Creditors, blocking accounts must stop when remedial is requested

Creditors, blocking customer accounts must stop when remedial is requested and not actioned by your teams…

Severing the life-line of the sustenance of a family on the ‘breadwinner’s’ salary pay date, when long before the latter the customer requested an official remedial review, i.e. consolidations and/or restructures where it is pending for 1, 2, 3 or 4months, is unacceptable.

There have been instances when remedial cases are taking justifiable time due to the processes and regulations, where bank creditors are informed, but the action is still taken, instituted by the external agencies in some instances, who clearly have no authentic remedial experience.

Just because you cannot collect money and meet your target by continuing to apply old collections methodologies, does not mean the customer is refusing to pay!

So perhaps it is time for external and internal teams to take a ‘wake-up call’ queue of the following situations that debtors must face, where nobody listens after they met all the remedial request review criteria, provided all relevant and official documentation and information, where finally on salary date, the salary is blocked, period, with recourse, just maybe after a few weeks because who realizes the impact?

If you don’t understand what you created as the creditor in a position of power, then imagine, just for one second, the roles were reversed and come your salary date, you find your account in way beyond a negative balance, where you suddenly realise that your entire liability was offset against your salary, resulting in you not being paid for a few months or maybe years if you cannot secure approval for your initial remedial request.

So here you are…

No money for petrol or public transport to commute to  work;

No money to replenish your groceries and other key necessities;

Your rent cheque is due today and now you are in a very bad situation, as that cheque will bounce, then what?

Now you are also unable to meet the EMI’s for your remaining creditors, including the creditor who blocked your account, because more than likely, your salary loan is secured with them;

And the list continues...

So what would be your first reaction when you’ve been pleading for your creditor to review your remedial request and all these months, it has actually gone onto deaf ears? I bet you never imagined it could happen to you, but hypothesis, it just did…

How many times have I said extend a helping hand to those customers or debtors who:

Have taken action to request a remedial review with your organization to minimize their EMI’s and more than likely they have requested the same from their other creditors, for a reason known to most of us, i.e. to reduce their DBR and risks and finally affordably repay their debt.

So guess what? It’s a win-win situation for both parties and why didn’t you think of that when you ignored their pleas, because it means just maybe, in the long run, you will still be privileged to be employed, earning a good salary and live a comfortable life!

Continue to stand on your doorstep almost daily, hounding you incessantly with calls and pleas to help them, where finally, they meet all of your due diligence policies, but you just don’t have the time or inclination to assist them, simply you want the money, now, not tomorrow or the next day.

So, you either block their salary, or bounce their cheque and file a legal case. Is this the end or shall I ask how beneficial was that action that you just took? Whom did it serve when the helpless debtor’s arms and legs are now severed?

Has learnt to show some form of integrity by either continuing to repay their EMI’s after being unemployed for a few months, but unable to catch up with overdue EMI’s, which was the reason for requesting remedial consideration; or has paid whatever they were able to commit to with the intention of showing some integrity, but all of it was in vain, because nobody took the situation as serious as it was at the time.

Entitled egotistical attitudes of some of the creditors middle management leaves a bad taste, because there is one key factor you need to realise is that you are an employee, you earn a salary, if you have no clients then you will not be paid on time every single month like clockwork, because the wheel must turn.

Even if it was your father’s organization, it is still a business whose assets must be protected and all losses recouped whatever it takes, even reduced payments over a longer tenure, because many customers don’t continue to exist in a dark tunnel, the light starts shining at some time and it happens.

Nobody suffers for eternity, those with a good heart and good intentions survive all forms of onslaughts, because they survive with firm belief, in the face of any form of adversity.

Guess what form of awesome cycle you would have created:

The debtor is able to repay their debt to your organization;

Your organization suffers minimal or no losses;

You have just helped to continue sustaining your organization, so you get to keep your job;

You have also helped the economy of the country to continue growing and not incur losses;

Just when you assumed it was about you, realise it’s never been about you and your wants and attitudes, but about many people in that same circle that you would have helped, in fact, a nation!

So stop being offended and taking things personally, it’s a business so we should all work together as the perfect team!

Hence, when I lose my cool encountering these adverse situations, here are the facts and this is the sole reason for my reaction. Understand that there is no time to waste good energy, except facilitate a recovery wheel that positively impacts all.

Key lesson is be human for a change, have a heart, identify the true authentic debtor who is asking for a chance as being sincere, don’t ignore them, don’t walk away and make like they don’t exist, that you can play with their lives and those of their loved ones, because you can’t.

The only true way to secure debtors funds is to be nice, kind, show a helping hand and make people happy as its contagious and leaves a good feeling within a human being.

The days of ignoring debtor pleas are over, it never worked and the only way to recover money is to be human, lose your ego, entitlement and whatever throne you placed yourself on, because the only people who progress in life are those who reach out and touch the lives of others and those who give and don’t expect anything in return.

This is the evolution of a new form of life we are witnessing since a few years and not all debtors are bad, so it’s time to treat them like humans if they are standing in front of you begging for help, because they are not beggars, mostly they made grave mistakes which they must pay for, not you and on the flipside, news flash, many creditor employees are also defaulters, just they are in the closet, but maybe not for long.

The truth is they also know these debtor rejection emotions, just they are not in a position to expose themselves, but I am sure that I am hitting many home runs right here, because we have first-hand experience of meeting with these individuals, so it’s not heresay.

We need to take hands, all creditors, external agencies, remedial companies and debtors and find a workable solution to effectively collaborate, just some of you are not even trying to hold hands because you are too busy protecting territory and pursuing old methods of working that has long become redundant.

The past should have served as a lesson never to be repeated again, because there is still time to save the new day, if you’re willing to co-operate.

Suffice to say, keep yourself open, don’t judge because you’re not qualified too, just help as much as you can and don’t suffocate the livelihood of anyone, because it will never serve you, but destroy you.

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