Carte Blanche talk about Debt Review
Debt Busters, Octogen and Deborah Solomon mentioned in Debt Review segment
This weekend saw a focus segment on Carte Blanche called Conspicuous Consumption
After a brief look at the psychology behind consumer spending and what part of our psychology marketers use to get us to spend the Carte Blanche episode focused in on the fact that consumers are spending more that they have. This was made clear by Ian Wason of Debt Busters. He mentioned some of the scary statistics which show just how bad the debt situation in SA has become.
Deborah Solomon of theDCI then pointed out that the large banks are making big money off smaller loans much more so than from bonds. Reference was made to successful reckless lending applications brought to court by Octogen during last year and the fact that many creditors are engaged in reckless credit granting.
An interview with a couple revealed that they had 43 credit agreements when one of them lost their job and how things spiraled out of control. It was pointed out that consumers have a need to show off with nice things to impress others. Many consumers thus spend too much and live beyond their actual means. They leave little room for any emergencies.
Debt Counselling was shown to be a lifeline. The feature was very complimentary about the process. Consumers were encouraged by the NCR to go visit Debt Counsellors sooner rather than later. When discussing how to find a Debt Counsellor, Debt Busters advocated their system of online and telephonic consultations with trained personnel (not necessarily Debt Counsellors but trained consultants) since consumers are too busy to go and meet with a Counsellor. Deborah Solomon took the opposite stance saying that it is vital to meet with your Debt Counsellor. She says it is like a marriage where regular contact is needed to make it a success.
One consumer was interviewed and it was shown how his home and car were saved through the process. This brought him great relief until the bank decided to back out of the process even though a court order had already been granted. As a result Deborah and her legal team fought the bank to continue to protect the consumer.
The NCR said that ignoring the court order is of course unacceptable. The focus segment ended with a comment from a consumer said how much it had helped. All in all it was a very positive look at the industry.
For the video head over to: Carte Blanche
