Article on Misleading Names

North_East_Derbyshire_CAB

Hi

More on this here....

DEMSA Compliance and Discipline Panel Meeting 6 October 2011...

http://www.demsa.co.uk/uncategorized/compliance-and-discipline-panel-meeting-6-october-2011/

We also found these interesting....

DEMSA Code of Conduct (CODE)...

http://www.demsa.co.uk/code-of-conduct/

Section 7 -






7. Marketing, Advertising and Publicity


Members must ensure that their advertising or promotional material, whether by newspaper, TV, Radio, website or any other media form:

• Is clear, accurate and truthful, and does not in any way mislead either expressly, or by implication or omission.
• Complies with all regulations and guidelines in force from time to time.
• Contains reference to their membership of DEMSA and their adherence to the DEMSA Code of Conduct, by use of the DEMSA logo.
• All literature must give details of how consumers may obtain a copy of the Code.

Next page > 8 Information to be Provided to Consumers
< Back to Code of Conduct

IF

Bumping up the board x

North_East_Derbyshire_CAB

Hi

Thanks for the replys so far, great stuff.

We keep looking at these sections.....



"A commercial debt management firm has been fined, disciplined, and reported to the industry regulator by one of the industry’s main trade bodies for masquerading as a free debt advice provider.
The firm, which has not yet been identified, has provided the Debt Managers Standards Association (DEMSA) with a written undertaking that it will not advertise or promote itself in a way which suggests it offers free debt management services to clients"

"It follows a hearing in front of DEMSA’s Compliance and Discipline Panel in October, where the firm, dubbed “Member X”, promised to refrain from using words such as Citizens Advice, Citizens Debt Advice, CCCS, Government Debt Help, or any combination of the four, to market its services"


And have been asking ourselves......

What is this member X business all about?

Who is member X?

NED-CAB

fermi

Could be any of quite a number who do that?

A few were highlighted here:

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2011/09/fee-or-free-websites-jump-on-c.html

And a google search on just one of those terms bring up more.

https://www.google.com/search?#q=%22Citizens+Debt+Advice%22

North_East_Derbyshire_CAB

fermi wrote: »

Could be any of quite a number who do that?

A few were highlighted here:

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2011/09/fee-or-free-websites-jump-on-c.html

And a google search on just one of those terms bring up more.

https://www.google.com/search?#q=%22Citizens+Debt+Advice%22

Hi Fermi

Thank you for that.

Interesting comments box there at the bottom of the mirror article.

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2011/09/fee-or-free-websites-jump-on-c.html

If anyone from DEMSA is looking in, then perhaps they would like to come in on the thread, we would certainly welcome them on this open forum.

NED-CAB

North_East_Derbyshire_CAB

Hi

This may be worth a look given the theme of this thread.....

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/Approvedcodesofpractice/oft1048.pdf

Anyone from DEMSA care to comment?

NED-CAB

IF

Bumping in the hope of a comment from DEMSA :think:

IF

A slight nudge up the board

IF

Bump.....:)

North_East_Derbyshire_CAB

Hi

Article leading with this..........

"Fake Debt Help Plunge Crisis Hit Famalies Into The Red"

And this............

"BOGUS callers claiming to be from the Leighton Citizen’s Advice Bureau may be preying on vulnerable people suffering money worries with cold calls offering fake ‘debt help’ they warned this week"

Full article.........

http://www.leightonbuzzardonline.co.uk/community/community-news/fake_debt_help_plunge_crisis_hit_families_further_into_the_red_1_3288851

If this is true, then we ask..... what sort of outfit would do such a thing?

Again, if true, then we would hope that this sort of thing is openly and publicly condemned by all organisations representing the Debt Management Industry.

Oh and while we are at it heres another gem....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-15890690