In every country and all the time the argument about consumers should only seek help for financial help from groups that don’t charge a fee, is crap.

It’s a bit like saying that only stuff that hurts the most should be poured into open wounds because pain equals sterility. Nonsensical isn’t it. That’s crazy talk.

Back in 1994 when I started the Myvesta charity in the United States, we offered all our services for free and what became apparent was that it was not a sustainable model because we would neither be able to recruit and hire the most talented staff nor would we be able to offer a broader range of need assistance. The only way to get funded was by participating in creditor funded debt management plans but that created a conflict of interest between trying to please the source of your funds or offer the consumer the highest level of service. The two are in conflict by nature so we stopped doing that and focused our efforts on putting the consumer first and refusing creditor gold.

Free services come with a price tag. While some claim that the services of creditor funded debt management plans and groups like CCCS are free, in fact they are not. Someone does pay for those services. You see, CCCS charges the creditor a percentage of the money they extract from you and send back to the creditors. It is a pay for performance debt collection setup. In fact in the U.S. the Internal Revenue Service has even ruled that the delivery of debt management plans is not a charitable activity. It is a commercial activity.

So the free argument is so full of holes. Why shouldn’t consumers be allowed to seek out the most caring, compassionate and professional representatives to help them in times of trouble? Even if they have to pay for exceptional care.

You are having debt problems and money worries. Should you expect to pay for any of the following:

• Your car breaks down and you need a tow.
• You have a legal matter and need to seek the help of a lawyer.
• You want to keep the house warm.
• You want to eat.
• You need to fly to a place 500 miles away for a funeral.
• Your dog was hit by a car and needs surgery.
• Your child needs a special tutor.
• You need glasses.
• It’s Christmas.
• You need a subway or bus pass.

Anyway, you get the idea. There are loads of things that aren’t free in our life that we expect to pay for even when we are living through money troubles.

So why in the world is it considered acceptable to prefer the services of a “free” debt management group that is paid for by the creditors to collect money from you? Stop drinking the Kool-Aid for a second here and clearly take a look that this relationship; it is not at arm’s-length or independent from the creditors and the only way they make money is by extracting it from you.

OK, I’m waiting for the argument that some countries have volunteer advice groups that you can call for help. Those groups seem to be “free” but in fact you are paying for this help by paying taxes. Again, really not free. What you gain by not paying, you lose in access and service. A newspaper in the UK recently did a blind test and called several debt advice groups for help. Some were free and some charged a fee. It is interesting to note that the two volunteer and free groups surveyed provided service that was so bad that they were not able to get a rating at all. No rating you ask, because the journalist could never get through to a human.

I hear this complaint a lot from people about the volunteer groups. Here is what the journalist found. “Sadly the phone was not answered. Instead, we got a recorded message that told us they must be busy or on another call, that the line was open at specific periods – and, yes, we were calling in one – and that it would be worth trying to get an appointment by dropping by the office. The answering machine did not take messages, so we stopped before we started, really, at one minute and 10 seconds.”

Let’s end this silly fee or free debate at some point in my lifetime and stop looking at the smoke screen and start looking through it. If what we want is for people to not be taken advantage of by creditors, to get professional help and assistance and to receive compassionate care, there is a price tag that goes along with that. Otherwise, to hell with it, let’s all go stand in line at the free clinic with limited resources. I’ll bring the folding chairs and you bring the hot chocolate.

Your vote:

Current rating:

1

2

3

4

5