Ideas to fight debt counselling fund closing?

Thrugelmir

lemonjelly wrote: »

However, I will challenge the part about banks lending responsibly. I do not feel banks are lending more responsibly, more they are aware they can get away with less.

I don't work in the banking industry. However I know enough not to tar a whole industry with the same brush. (Particularly as the worst culprits of the credit boom are no more). There are responsible lenders in the market. By responsible I merely mean setting sensible affordability criteria in granting mortgage advances for example. As a result culture will change in this area over a period of time.

lemonjelly

bendix wrote: »

Fine, so let's spend the £25m on a financial literacy campaign. I would support that.

But Martin's campaign is not about supporting financial literacy. It's about dealing with the problems that financial illiteracy and irresponsbility create.

Those problems still exist though. & many would argue it is unfair to simply abandon those who really didn't know any better.

I accept there are those who took every ounce of credit they could lay their hands on. They aren't the ones who will suffer with the loss of these services by the way.

Oh, & on average, the CAB service nationwide deals with 80% of the personal debt of the population. That is going to be missed if it goes.

And they are linked.

blueboy43

bendix wrote: »

Fine, so let's spend the £25m on a financial literacy campaign. I would support that.

But Martin's campaign is not about supporting financial literacy. It's about dealing with the problems that financial illiteracy and irresponsbility create.

Do you know what your talking about ?
Do you know what programmes the CAB delivered with this Financial inclusion funding ?

It was not just debt advice, but programmes to improve peoples ability to manage their finances.

Results included.

Getting people off pre paid fuel meters
Getting people to change fuel suppliers
Getting people to budget their income / expenditure

Its aim was to improve people financial skills for life. Funding was not just from government but from banks.

Yes it included debt advice - but getting people on affordable debt plans normally means that creditors get more of their money in the end anyway.

lemonjelly

Thrugelmir wrote: »

I don't work in the banking industry. However I know enough not to tar a whole industry with the same brush. (Particularly as the worst culprits of the credit boom are no more). There are responsible lenders in the market. By responsible I merely mean setting sensible affordability criteria in granting mortgage advances for example. As a result culture will change in this area over a period of time.

I think we kinda agree. I don't see all banks as horrible robbers. At the same time I don't see all borrowers as f3ck less debt builders with widescreen plasmas etc.

I feel the finance industry would do good to throw its collective weight in building up the understanding joe public has of financial products and services, including the costs & consequences. It'd be a pretty big PR coup for them if they did imo.

If people know & understand these products & services, then they know what they're letting themselves in for (& indeed, whether they really want them or not :eek:).

lostinrates

I'm thinking as I read this...if the current systems are so beneficial in debt help why are we in so much personal debt? Until I square that perhaps I'm changing my mind and feeling the debt counselling in exisitence for individuals is less collectively beneficial than I was prepared to believe....I'll read martin's thing now and see if that helps address this doubt that I'm getting about it.

edit: it didn't. I read.and paraphrase..debt is a big problem, its getting bigger which leads me to think...the current remedies are not successful.

Graham_Devon

Stuck on this one to be honest.

Charities are run, via fundraising, to look after the elderly. The real needy, the ones who cannot get to hospital for an appointment, the ones who can't shop on their own, the ones that need just a bit of a shoulder sometimes.

There are so many desvering causes which don't get government help, that I'm struggling to find why the government should support debt counselling....which in most cases, I beleive, from what I have read on these forums, means debt reduction via not paying your debts.

In other words, there are so many other worthwhile causes that would be higher on my list than charities / companies or whatever that advise on how to wipe debts.

I have all the time in the world for those who suggest how to pay back your debt, but I haven't read many stories abnout those on this forum, most people seem to be looking for, and talk about, help which simply relieves you from your debts. For that reason, I won't be signing.

I'm sure there are many responsibly paying down their debts after help. So I'm not putting everyone in baskets.

However, I can see the need for such help and advice. Just don't want to see good money going to those who celebrate and actively aim to relieving themselves of their responsibilities....of which there are many an example on this website.

ETA: I actually work with some members of CAB, and find they are really beneficial to society. So not at al against CAB, just against the whole debt culture and ease of just not paying debt back. I may well be letting that issue cloud my judgement on all this.

CloudCuckooLand

Unpalatable as it may appear, maybe we do need a step-change in attitude towards the accumulation of debt.

I'm sure some of the problems could be tackled at the source of debt - credit. If creditors had to justify the loans/cc/wonga.com etc, relating it to the income/relevant personal circumstances, and justifying why they went ahead...take the choice away from the financially illiterate punter..?

...that probably would result in a protest march...against someone's human rights to get in over their heads...

silvercar

If CAB lose their finance funding, is there anything to stop them spending some of their other money on debt counselling?

Surely the idea behind the Big Society is that more people volunteer to train as CAB debt counsellors to take up the slack that the withdrawing of grant has created?

StevieJ

lostinrates wrote: »

edit: it didn't. I read.and paraphrase..debt is a big problem, its getting bigger which leads me to think...the current remedies are not successful.

So what is your suggestion then? it seems that drug addiction is getting worse, should we get rid of the drug counsellors as well and save even more money? thinking on, they probably have already done that.

mel12

Yeah , I think this is a really important issue to campaign on.

Ultimately perhaps we need to think about debt advice being funded by lenders and banks (I know there is some, but more face-to-face advice for vulnerable clients etc), who shouldn't be allowed to externalise the costs to society of their lending practices, by obliging someone else (whether voluntary or government) to pick up the bill for the problems debt causes.

Meanwhile, the loss of the FIF is going to harm a lot of people and I think it needs to stay.


In terms of ideas - perhaps if someone sets up a petition then Martin uses the site/ weekly email to advertise it that would be a start.

Are any of the anti-poverty charities campaigning on this yet? Perhaps it could be suggested to them as well.