Fact: It’s estimated 35,000 people will turn to illegal money lenders due to unavailable credit.
In what we class as the developed world with a moralistic society, how can it be ethical to force this many people in to the hands of financial hyenas? The sad thing is, that people turn to loan sharks for the simplest of reasons. Debt ridden consumers are cracking under pressure and as the bills continue to land on the doorstep, many see no way out other than to dip their toe in the water – proving to be easy prey for the Great Whites of the Ocean.
It’s clear that as the recession continues, many companies are adapting a heavy hand to maintaining cashflow, keeping their own heads above water. With both parties feeling desperate situations call for desperate measures, such scenarios jest the beginning of something far more dangerous than unpaid bills and can often lead to violence and organised crime.
So whilst many hide behind their couches as the big guys come knocking on their door, I ask, “who’s to blame”? The consumer for over-spending? Maybe. The banks for creating this mess in the first place? Maybe. The companies that hound and pressurise people in to making these decisions? More likely.
Creditors need to look at the bigger picture – the long term solution. Surely it’s better for them – as a brand as well as a company, to work with debtors and help them re-pay long term so that when the bad times are past and good times follow, they’ll have a loyal string of customers who remember their kindness when their purses weren’t so full.
With the heavy handed approach so many are now using, I question if this is forcing people to make choices they wouldn’t normally make; irrational choices that have been made out of desperation for a quick fix.
Is it not now time to introduce formal procedures for companies to follow – similar to traditional debt solution methods, where re-educating and re-habilitating debtors into intelligent money management whilst paying back creditors is common practice? We know the recession is here to stay – at least for another year, so why aren’t we adapting our debt processes to reflect this? Why aren’t debtors supported more readily?
A hyena preys on the leftovers of others…the dying and the weak. Is it not time we teamed together to outlaw this vermin of society? Instead we can offer debtors real solutions which will make a significant difference to their life – free financial advice, monthly repayment schemas, financial education and rehabilitation. Maybe rather than asking who’s to blame, we should be asking, who will lead? Who will take our debtors to a brighter and cost effective future? “Who” you, the creditor asks. “You”, I say.
