Who wins? Debtors' determination vs creditors'

Despite debtors being publically informed that there is help for them to restructure and/or consolidate their liabilities to ease their burden, most of the time debtors continue to meet the adversity that has existed for decades, which results in more despondency and increased desperation of not wanting to face legal action.

It appears that retail clients face this wrath more than SMEs where some banks are adamant that they will not exceed an 18-month restructure, so how is it possible for debtors to agree to a restructure when their EMIs are increased instead of being reduced? Who thinks up these policies with the knowledge that it is not a viable workable solution, in fact, it is a disaster because debtors cannot accept the offer, despite their desperation.

There are so many illogical explanations that surface pertaining to creditor offers that I wonder who makes these decisions and how do they logically derive at these offers because it’s not rocket science to realize that their offer is not at all acceptable. Here are some examples that have been recently offered to debtors, including SMEs, even after a field visit with a promising business situation that future business is possible and/or confirmed by way of official documentation:

   1. Restructures declined because debtors DBR (Debt Burden Ratio) is currently 100 per cent and not the regulated 50-55 per cent. This is what I am personally being told, however the logic is who requests a restructure if they are comfortably at 50-55 per cent? The latter situation means that the debtor does not need help and is able to meet their EMIs.
    
   2. If a debtor is in delinquency by 3-4+ EMIs then just this situation is proof that the debtor is in dire difficulty, so how is it possible to demand all the overdues prior to restructure? Anyone with a logical brain will realize that the debtor surely has a serious problem, so being a little more realistic would save the day. I am absolutely supporting creditors as to why the debtor is in this situation, saturated with debt, but the current situation does not resolve the issue by repeatedly ‘beating the old story about how they came to be in this massive debt’. The focus should be ‘how can we best help resolve this situation, retain this debtor as a paying client and recoup our funds?’ Not so? Then why are more creditors operating on ego?

   3. Many bank creditors are not open to collaborating with remedial companies and so once they receive the case, they eliminate the remedial company and no information is given to fully support the client, in spite of a legally attested power of attorney issued by the debtor in favour of the remedial company, being officially accepted. Remedial companies have a good history of trust, providing a neutral environment for the debtor with no negative collections stigmas that keep debtors away and I just wonder when creditors will understand that remedial companies are there to fully support the debtor, regardless of their beliefs. Some of us have been doing this remedial work for years and saved many lives. We just were not collections companies who viewed a remedial company and then jumped onto that horse, absolutely not! In all respect we are here to protect debtors who approach us for sincere help and we are committed to meeting this objective, regardless of the adversity we face on a daily basis as some fine day, you will finally smell the coffee and realize that our intentions are not to take your jobs, or your work, but to help the debtor, for us to reach more debtors and transform their lives and in turn help you to retain your job and finally to continue supporting the country’s economy. So closing the doors on remedial companies means closing the doors on your own clients and resolving their problems.
 
    4. How is it possible that creditors can delay debtors remedial requests and then finally after 1-2months while the debtor is awaiting the final outcome of their requests, the cheque is bounced and a legal case filed with absolutely no remorse or explanation? Who does this and with what mind-set? Are there really people with such hard hearts that do not view a remedial request for what it is or do you really think that one day you will not face such a situation? Believe me what we give out comes back to us, each time, without exception. So when someone stands in front of you asking for genuine help then do the right thing as it is not about your ego or power, it is not even about you but possibly the golden chair you are seated upon.

    5. We received a remedial approval for a client for a newly restructured loan for 36months and we requested the client to meet with the creditor. We later found out that the creditor got the debtor to sign a restructure for 24months and upon us demanding that the creditor to change the contract as we had the legal email confirmation, the head refused. Creditors do not assume that you can continue taking advantage of vulnerable debtors simply because if they don’t sign on the dotted line you will take legal action because you are not in a position of power to serve yourself and what you did is unethical. So finally you should understand that as a remedial company we will take action when you violate the debtors rights as I am personally here to protect debtors, ensure they repay their liabilities so that this country can continue to thrive and be the best place to live on planet earth and I do this with my life.

In this world debtors always never have a voice but that must change as it does not mean someone is facing a debt crisis that they have leprosy, or are bad people or don’t need a second chance in life because they do and the true fact is that all of us are not immune to facing this situation. What I know is that being mean or bad to people means we pay a price, maybe not now, but certainly along our own life’s path, which I can personally guarantee.

Creditors, it is high time to change the attitude and not sit there like it has nothing to do with you and does not affect your life, because it does.

[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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