Panorama Tonight - BBC ONE, 8.30pm

Neobright

I like the definition of:

can't pay vs won't pay

Some people have legitimate reasons for not being able to pay, like the bloke who was sectioned under the mental health. Not like the bloke who had 6 retail premises and 2 houses on buy-to-let (if I remember correctly) but wouldn't pay a £20K loan he'd taken out. He felt that these properties were his pension? No that's called...a pension!

It does say something sad about our society. Let's take on debt then...find a way to get out of it AFTER spending the money. The banks certainly aren't holier than thou, but it becomes a bit of a vicious circle with the banks elevating their methods to more serious tones and often catching the unfortuante ones left with valid reasons...

skintandscared_2

I could really relate to the poor girl whose father had been section. My OH can no longer work due to his poor mental health. I can see I'm going to be asked to send copies of his latest psych assessment. Can they really have the right to see it??!

poorandindenial

I thought it dealt quite well with the woman whose dad had been sectioned, it showed the reality of what people in desperate situations have to face versus the glossy crap that companies put out

blind-as-a-bat_2

Neobright wrote: »

I like the definition of:

can't pay vs won't pay

Some people have legitimate reasons for not being able to pay, like the bloke who was sectioned under the mental health. Not like the bloke who had 6 retail premises and 2 houses on buy-to-let (if I remember correctly) but wouldn't pay a £20K loan he'd taken out. He felt that these properties were his pension? No that's called...a pension!

It does say something sad about our society. Let's take on debt then...find a way to get out of it AFTER spending the money. The banks certainly aren't holier than thou, but it becomes a bit of a vicious circle with the banks elevating their methods to more serious tones and often catching the unfortuante ones left with valid reasons...

You have hit the nail on the head, if you read the DCA,s view on bad debtors they are all 'Wont pays' they dont care why. By there words every bad debtor is a debt avoider, the fact some have tried to negotiate a payment they can afford and proved so is irrelavent

blind-as-a-bat_2

skintandscared wrote: »

I could really relate to the poor girl whose father had been section. My OH can no longer work due to his poor mental health. I can see I'm going to be asked to send copies of his latest psych assessment. Can they really have the right to see it??!

I cant see why a letter from his docter saying that what you say is true would not sufice, they dont need detailed reports IMO, they wouldnt understand them anyway, they are not medicaly trained and are too tight to pay someone that is

bathgatebuyer

Glad to see 1st Credit named and shamed on TV. A despicable, horrid organisation who chased me on behalf of British Gas for a gas bill even though I've never had gas, never lived in the property in question, and not even the same sex as the person they were trying to pursue. Their crack team of tracing agents looked up the Edinburgh phone book and chased me as I had the same first initial and surname as the person they were after.

They chased me for months and refused to accept that I was not the guy with the unpaid gas bill - even asking if I 'would make everyone's life easier and just pay it'. Yes, they got told to "F*** off and swivel on it".

British Gas sent a grovelling apology. 1st Credit remained silent.

fletch3163

Just watched Panorama.

What on Earth is that guy on? The one with all the properties who felt violated cos someone took some notes on ONE of his properties, oh sorry, it wasn't his HOUSE, it was his HOME!! Get real. What about the poor folks who truly can't pay. This sort of thing doesn't help them.

I think the "won't-pays" will do nothing but harm to the "can't-pays" and there's nothing we can do about it. Greed floats to the top, every time.

bathgatebuyer

The Greenhalghs website really is interesting. Apparently Mr Kerr (first name 'Juan') lists his proudest moment as drinking a pint in 4.3 seconds. What a cool geezer eh? Most people count their proudest moments as graduating, having children, getting married or having some achievement worthy of mention, not guzzling a Carslberg in less than 5 secs. Sorry. The 'big guy' act just makes them look like twerps. Another lists her greatest wish to be 5' tall :rotfl:(Poison dwarf! Poison dwarf!)

Extract from the website:

"Q1 I am a debtor and you have contacted me about a debt that I owe one of your clients. What should I do?

A1
Pay your debt.
If not we will hound you until you do".

And if you can's pay because of a death in the family? Illness? Divorce? Mental health issues? Redundancy? Etc, etc. Who cares! Greenhalghs will be there to chew over the carcass that once was your life and pick whatever meat off your bones they feel possible. And as is the case with any of the circumstances I've listed, they can happen to absolutely anybody at anytime. No one is immune from cancer, or redundancy, or MS, or divorce....................................it can even happen to solicitors. The distinction is that some are better prepared for the worst case scenario than others - some of the solicitors I know who are on 3 days weeks because they are no longer selling properties at the moment are definitely suffering as much as anyone else at the moment. Greenhalghs will soon be turning on their fellow professionals. It really can happen to anyone.

Ah yes,hounding people to the point of depression, despair or as in the case of some people with debts to considering suicide. All so mr '4.3 seconds' (I wonder if that's what Mrs Kerr knows him as also?) can get some commisson from someone else's misery. That breaks more than one part of the OFT Guidance in my eyes.

In my job, I have had to instruct firms to undertake debt recovery on behalf of my employers and there's no way in hell we would want to be associated with a company that has a website like theirs.

bathgatebuyer

fletch3163 wrote: »

Greed floats to the top, every time.

I know that saying as "!!!!!! floats to the top"

themagics

don't know about you lot but it didn't highlight anything that we don't already know from being on here.In response to the person who comments on people trying to get out of paying their debts, some do admittedly but on here it generally people who have got into difficulties and are trying to pay off like my self and hubby, its when we are faced with unhelpful and at times very threatening dca's that we have to turn to the consumer credit act because all our others efforts have been ignored