Interesting story......

[Newborn]

Hi Sillygirl,

 

It's not the edvertising that worries me. It's that they are legally able to conduct business across such a range of financial activity. It means the IC, the FSA, the OFT etc etc are all extremely happy for them to do this.

Advertising Standards would then just rubber stamp the advert.

 

Newborn

[Under Siege]

just found this thread,

The bit about the newsreader(ex) is shocking. one can assume that to get a job as a newsreader he must be reasonably intelligent. And if things like that can happen to people of his intelligence then what of the poor people who have not been so luck as to have a decent level of education?

 

I have always believed that banks are legalized thief's. They have no concern what-so-ever for you and me. they just see us as profits.

Were all pawns in the game.

I'm so angry!!!!

[Seahorse]

Were all pawns in the game.

I'm so angry!!!!

 

I'M not a prawn.

 

Look. I's a ickle seahorse.

 

 

But I've always wanted to be a langoustine.

[Newborn]

Hi Seahorse,

 

Somehow I don't think you are as cute and innocent as the picture indicates, especially to those DCAs!!

 

Newborn

[sosumi]

PS to Danny's link:

BBC NEWS | UK | Banks 'prey on customers in debt'

at the bottom of the article they're asking for people's accounts

[Newborn]

The BBC would of course like to hear from people suffering from serious debt. They, as part of the media, would I think love to splurge someone's (especially a family's) descent into the clutches of bailiffs and homelessness across the airwaves. As a basically cynical person I would think this is more to do with 'circulation' than it is to do with justice, redress or righting the system.

The repercussions would be to further entrench the general population's view of debt problems as something to be hidden thus reinforcing the DCAs position.

An objective viewpoint would I fear not be on the agenda.

 

Newborn

[babybear39]

As a BA Journalism student, I dis-agree totally with your last comment and take great offence at it. The BBC treats such material with a balanced, sensitive approach. They also get results against bad business practice, take a look at Watchdog

[Seahorse]

Oi! No Fighting! We're all on the same side here, remember?

[babybear39]

In this day and age of growing public awareness of the problems and causes of debt, views are slowly changing and the stigma is lessening. What the media needs is a few high profile pieces to show the public exactly what vultures the DCAs and banks are. We've already had one recently with the horrific story of Beryl Brazier and the way in which she was hounded to her death for a debt that wasn't even hers. Lets have some more from people before it gets that far again.

[sosumi]

In this day and age of growing public awareness of the problems and causes of debt, views are slowly changing and the stigma is lessening. What the media needs is a few high profile pieces to show the public exactly what vultures the DCAs and banks are. We've already had one recently with the horrific story of Beryl Brazier and the way in which she was hounded to her death for a debt that wasn't even hers. Lets have some more from people before it gets that far again.

Well said BB!

Newborn, how does 'circulation' apply to the BBC? Yes, if it was a tabloid like the Daily St*r, I might agree, but it isn't.

In fact I think the BBC are trying to understand what's been happening. Have they ever 'splurged' anything? Again, that would be tabloids.

[patrickq1]

we could do with a report of q & a from the likes of jeremy paxton give him the ammunition and bullets to fire at the DCA AND BANK AND CRA's ,then we may see some pressure being brought to bear on this goverment and the goverments interferance within this whole affair,considering the FSA FSO AND ICO have not made a single statement condeming about the loss of data i do hope the EU COMMISIONAIRS take a positive role and prosecute the goverment and then you can look at the biased FSA and how they seem to be influencing the other goverment dept's

patrickq1

[dannyboy660]

we could do with a report of q & a from the likes of jeremy paxton give him the ammunition and bullets to fire at the DCA AND BANK AND CRA's ,then we may see some pressure being brought to bear on this goverment and the goverments interferance within this whole affair,considering the FSA FSO AND Information Commissioners Office have not made a single statement condeming about the loss of data i do hope the EU COMMISIONAIRS take a positive role and prosecute the goverment and then you can look at the biased FSA and how they seem to be influencing the other goverment dept's

patrickq1

 

Unfortunately the UK has an annoying habit of putting a stop to anything that might further empower the consumer, or even do away with the need for DCA's altogether on this particular issue. It's all about 'business' and 'choice' and money makes the world go round.

 

I can think of at least one collections/purchase based company who has a well known MP on the Board of Directors.

 

I'm not going to mention any names again but I know some other contributors to this thread will know exactly who I'm talking about.

[Newborn]

Many apologies, I appear to have upset more than one person with my previous rant.

I was not aiming this at individuals but at a ‘system’.

The BBC has a corporate system that has promotions and editorships etc built on viewing numbers (or why the permanent battle between Eastenders and Coronation street et al).

It took an extremely brave man who fell from grace and now lives on a park bench to get this whole affair noticed. Right now there are hundreds of thousands of poor souls out there living in terror of every phone call and every knock on the door (I know I was), but no-one tells their tales unless it becomes a tragedy, as has already been stated. It took the ‘human angle’ to get it noticed.

Despite this publicity I don’t believe that one phone call or letter from a DCA has been stopped. I listened with sympathy, but there was no prolonged call for a fundamental change in the system.

Putting some more high profile cases into the public domain will bring short lived publicity, but I’m not sure it will bring lasting change. It may actually put more fear of falling behind with debt into people, so reinforcing the DCA position.

A Jeremy Paxman interview sounds attractive, as long as the DCAs and banks didn't just put out a short press statement and not turn up.

IMHO it is the law and the law makers that are the key to changes in this area.

These are my thoughts and not meant to offend.

 

Newborn

[babybear39]

Any decent publicity should be welcomed when it comes to exposing the tactics of DCAs and banks

[ScarletPimpernel]

Unfortunately the Advertising Standards Authority's remit does not extend to websites.

 

As for the BBC, look at the current series featuring JBW enforcement; more breaches of regulations than you can shake a stick at. The appalling 'Beat The Bailiff', also featuring JBW, amongst others, was also a BBC product. It gave a seriously misleading view of debt; never mentioning debtor's rights at all, and also gave an aggrandised view of bailiffs. It was very clearly entertainment rather than a consumer programme.

[babybear39]

The programme you mention SP is about mostly rich people who WON'T pay parking fines to the tune of thousands of pounds. The programme also shows the problems with parking in cities and the inadequacy of provision and that innocent people sometimes get caught up in this mess. I agree, it is entertainment but it's aim is to show that the 'won't payers' won't get away with it

[sosumi]

Unfortunately the Advertising Standards Authority's remit does not extend to websites.

 

As for the BBC, look at the current series featuring JBW enforcement; more breaches of regulations than you can shake a stick at. The appalling 'Beat The Bailiff', also featuring JBW, amongst others, was also a BBC product. It gave a seriously misleading view of debt; never mentioning debtor's rights at all, and also gave an aggrandised view of bailiffs. It was very clearly entertainment rather than a consumer programme.

OMG SP - I'd forgotten about 'Beat the Bailiff':o:o

[Boro]

The programme you mention SP is about mostly rich people who WON'T pay parking fines to the tune of thousands of pounds. I agree, it is entertainment but it's aim is to show that the 'won't payers' won't get away with it

 

 

And what about the innocent party's caught up in it probably should leave it there or the thread will become another thread about jbw, think more and more people are learning their rights but not fast enough or in large enough scale

[babybear39]

I did edit to include a bit about the problems boro...

[sosumi]

Well the Beeb has to chase ratings, and they do sometimes produce turkeys... But each programme has a separate Producer and sometimes they get it badly wrong. I don't think BBC News is the same, or works the same way however.

[Newborn]

In agree with Boro. It's the rights and the law that need to be brought to the attention of as many people as possible. Preferably before they even take out a loan.

 

Newborn

[sosumi]

How do you think you'll get the attention of as many people as possible without engaging the media?

My turn to disagree I'm afraid. This thread isn't about a DCA. It's about a news item. See post 1. How is it a news item? Because the item was newsworthy. Why was that? Because being in debt is currently a massive worry to a far larger number of people than have so far admitted. Why won't they admit it? Because debt is fecking scary! What do they do instead? Check their credit reports, take out more debt, hope, put their heads in the sand, pray...

And when that fails???

[babybear39]

How do you think you'll get the attention of as many people as possible without engaging the media?

My turn to disagree I'm afraid. This thread isn't about a DCA. It's about a news item. See post 1. How is it a news item? Because the item was newsworthy. Why was that? Because being in debt is currently a massive worry to a far larger number of people than have so far admitted. Why won't they admit it? Because debt is fecking scary! What do they do instead? Check their credit reports, take out more debt, hope, put their heads in the sand, pray...

And when that fails???

 

Couldn't have said it better myself

 

As to where they go? Hopefully here or the CCCS, nationaldebtline or CAB.

 

Perhaps one of the mods/admin might like to contact the BBC and invite them to do a current affairs programme publicising the problems and the help that's available

[Seahorse]

Unfortunately, too many people DON'T go to the various bodies who can help, or sign up to Cabot and the like.

 

I wonder if it's worthwhile writing an open letter to the many local newspapers around the country? If someone literate enough was to come up with a template highlighting the problem, and advising prople NOT to bury their heads, and to visit the likes of CAG, perhaps we could tip the balance even further in favour of the consumer? If more people realised that it's not just a theoretical exercise, and DCAs etc already ARE being successfully challenged, then even more vulnerable people could be helped.

 

Anyone here with a penchant for the written word?

[sosumi]

DMD's Wikipedia entry helps to explain the origins and purpose of the Debt Action Group part of CAG (great stuff Dave!).

 

I could revise parts of the article I had published. We could headline some of the letter types ScarletPimpernel has been collecting for the 'alternative debt manifesto'? And what about yerself Seahorse? We could do it.

 

I truly believe this site is life-saving. Literally. It empowers.

The fact is, DCAs bend the Laws and don't want people to know!!

And debt is seen as shameful.

Put those two together and you have probably millions of people trying to deal with the worst crisis in their lives, in silence and in fear. And if it's not actually the worst thing in their lives, the Creditors/DCAs will make damn sure they think it is!

 

Debt and despair go together. DCAs know this and they're exploiting it. They know people are scared, confused and ashamed. So they hammer it home to get money - even if it's the wrong person, even if it's illegal. Even if it could drive people to suicide - that's not their problem.

 

What the media is struggling with is what 'being in debt' actually means. They need to understand how easily people fall off the credit 'ladder', they need to get past the notion of 'debtor' - they need a new form of language to describe what's happening to people. DCAs want to keep 'debtor' because of the way that the word is perceived. Similarly, they like to refer to 'rogues' - it criminalises the people they want money from.

These words, this language, disenfranchises people. That's exactly what they want.

 

So, we need to get the a different language into mainstream media.

'Rogue Debt Collectors'.

'Illegal debt'.

'Harassment'.

They will push and we should push back.

 

But what happens here is that consumers are introduced to Laws DCAs don't want them to know.

This is a community of people intent on support.

Plus there are 'buzzwords' - challenge, Law, morality, consumer, mutual support. And Consumer Rights - the biggie!

How about a melting pot of ideas between us?

Data protection and Credit Reference Agencies?

CRAs exploit people in debt, IMO.

 

Got to stop... and breathe.