Debt target audience in UAE: Check out if you are one among them?

Key to remember is that debt is not choosy in any way…

We sometimes don’t ask to be placed in this situation, many times it is not self-inflicted, however we should always try to be spend-thrifty, not spend money we do not have or have not yet earned.

Following these basic principles, will serve you well. Incorporating and planning an effective ‘safety net’ is another key option.

The purpose is also to view the situation of being debt-ridden with almost no solution from an alternative perspective, i.e. placing yourself in the other person’s shoes, because it is a proven fact that you can secure due money from debtors, by portraying an absolutely empathetic calm attitude, versus the rife telephonic abuse that some debtor’s are subjected to and are unable to put a word in during these telephone calls.

I have known some instances where bank collections staff out rightly insult a client by informing them that they are ‘default clients’ and ‘it’s because of default clients that we must work on public holidays!’ and I am not joking, I have also experienced this! No diplomacy or any form of respect is displayed, that perhaps the client has maintained impeccable bank records over the years and has a temporary problem. Simply the clerk is not interested or did not take the time to view the history and is also subjected to the daily target syndrome pressures, for which they are disbursed a commission.

So any which way, they try to secure their targets. However it is an extremely bad image portrayed by a creditor because it displays a huge degree of unprofessionalism and ethos.

Inevitably, that default client could be your billionaire tomorrow and the clerk, debt-ridden, or the creditor for that matter. I have secured collection agreements for legal firms as a consultant where the senior bank management clearly stipulated that no client, default or not, must be subjected to any verbal abuse or bad ethics from collection agencies. But it is crystal clear that those principles are never enforced by many, not by the agencies or the bank collections departments.

I only know of one such bank who adheres to their policy and I would recommend their business any day of the week! So bank managers and collection managers should be enlightened on these key aspects that suppress a default client even more than they are at the current time of receiving a call from a banks collection department.

Creditors are always in a position to help to relieve the client of huge payments by reconstruction and we know this, yet there is a huge reluctancy to even offer these services to default clients and I sometimes wonder why? Why would a creditor be so reluctant when in fact, there is a huge chance they can get all their money repaid if a debtor now has the ability to meet these payments? 

Targeted audiences for their respective reasons, are as follows:

Individuals who are unable to cope with the pressure of mounting debt, not to mention compounding interest, over limit, late and other relevant interests being accrued.

Individuals who have found immediate ‘cuts’ in their monthly Remuneration, without any advance notice where new stringent measures to ‘cut costs’ are implemented, directly affecting their ability to meet their financial commitments. In most of these instances the situation you find yourself in, is not self-inflicted but rather imposed upon you without prior notice, leaving a debtor in a disaster situation.

Individuals who have lost their jobs, without compensation and who had no savings plan.

Liquidated companies or those who have simply had to close their doors.

Entrepreneurs who lost funds invested for whatever reason.

Business individuals who have invested in businesses that is not performing and is unable to service their liabilities.

Business individuals who have invested into multiple properties and have no way of meeting their required payment plans for the projects now under construction and/or almost completed, where they have disbursed a sizeable percentage on their property to date.

Business individuals who secured mortgages where properties purchased in the boom times have depreciated so the value is less than the mortgage, but bonded to banks.

Bank collection managers who manage collection departments where they are subject to daily collection targets and where banks incur huge losses, because they are unable to recoup the default payments. They should offer these alternative consolidations at a certain level of default, so debtors are ensured to meet their committments. Alternatively once the client is listed, the situation can still be salvaged rather than demanding unrealistic payments that the client is unable to meet, so they don’t take the bank calls and hope it goes away and we all know this is the wrong port of action, because this is where they face problems.

Bank managers who approve credit facilities where if experienced, most of the time intuition serves professionals well. If something on an application does not give them a good feeling, then it is normally true. So rather to be safe than sorry just to meet targets, because they would be doing the bank a favour, also the potential debtor by declining such applications.

The same applies to finance house managers who can also relate to both of the above bank situations.

Individuals not yet in debt, but fancies the idea and is currently in a comfort zone where they can be afforded any facility they wish because they meet the qualifying criteria. They need the exposure of where they can find themselves if they are not cautious and aware of the pitfalls. It is always cautionary to be enlightened prior to placing yourself in a self-inflicted situation.

Gaining the exposure and knowledge of how to protect your interests, is an invaluable lesson to learn because most times coming from western countries where credit bureaux’s and similar institutions reign, they are blown away to find that the policies are not that strict here, so the human factor instinct is to afford themselves of available credit and the situation then snowballs once they get completely carried away.

Debt is never bad, the key factor here is it can serve you well if strictly controlled and managed, however many need enlightenment, also because the materialism factor is huge in the world today, so is the focus.

[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 live workshops on debt recovery.
Note 2: The views expressed are the author’s own and do not reflect in any way, the views of Emirates24|7. Readers are advised to carry out their own due diligence before taking any decision.]

 

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