Personal Finance: Why and how chasing debt affects creditors

If a debt-situation does not affect us, but we are driven to achieve targets at any costs, it doesn’t affect our lives as creditors……wrong!

1.     It does affect your life because the more you instigate bad situations for debtors, the higher the risk becomes of your job loss or didn’t you know this?

2.     When there is no money coming in because a large percentage of debtors are now facing problems after months of begging for remedial services, then who will pay your salary?

3.     Why is it so difficult to be empathetic and try to resonate with a debtor’s situation when he is sitting in front of you begging for help?

4.     Is it necessary to keep him on a string for a few months when he came to you perhaps in zero or one buckets and now facing legal action, due to your delay and procrastination?

5.     Why ask him for a ridiculous down-payment which you know he cannot afford and has to go begging to family and friends and at the end, the restructure does not materialise and so he is forced to ‘hang-in’ there with telephone abuse and threats of legal action.

Was this necessary? You could not resolve the problem the first time around?

6.     Why present him with a ridiculous restructured EMI (Equated Monthly Installment) being double of what he is paying currently and justify it with lesser interest in spite of the minimal tenure?

How is it possible that the tenure cannot be extended? How does he get to reduce he’s DBR (Debt Burden Ratio) without your assistance?

7.     Why are you refusing remedial services because he’s DBR is too high? How is he supposed to reduce he’s DBR if he’s bank creditors are refusing remedial services to reduce he’s EMI’s, hence reduce he’s DBR? Where is the logic and if you refuse him, where shall he go?

8.     When he is already facing legal action, you learn about it and quickly send your representatives to sign a new remedial agreement and guarantee cheque, when actually you return with a more ridiculous offer which means you now have two guarantees? So where is he’s consumer right? Why is he not complaining or fighting for he’s rights and the reason is he is too filled with emotional fear and you just created a worse nightmare situation for him.

Let me reiterate that not all bank creditors are bad, there are some super empathetic supportive representatives and senior management but unfortunately they are in the minority.

A creditor should remember that no negative situation was corrected and resolved with a spiteful aggressive behavior because it is your job to find a solution and if you cannot take that decision, then present the case to your senior management as there is always the ‘human factor’, so yes, there is always a chance to save a life and stop beating the old story of how they got into debt as that is not the answer to the solution.

The flip-site of this situation is when you are placed in a position of power, any position; to help people who are suffering then it is your moral duty as a human citizen to do the right thing.

You cannot simply inflict pain and suffering upon another because:

a.     You can;

b.     You don’t care;

c.     It’s not your problem;

d.     They deserve it;

e.     It’s not your policy;

f.     They took the money so it’s their problem;

Nobody denied the fact that it is their problem, that is the very reason they are seated in front of you, or they have commissioned someone to undertake this task for them.

You simply cannot convince the debtor that if they pay one EMI that the remedial will be actioned, sent for review and approval when you have no intention to do so, only to secure that EMI so next month someone else is ‘eating he’s head’ for he’s EMI whilst he is of the impression that he’s consolidation or restructure is under review.

That is the wrong immoral tactic to use and it rife today where debtors do not react, complain, report the matter or take any action they can take because of emotional fear and this must stop.

The majority of debtors we meet daily approach us because they are ready to take:

•     Ownership

•     Responsibility

•     Action

But with limited co-operation they lose their will to proceed with the process and I can tell you from first-hand experience that it is soul destroying to maintain sanity under these very bad conditions which also includes repeat calls to the office demanding to meet with the HR or manager and the activities are rife where nobody is stopping these representatives.

The solution is drop your ego, your self-proclaimed power that you don’t have and view debtors as human’s who need your help, people who are facing dire situations whilst remembering that it could be you tomorrow morning, hold that thought as it could be very real in the future because what we give out, we get back, without exception.

How many times have I said that the world has evolved with the focus on reaching out and saving lives because if you don’t and you continue to hold the focus of accumulating money at the cost of destroying another human, then guess what? The money can’t come as you are building too much resistance so you not only create a negative block for you, but also for your organization.

A bad attitude is really unacceptable and leaves a bad taste so try to be kind to only one person daily and see your life change as it was never just about you.

[Note 1:  Theda Muller is a UAE-based author of two books: Embrace Financial Freedom Volume One: 10 Proven Ways To Release Debt And Emotional Fears In Today’s Economy, and Volume Two: Releasing Fear And Bouncing Back From A Debt Crisis. She also conducts webinars and workshops on debt recovery.]

[Note 2: The views expressed are the author’s own and do not reflect in any way, the views of Emirates 24|7. Readers are advised to carry out their own due diligence before taking any decision.]

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