ARTICLE...
Petition Gathering Pace
Enforcement and collections professionals have started to sign up to a new industry petition aimed at encouraging both the government and the media to give the credit industry the respect and recognition it truly deserves.
The petition, which is now live on www.number10.gov.uk, asks that the government and media back the industry in its efforts to collect outstanding debts in a fair and ethical way and that consumers should be encouraged to appreciate the moral duty of 'paying what they owe'.
Support has come in direct sign-ups of the online petition and in writing to CCR.
One respondent who did not wish to be named, said: "It is about time that the industry made a statement like this. In our company we work work extremely hard to support customers and help those in need and it is not right that we are constantly tarnished with this label of being 'dodgy bailiffs'. We are a professional industry and we should be treated as such."
Another respondent added: "It seems that debtors can say anything they like to collectors, they can run away without telling us, give us untrue excuses for why they are not paying and even be abusive to s, but we are always presented as being the bad guys. We are trying to do a professional job and to help people to get through their financial difficulties."
Stephen Kiely, editor of CCR, said: "I am delighted that s many people have come forward to back the petition and I would only urge more people in the industry to do so. It is only by making such a public statement that we can expect to make government and the media change their attitudes.
"We must start to make our voices heard and the more people who sign up for the petition, the greater the impact will be."
Similarly, Tessera is fully behind the petition. Leigh Berkley, the company's chief executive, explained: "We wholly support this initiative.
"It also links in seamlessly with the DBSG's manifesto commitments regarding Public Affair and Public Relations and will help the whole industry move away from the bad press that has surrounded it in the past. Most importantly, it has the power to do untold good to the reputation of UK Plc."
The Petition in Full
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to make a public statement of support for the Collections and Enforcement industry, acknowledging that it is made up of some of the most professional and ethical companies in the whole of the UK economy. Although, in any industry, it is right to highlight and root out bad practice, we believe the national media coverage of the Collections and Enforcement industry is routinely unfair and not representative.
We call on the Government to make a statement to promote the good work done by the Collections and Enforcement industry and to encourage consumers and the national media to consider that people have a moral duty to repay what they owe, where they reasonably can, and that the Collections and Enforcement industry has the right and the responsibility to try to collect in a responsible fashion, which it does in the overwhelming number of cases.
If consumers do not pay then – just like good drivers having to pay for bad drivers through higher insurance premiums everyone will suffer in higher interest rates and charges.
You can register our support for the petition by going to http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/CCRpetition. You can register your name only if you prefer, which means your company name is not listed.
Original article courtesy of CCR.
