, to attend our conference in September, so that he can present a more accurate and representative view if speaking again on this topic in the House.
So what else has been happening? Well it was great to see that the DBSG Seller's Lunch on 20th May was so well attended. As usual the discussion was wide ranging and informative and took in the economic outlook, provision of data to buyers pre-sale and expected debt sale activity and timings this year. This forum always generates a number of good ideas and debates, and the lunch certainly provided food for thought over the coming months. I would like to thank everyone for their attendance and continued support at these meetings.
I am pleased to note that Board Member Godfrey Lancashire and Claire Aynsley attended a very productive meeting with the SIA recently, and we can now advise that the vast majority of our members who undertake tracing will be exempt from the new licensing regime. Well done Godders and Claire for achieving this eminently sensible result.
Like every update, how can we forget our beloved Consumer Credit Act? The DBSG is continuing to work closely with government and our next step is to compile and present complaint and cost data from the membership relating to post contract information. Many members will have now sent their first arrears notices, which have resulted in a number of queries from consumers. This month you will be receiving a request from Head Office to participate in the compilation of the complaint and cost data, and we would appreciate your assistance in compiling this de-personalised industry-wide information.
As part of our ongoing PR activity we have also now released a number of fact sheets as guides to debt collection and debt sale and purchase. The fact sheets have been published due to heightened interest from the media, consumer groups, and politicians and just one measure we have taken following our meetings with BERR to improve general awareness of what we do. The fact sheets are all available to download online and can be found online at www.dbsg-uk.com.
I am also pleased to announce that we have now opened bookings for our Annual Conference 2009. This year's conference is set to be the largest event the Association has ever held. Taking place on 9th and 10th September at the Hilton Metropole in Brighton, the conference will allow delegates to enjoy a wealth of networking opportunities, a chance to meet suppliers in our exhibition hall and this year we have six streams of discussion forums looking at the different aspects of our industry.
I look forward to see you (and possibly Mr Mackinlay!?) in September. In the meantime, please be careful out there...
Leigh Berkley
Chairman, DBSG
Original article courtesy of DBSG. For further information visit www.dbsg-uk.com/dbsg
