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Creditors, if a debtor has approached you for remedial support, why are your collections representatives suddenly resorting to presenting cheques and then filing legal cases? In some instances, the request is completely ignored, the debtor pushed from one representative to another long before the next EMI is due, then demands are made or legal action advised.

A few days ago, a customer wanted to settle their credit card balance which was average, yet the finance establishment, not a bank, refused any 1fil discount, when their interest rate is way above the normal level for a card. They refused to negotiate, it’s their way or the highway! So, what’s the projected outcome? I would say from my experience, legal, then how can this be fair?

I understand the demanding debtor who is not only arrogant, but acts entitled when they have depleted all the credit and more, this example does not pertain to the debtor we are portraying. If a debtor’s DBR is 100% and they are settling 1 medium credit card, with 2 very low remaining credit cards to be rescheduled, reducing their DBR to way below 50% and they have cash in hand to settle in a 1shot reasonable settlement nowhere near 30%, then why refuse them? Why opt to offer a restructure on a AED 18,000 credit card balance because if they do, the outcome will be repaying this debt 3 times over! How logical is that?

Currently there tends to be some huge illogical unjustified reasons when it pertains to remedial or settlement requests, unlike before, where:

1. Creditors are assuming that customers approach a remedial company, so they can stop paying their EMI’s and finally secure a restructure – Wrong! The customer has had their own foresight that in the following 1-2months they would be facing a problem and be unable to meet their EMI’s, due to their cash-flow problems. So, the creditor stalls their response by months, placing the customer in delinquency, because after all, they did say that they would be facing a problem meeting future EMI’s, but can afford 50%, which is what we requested. What have I been advising debtors for years? i.e. ‘Approach your creditor or a remedial company long before you will face problems…” and it has taken many years for them to realize that this is the only logical action to take when the situation appears grim around the corner.

Clearly all creditors and/or bank’s have their own policies, which cannot be dictated, but unique debtor circumstances can justify a special review to try and accommodate a remedial request, taking the debtor’s entire financial exposure into consideration, which is what remedial companies undertake, as neither the creditor or bank/creditor has the ability or takes the responsibility to ‘buy-out’ the debtor’s liabilities, especially where the salary is credited to the account monthly. In many cases it is impossible to perform and approve the latter, where the total liabilities are excessive, but then a creditor cannot simply deduce incorrect assumptions, simply because they feel they are qualified to do so, when they have not seen the entire picture.

2. Remedial requests are prolonged for as long as 6months or more, where none of the creditor representatives take responsibility for the case, even after convincing the debtor that they must pay 1 EMI and then the case will be submitted for restructure review, or deferment review, where once the EMI is paid, the case is allocated to the next collector, where there is absolutely no handover, so no continuity and finally, the customer is faced with more penalties, demands for all immediate overdues, or legal action. Since when does a creditor not realize that reducing debtor income will result in job losses, to which they are not immune?

You do not get to push people around like balls when they are pleading for your help, where you are in a position of strength to tender such assistance, but you simply show a blind eye, because your only objective is to secure your target.

I agree that many debtors do not deserve the attention, because they are either under-handed or have hidden agendas not to fulfil their obligations, however that phase is slowly dying a death, where people are now coming forward for the help, as many still have existing businesses that is operational, although the income has reduced, some still have jobs and again they have a reduced income.

But despite presenting all supporting documentation, in many instances the creditors continue requesting additional documentation, the case gets lost in the mist, nobody knows the outcome and finally one manager will call the customer in to discuss the case only to inform them that “We cannot approve your restructure, what you need is a cash injection!”

Seriously, as if a business owner has no clue that a cash injection would resolve their problems tomorrow morning? How is it possible that these individuals appointed as managers at organizations have such bad client service skills and business experience that they have no clue about the solution they are presenting to their customer, when it is irrelevant and not the reason that the customer assumed they were requested to meet after 4months of waiting for a remedial solution to be approved?

Let us not regress, because if we do, it affects the full cycle, that means all of us, because it is imperative that we take hands and try to support everyone, as the spin-off is immeasurable. In situations like these we are supposed to be one, not one party who operates under the auspices of ‘entitlement’ and another perceived as ‘beggars’, where the latter applies to both the debtor and the remedial companies.

The customer walked through our door, not yours for a reason, which is normally that they have already walked through your door multiple times receiving no assistance or support, their requests and pleas disappeared on deaf ears jus because, no specific reason, a factor many debtors have had to accept and learn to live with, until someone referred them to a remedial company who fully supports debtors.

So, why throw the stones at the remedial company, why not accept your faults and try corrective measures and damage control to protect your organization’s assets? Because it’s easy to point fingers and blame others, simply.

The world has evolved, yet some of you are oblivious and still exist in your own cocoon, you do what suits you and act unaffected by the hardship you inflict on debtors when they are pleading for your help and you turn a blind eye, when you can help. It’s about extending kindness and supporting where you can and as an entrepreneur, I understand more than you do about business, so I don’t expect you to transform your organization into a charity, but you can do better.

Today the trend within the workplace is different, the HR should now be the hub of all employee productivity and performance deterrents and have identified that debt is the largest factor.

EFFRS, Dubai are offering a Helping Hand, to directly address this problem and avoid unpleasantness interactions, fruitless HR approaches where the employees situation is not improving and then to extend a reach to them to secure a solution for the debt-crisis many are facing.

Over the past 2 years many employees have been terminated because debt reached the HR’s door and it doesn’t matter how much the employee has tried for an amicable solution with their creditor, sometimes they are unable to resolve the problem by themselves.

There are thousands of you still lurking in the shadows, fighting your debt-crisis silently, hoping for a miracle, because I know you have tried all ways with no positive outcome, but today is where I redirect your focus, on how you arrived at this crisis and how to transform your life. The steps I am sharing will form the sound foundation you need to emotionally prepare yourself, to face your debt-crisis. There is absolutely no way when you are engulfed in emotional fear, with zero clarity or focus, including being insecure and unstable, that you can make informed decisions to act.

This advice is not ‘a pie in the sky’, or a ‘delusion of grandeur’, but the true facts, which are, creation of realities, i.e. you are responsible for your situation, because simply, you created it!

a. “How did I get into this situation so fast, without even noticing?

b. How did my business just spiral, why was I not focusing and wasting time and not noticing that I had not set an intention to achieve anything, I was just spending money unconsciously, probably assuming there was a ‘bottomless pit’?

c. Why did I not see any ‘red flags’?

d. Why can I not account for most of this expenditure in detail?

Because, when money flows, we lose our mind, we never stop to ‘maintain records, or even think about a rainy day and as fast as that money flows into your life, if you don’t respect it, you will lose it and it doesn’t matter if it’s thousands, hundreds of thousands or millions.

I know this, because it happened to me, except, I was spending my own millions, not someone else’s, but I also never focused on the fact that my money flow was not a bottomless pit, I was too concerned to meet the needs of Tom, Dick and Harry, until my flow was depleted, where the shock was, they were all nowhere to be found once my pit was dry!

We are human, we make mistakes, so beating yourselves up about it, will ensure you continue to regress, the doors will continue to remain close, nothing will move and the tunnel will seem long and dark with no hope, because that is what you are creating, just like you created your debt, or lost your money – Blame yourself, take responsibility and once you have clarity, set your intention and take the much needed action to save yourself and your life.

Many will say talking is easy, yes, it is, but put action into your words and thoughts and keep them positive, because you need to do nothing else but change your thoughts to change your world. Nothing remains dark forever, so unless you make that move to step out and take action, nothing will change, you will simply revolve around in circles, with no progress, worsening your situation.

When you don’t have a plan, you are lost, because then it means you have no direction, therefore no forthcoming solution and it’s a sad day when just around the corner, you could have saved yourself.

When you are down and out, learn to saturate yourself with books pertaining to achieving wealth, abundance, prosperity and new success in your life, forget about beating the old drums of how you got to your debt-crisis, because it’s gone, you must learn to move forward and put the old behind you.

I never stop emerging myself in improving my own knowledge and experience and just this weekend I picked up my favourite “Think And Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill and it’s a book you should keep pushing yourself daily, because if you master the teachings in that book, you will master achieving tremendous wealth and transforming your life. So instead of prancing to the mall and spending money you don’t have on goods you don’t need, invest in this book, because it is a lifetime investment.

Let me share some significant points with you. There are six ways to turn desire into Gold, so follow those steps daily, no matter how depressed, suppressed and repressed you feel. Some powerful affirmations he shares in this book, that should resonate with those of you who live with huge hope, who know that you can transform your life, but maybe you don’t know how, so here they are:

“Every person who wins in any undertaking, must be willing to burn he’s ships and cut all sources of retreat…”

“You may as well know, right here, that you can never have riches in great quantities, unless you can work yourself into white heat of desire for money, and actually believe you will possess it…”

“When you begin to think and grow rich, you will observe that riches begin with a state of mind, with definiteness of purpose, with little or no hard work…”

“Before success comes in any man’s life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat…”

“I will never stop, because men say no…”

So, really, things are thoughts and powerful things at that, when they are mixed with a definiteness of purpose, persistence and a burning desire for their translation into riches. Which means that it doesn’t matter where you are right now with your debt-crisis, you can change your situation by changing your thoughts and the help you need will flow to you. This is not a fallacy, it is how the universe revolves for us humans who can connect at that level and somehow many of you remain clouded. I speak to many daily, but they are bent on rattling off their old story and beating their old drums, when they don’t realize, if they just stopped for 5minutes and listened to themselves, and remembered how many people they rattled that same story to, how may people stopped taking their calls or responding to their pleas for help, because most people will listen to your story, but they can’t get involved as they have their own lives and responsibilities.

The job is yours and only yours and nobody can do it for you and I am here to convince you, that your problem is miniscule versus the power you can acquire to be happy and at peace again. Just listen to yourself when you want to start on a rampage or rattle on about your problems and tell yourself, ‘nobody is really listening or want to help, because they have their problems’, I need to find the right solution for myself and start your daily practices, google, read up about transformation and start your new journey, because it’s that simple…

As a Business Owner and Entrepreneur for more than 2 decades, I know what it’s like to face troubling times in business, with facing financial crisis, or just trying to revive your existing business to make the wheels turn again, focus on existing liabilities, trying to sustain yourself and your family and then still showing a good face every single day.

Hence for that very reason, I continue to reach out to help individuals change their lives and it’s a gift, or a calling which I have embraced. So weekly I try to come up with different forms of inspiration, which is meant for you to view your debt-crisis situation from a variation of perspectives, so you can exactly pin-point:

1. Where did I go wrong?

2. How bad is my true situation?

3. Have I taken enough action to remedy this situation?

4. If you have, do you need more help and where to go? Have I short-listed possible new actions that I can take, or are am I simply vegetating hoping it will fall from the sky? Nothing moves until you do, a miracle will not drop from the sky if you are sitting around day and night, complaining, hiding away from creditors and beating the old story, which is already dead!

5. Have I reviewed your current business enough? Even if downsized now, surely there are possibilities to create new revenue funnels, or did you try to emerge yourself into available online information on how to master the art of Game-Changing?

6. What am I prepared to sacrifice to turn your situation around?

7. Do I need to secure the advice of an experienced Coach/Mentor, to enlighten me how to take alternative action and what my new options can be?

It’s not easy, but reality is that you created this situation, so by the same token you can become ‘unstuck’ and be on your way to creating abundance and prosperity for yourself again and you might say ‘it’s easy for you to say!’ and I know, but when you have walked the talk, then it’s realism, I have been there, so I know that the advice tendered is real.

The golden nugget when facing a debt crisis is ask yourself: ‘How can I create new abundance, prosperity and wealth for myself, because I believe I have the ability to overcome and achieve the success I set out to achieve?’ When you read this phrase it’s completely a total contrast to the story you have been beating to death for months or a few years. The tone sounds lighter, it makes you feel better, like there is hope, some new path available for you to persue. So why aren’t you pursuing it? Go for what you want, forget about the old story, because it’s not serving you, just deepening the hole you’re already in!

The keys are and I have repeated myself so many times over the past almost decade, writing on this subject and sharing my views, including tendering my advice, because I know that when you read this over and over again, it will resonate with you, because you are guilty of not taking concrete action to correct your situation and transform your life.

Most of you will say it’s impossible, let me share with you that there is no such word, when you say it’s impossible, then you are imposing limiting beliefs on yourself, so you will continue to remain stuck, negative situations will continue to present itself, and it’s not as you all think ‘Law of Attraction’, absolutely not, because something was left out and that very key is ‘Unconscious Competence’.

It takes approximately 21 days to establish a new belief, pattern or behavior, which means to ingrain new positive habits into your subconscious, because that is the ‘recorder of your life beliefs, patterns an habits’, you must do and repeat it over and over again, resulting in ‘unconscious competence’, like brushing your teeth every morning, or driving your car and arriving at your destination, only to find you don’t know how you got there!’, because it’s habit.

To progress, you must have a definite plan and purpose to derive at your final destination, so here are key tips for today.

1. Create a new plan, even if your debt has already been restructured, do your best at a new plan and ensure it makes logical sense;

2. Record all information, commercials, current outstanding dues and balances, cheques that have bounced, next EMI’s due, any information that will help you see a new picture, because most times people facing a debt-crisis turn a blind eye to the truth, as it makes them feel better, but for sure it does not make the problem go away.

3. Go back to your creditors, present your new plan, ask with much emotion for help, plead to the human side of them, because they are and many have huge empathy, just sometimes debtors approaches to creditors are entitled, arrogant, demanding and disrespectful, so leave those habits at home, as it will not serve you.

4. Take copies of all your legal documents with you, so you have everything readily available.

5. Most of all, start believing in your ability to overcome, you must burn yourself into a hot sweat of unraveled determination to set your financial situation right, believe in your plan and do not let anything move your focus from what you wish to achieve.

You might say ‘You’re joking, right?’ No, I am not joking because ‘What the human mind believes, it can conceive…’ and another great inspiration is ‘I will not stop, because men say no…’

Too often, we stop because men say no, we get despondent, we feel like our world is falling apart and we feel hopeless and useless to move an inch. Let me ask you today, don’t find yourself in this position stopped in your tracks because someone else’s realistic response to your determined plan, is negative. Never give up, keep on keeping on because the tunnel never stays dark, light overcomes darkness any day of the week.

You’re important to you, people don’t become useless because they’ve made a mistake to accumulate debt, it’s a lesson, where hopefully, once you got out of it, you would have learnt invaluable nuggets, setting precedent for your next new journey!

We all know that those facing a debt-crisis are almost faceless and voiceless and why?

1. Because they don’t want anyone to know they are facing this problem.
2. Due to the emotions of personal shame, embarrassment, humiliation and degradation.
3. People don’t like to be judged and this is often the stigma they steer away from, all the time, without exception!
4. Delusional pretentious perception that ‘All Is Well’, is a comfort-factor for the facade.
5. There are not many people who will be empathetic, sympathetic to anyone facing this problem, simply because they don’t wish to disturb their own comfort zones, rightly so, where they will rather opt to listen a few times but not get involved. This does not help the person facing the problem.
6. When we face a debt problem, everyone around us disappears, especially those good friends, they are nowhere to be found, they don’t take our calls, return calls or messages and disappear into oblivion. We only see them again once they know our situation is under control, correct? There are but half a hand of our sincere friends who will stand with us, I know, I have been there and grateful for those precious friends for supporting me.
7. This is a road to be travelled like a ‘loner’ whether you accept this right now or not, it’s a hard cold fact, so you should be prepared and take the bull by the horns yourself.
8. It’s hard to take the 1st step which is taking ownership and responsibility by admitting that you have a problem, it’s the same for anyone addicted to anything, yours was just over-spending, but it can be corrected if you are willing to give it a try!

So what is this Debt Mastermind and how can it serve you?

You and so many other hundreds if not thousands like you made a mistake, but you can correct it right now, so what’s the worth in beating yourself up about it and not progressing, when you are wasting energy, your health is suffering, so is your job, family life and everything that affects you as a human being?

There are people just like you who are dreaming of the day that someone will:

1. Give them a listening ear.
2. Understand where they are coming from and why they are facing a debt-crisis.
3. Support them, just by listening and tendering their experienced advice.
4. Just be a phone call or cup of coffee away to release the tension and resistence.
5. Teach them or together learn new methods to be on a new path of debt recovery.
6. Accept them for who they really are and form real true relationships of substance and meaning with them.
7. Not be judgemental and continue criticizing them for this problem they find themselves in, because they are in the same problem or they experienced the problem and started progressing.
8. Encourage them to take the path, stay on it and finish the journey.

There are so many powerful nuggets when you get involved in a Debt Mastermind, because you will meet people who are in the same situation, truly understand your problem and be there all the way for you, just like you can reciprocate and be there for them too. This is a form of finding one’s true worth, being one’s authentic self with ‘like-minds’ who share the same goals, objectives and dreams and when you can ignite this calibre of friendship and relationship, then there is no stopping you to fully recovering from your Debt-Crisis.

It also means that individuals, families and other business individuals will meet the same type people with whom they can regularly engage socially and intellectually and who knows what can culminate out of those newly formed relationships?

Why is it that when we face troubled times that we insist on focusing on the bad or negative outcome when our only job is to focusing on recreating a new life, new situation and try to get the most positive situations out of this? It does not have to be all bad, only we are responsible for calling more of the negative into our lives in this state of mind, when actually all you need to do is change the way you think, speak and act and then you will learn how to change your own world!

Register today for the 1st Debt Mastermind to be convened by me in Dubai. Once there are 100 delegates, I will confirm the details and reconfirm your attendance.

I want to make it worth your while to connect with as many individuals and from thereon, we will meet regularly.

Thank you, take action right now and I look forward to meeting you!

Warmest Regards

Theda

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER:

Apply ‘soft-skill technique’ in line with the global paradigm shift

Five years ago out of a previous experience I took sole responsibility to reach out to the UAE debtor community to try to resolve their debt-crisis problems, where over the years I helped many families to restore their financial situation to absolute recovery.

However at that time I had no clue of the term ‘remedial’ because for me it was instinctive to relentlessly persue this path, but I realised that people facing a debt-crisis were more susceptible to accepting this new technique I applied to convince them to take responsibility and ownership of their problem and apply the necessary action to get them out of debt and it worked!

Fast forward over the latter three years and creditors have suddenly realised that this is the most effective action to take where besides the outcome being that the debtors are able to comfortably repay their debt and that it is a win-win situation for both parties, the outcome of the process also teaches them human compassion and empathy, regardless of whether the situation was self-inflicted or not.

I have personally had heads of departments tell me that they also felt good and walked away feeling like they accomplished something significant by fully supporting a debtor by deriving at an amicable solution for both parties.

However, this is not my subject today, as these individuals are far and few in between, even today.

What I found was the following which left me cold to understand that there is absolutely no conscience of inflicting human pain onto a debtor when the action was unnecessary.

Most creditors have no clue of the emotional turmoil a debtor faces when all roads are blocked and where it did not have to be this way.

One fundamental principle in life is when you are in a position of strength, then refrain from wielding your power when the outcome of your actions is that you could destroy a life as this form of action is linked to dues you pay later in your life when you least expect it.

Here’s a latest creditor policy that needs dire reviewing:

1.     When a debtor requests a consolidation and/or restructure then it is understood that it is a time-consuming process, give or take 1 to 2 months, where I have experienced 6 months for one of my clients.

2.     During this time collections dues are ongoing and that is normal financial policy. However some creditors are able to put these payments on hold whilst request no 1 is in process, awaiting a final decision and once approved, the debtor may be required to make a down payment, which is fully acceptable.

3.     The problem arises when the debtor finds it apt to pursue legal action whilst request no 1 is in progress. This means bouncing the guarantee cheque and instituting legal action.

4.     So now the debtor is forced to meet the legal action payment request from the creditor before:

a.     The legal action instituted can be retracted where the payable amount is normally not only unrealistic but out of the means of the debtor, where the legal action taken against the debtor is at the most critical stage and cannot comply.

b.     If approved then the request no 1 will not be issued or signed by the creditor unless payment ‘a’ above is made.

What now?

The debtor has no way of meeting this legal action payment request so the outcome is:

a.     The instituted legal action takes its course where the debtor will face the legal consequences with the probability of losing their job and finally losing all;

b.     The debtor will never be afforded the opportunity to civilly and respectfully honour their debt payment commitments as they now do not have the means to repay the debt due to facing legal action and losing their job.

Tell me how many creditor employees even have an inkling of a notion of the sad, humiliating, degrading situation they inflict on debtors when the situation could have had an absolute ‘Remedial’ outcome, where both parties achieved their goals and a life was spared?

The key question I ask is how come creditor organizations are so out of sync that their systems are not even updated accordingly as to the progress of request no 1, where most of the time the co-ordination is non-existent and ‘nobody knows where request no 1 is, nobody knows who bounced the cheque, some will say legal action is stopped, some will call to detail the legal action in the most derogative way to victimize the debtor and think nothing of their bad actions inflicted on the debtor, including the increased emotional fear piling up on the debtors head, which then has other negative repercussions that could have been avoided’.

Creditors, understand debtors are still the people who ensure you have a job today, because without them you too would be joining them. Yet some of you assume you are immune to this form of suffering in the future and this is where you are absolutely wrong.

Debtors can receive ‘windfalls’, in some instances they can experience some form of good fortune in the form of a better job, bonus, incentive, whatever, but if they hold onto a positive form of existence then for sure their life will change and so will their situation because they have the ability to change it anytime, with the correct mind-set.

It’s not nice to place people into a bad situation with no regard or no conscience simply because:

i.     It’s the easy way out to lose the problem, regardless of the human consequences;

ii.     You can achieve your target easier;

iii.     You’re playing the number game on another level;

iv.     You don’t care about people because you are in your fat job, earning your fat salary, sitting on your high chair, where you never assume you can come tumbling down one day;

v.     You are oblivious to the true fact that if you extended that reach of support, you would positively participate in your organization’s growth and also the growth of the countries economy and finally, continuously increase your Collections service levels;

vi.     You are oblivious to the fact that when you sow good seed you get good, so when you sow bad seed, guess what?

vii.     Being humane is a sign of growth and maturity which means your progress and success is inevitable. The reverse means you can never achieve your dream.

Creditor employees are unaware that when you are arrogant, abusive, rude, disrespectful and wield your power over a debtor for the sake of desperation for money, then you are building so much resistence that the money you seek, cannot come. That is the law of existence.

My advice is when you opt to rename or reinvent a division called ‘Remedial’ then do your very best to reach out to debtors in the most respectful way, teach them how to fish don’t give them a fish and you will make your own job easier and achieve your goals.

You cannot bring in the new and continue with the old on the back-burner, because it is just not effective in any way at all and as far as I am concerned it is unethical and not in line with policy.

We are all humans on this planet so setting an intention to go ‘remedial’ and show the world you are trying to do good has a pure meaning. So you should learn to walk the talk, doing is always more effective than lip-service.

Inflicting suffering on people is not the way to go, not now and not ever in the future again.

The power of Financial Collections is no longer effective in our evolutionary world today, because the human being engulfed in emotional fear retaliates in adverse ways that does not inspire or support the debtor from taking ownership and responsibility for their debt.

We might say that today debtors want to be treated with ‘kit gloves’ when in reality it is far from the truth, where the latter is that they want to be treated like human beings, not like degenerates, because historically collections has acquired a very bad stigma to it and so debtors react negatively all the time when faced with collection representatives demanding immediate payment, OR………..

Most of everyone of us have made very grave mistakes and bad decisions when it pertains to our finances where debt does not distinguish whom it takes, it simply consumes anyone, at anytime and most of the time the debtor is aware of the upcoming crisis but chooses to ignore the ‘red flags’ until the situation snowballs out of control and then they pretend like they didn’t know it was coming or that it existed.

Debtors facing this crisis always hopes for a miracle without taking action where the key is nothing will move if you don’t choose to move, because in life there are no freebees. Facing a debt-crisis means there is a hard lesson to learn and that lesson does not include transposing your responsibility over to the next person, neither does it include ignoring the situation or pretending that it does not exist. Finally, it does not include ignoring your creditor calls, sms’s or emails as they are all equally and critically important.

It also requires grit to maintain momentum’s that will get you through every single day for as long as you are repaying your debt, where learning to live frugally, sparingly, committed and disciplined are the key factors because without this transformational process you will never learn the lessons meant for you.

Never forget that it is not the creditor’s fault, you created this reality so only you can change it and most importantly a key component of the EFFRS Remedial Coaching and Mentorship is to change your perception, beliefs and habits about money into a new process that will serve you best.

We have learn’t that when you approach a debtor about delinquent payment by demanding, threatening or victimizing them, then you are putting their back up against the wall as much as you the creditor assumes that they don’t deserve any chance, all you need is for them to pay up because that is your goal and your commitment to your employer.

However, this approach is old-fashioned, it is far less effective than Remedial because if I say to a debtor:

1. “If you don’t pay this EMI by x hour, then we will be filing legal action” – If this debtor has 10 other delinquent accounts at 10 other creditors and everyone is demanding the same where they have no money then they will simply throw in the towel, ignore all the future calls because in their mind, they don’t even think about the consequences, simply they don’t care because they feel that nobody cares

VERSUS Remedial…

1. “Do you think that you could possibly try to get the funds to pay at least 1 EMI by today or tomorrow? It would really be appreciated because once you pay this EMI then I can see if I can hold the action due on your account and speak with my manager and maybe we can review a restructure for your outstanding amount” – Now if you read this response and feel inside just how authentic, kind and co-operative the creditor is asking the debtor to make the effort, then trust me that debtor will walk the streets flat to find some money to pay into their account.

As the creditor do you fully understand how negatively a debtor is affected when you blast their head off and demand the outstanding EMI? The 2nd version is more diplomatic method of securing outstanding debtors because you have displayed a unique human touch to the process that cannot be compared to harsh collections techniques and why this is so effective is that the human spirit needs rekindling during these emotional times because debtors are engulfed in fear constantly every day, when they are in this situation.

Therefore as a collection company you cannot transform your image tomorrow morning to remedial because people remember the threats, calls, demands, victimization, negative attitudes and actions and so as EFFRS we have authentically been remedial from inception, so we provide an absolute neutral environment to debtors where they know that once they arrive at our offices, they will not be blasted, embarrassed, humiliated, degraded or simply their human spirit crushed.

This is where EFFRS adds immense invaluable service and support including our debt recovery coaching and mentorship which does not have a time-line as we operate purely on building and fully establishing relationships of trust with our clients.

So by the same token, our creditor clients are afforded the same invaluable service offerings within this scope of work that they expect as we always meet our service deliverables and promises, because we operate with integrity, principle and service excellence.

Creditors should therefore not view EFFRS as a competitor or a company wanting to take their business or their employees jobs, rather, a helping hand that is reaching out to take hands and fully support them to meet their goals and objectives, help them protect their organization’s assets and in turn also help their debtors. So it is a full circle that is being offered by EFFRS and I just wonder why some creditor management have their backs up against the wall.

Perhaps now is the time to review a contract with EFFRS to help creditors recover their debtors and in turn help their organizations to grow, which then fully supports the countries growth as debtors will remain to repay their debt, families will not be split, people will be able to reactivate their lives and start living again in harmony.

Nothing can thrive in adversity or where no harmony, happiness or joy exists so it’s time to smell the coffee!

EFFRS are committed to rendering their Remedial Services and will continue to strive for service improvement as we progress in the forthcoming years.

SME’s  are our core businesses and if facing a dire debt-crisis situation, then they need the attention to save the day and history.

In the initial stage SME’s realized that their market would be facing a problem in the next 1-2months and opted to approach their creditors resulting in mostly being turned away, because at the time they were regular with their repayments, not defaulting. Hence creditors did not view their request as requiring pro-active action, where today we know the outcome of these actions.

One very important key is that creditors, salary individuals or those who do not have to create their monthly income versus SME’s or true Entrepreneurs have the innate ability to forecast their own very near future outcome when it pertains to generating their income and the answer is simple. They do not have the luxury of a monthly salary disbursed to their account, in fact, they stand at the end of a queue after disbursing their staff and other fixed costs that must be paid. Just that requires commitment and tenacity so most of these individuals have substance but that only dissipates when being treated badly.

So when they approach you for a restructure then believe them, take their word for it and do something about it, because we could have prevented the situation that exists today as I view it as self-inflicted, with respect.

Not all business owners are sincere or committed where that is the job of the creditor to ascertain after applying their risk policies and due diligence measures. So this article is not implying that all business owners should have been granted this concession and consideration, however many of them did and they were refused.

As expatriate Entrepreneurs living and operating in any overseas country for a decades or a fair no of years we know that we are in that country for a reason, where the key justification is that “we are better off than in our own countries” for many known reasons. So the question is why would a sincere committed business owner just pack up and leave if they could be afforded an opportunity of a debt-restructure where they can affordably repay their debt and be in peace?

Too little too late is what I see right now as the damage has been done…

Over the past 2months creditors have been scuttling around creating a ‘remedial’ division to finally entertain remedial discussions with SME’s, but we also know that it is way too late to recoup what is left behind. Many have gone but wish to return even after a few months and so my synopsis is very true, i.e. that they should have been afforded the help and full support initially.

Not many people have the ability to project doom and gloom but there are people who know their business, they also know the habits of their clients when they see business slowing down and by the same token, they have sound relationships with suppliers for years, so any negativity that surfaces raises red flags and based on these findings is why they first approached creditors before facing delinquent situations.

Even today, remedial negotiations is still extremely tough with creditors as they tend to ‘throw the book‘ at debtors, beat old stories as to where the money has gone and why they took such credit facilities where this is now irrelevant and obsolete because at the time the market trend was to afford SME’s credit at a high pace, they still demand overdues before restructuring in spite of creditors being the main reason requests decisions are delayed for months.

So the famous last words are ‘the debtor knows they have liabilities with us so even though they requested our consideration for a restructure, they should continue paying their EMI’s!’. Final outcome parallel to the pending request is cheque bounced and legal action filed.

Creditor folks, remember the debtor approached you 3 months prior and it has taken you exactly this time-frame to make a decision, in the interim with the debtor being battered by collections departments and external collections agencies when in the first place 3months ago the debtor informed the creditor of their inability to meet the current payment amount from the following month, with justifiable reasons. So where would the debtor generate the current EMI from if they informed you of their probable situation in the coming months?

Makes sense, correct? The question is who sees is and who has empathy to understand this situation and then who actually makes the time and effort to take action on behalf of the debtor?

I can tell you hardly anyone and the reason is they are in their job, earning their salaries so their comfort zone is not disturbed and rightfully a debtors liability should not affect the conscience of a creditor. However my point has nothing to do with this it pertains to understanding the real reason why the debtor is unable to maintain current EMI’s and needs reduced EMI’s.

It’s a logical conclusion, supposedly very clear to understand but try to communicate and go into dialogue with a creditor about this? The outcome is a zero, at the end of the day, they will do whatever it takes to secure those outstanding current EMI’s and not even apologize, or take the debtors 3month pending request into consideration and I am baffled as to the reasons why.

Sure, the reasons as stated by many creditors could be:

• They made this debt so it is their responsibility to continue their payments until they receive a response on their request. [Sure I get it but what I don’t get is why each month a collection representative will inform a debtor when a new EMI is due: [“Just pay this payment and I will activate the restructure request”] …Until next month, the restructure request is still not finalized and the 2nd collection representative calls with the same promises and that just leaves the debtor in a very hopeless dire situation and frame of mind where emotionally, they feel like they are doomed for disaster and then act accordingly to safeguard themselves.
  

• Creditors are not here to give them restructures after they took the loans and spent the money [True, this is what I am told when approaching creditors for debtor restructure requests]

• We are not a charity they must repay their debt. –[Sure, they know you are not a charity and they are willing to repay their debt at affordable EMI’s and that is all they are asking]

The list goes on and it’s long.

Creditors should also comprehend that when a remedial company approaches them for their debtors support that we are not here to take anyone’s job, in fact we are here to fully support your organization by applying our professional experienced ‘soft skills’ methods.

Together we can make a difference but isolating ourselves as islands who can ‘pull the strings’ as we wish, is totally unacceptable as the world has transformed into something many are oblivious to, where the core today is if you are in a position of strength, then reach out and help to transform lives and you would have done your bit.

In fact it will come around to you in measures unknown to you that could change your life to what you dream of, tomorrow.

Food for thought is that we don’t know where we will be tomorrow, we don’t know that if we walk into our office tomorrow that we will still have a job and what then if we too have huge liabilities? Would we not seek the empathy and support of those in positions of strength to help us?

THINK ABOUT THAT BECAUSE NOTHING THAT WE OWN BELONGS TO US AS IT CAN BE REMOVED TOMORROW WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION, SO LIVE WITH INTEGRITY AND DO YOUR BIT FOR HUMANITY…

It is proven that taking ownership and responsibility in the face of emotional fear, is the only path to successful debt recovery.

Nothing will change if you don’t decide to face those debt fears and learn how to overcome those emotions that has overtaken your life! When you don’t face it, then the situation gets progressively worse until there is no control and by this time, its very hard for anyone to help you.

Ignoring this situation does not make it disappear and most times when we are facing a debt-crisis after sometime we convince ourselves that one day the problems will no longer exist and this is delusional, we know this subconsciously.

1. We are therefore equipped to review your financial exposure and tender our professional advice where this is the 1st step.
2. We will advise you on the action to be taken and brief you on our joint roles and responsibilities to institute this action and remember we both have key roles to play in this process. You are just not afforded the luxury of transposing your entire debt situation to EFFRS with no effort from your end as we mentor you along the way with invaluable lessons.
3. Whether you are a private (retail) client or SME (commercial) we are able to fully assist and support you.
4. Transparency is the key from the client from inception, with no hidden surprises as this often happens and then complicates the process which is already activated. Be clear with no agenda’s because we expect the trust, honesty and sincerity.
5. The confidentiality of your private information is just as key to us as it is to you so we respect your privacy without exception.
6. Once the process is activated you are regularly updated and informed, especially when you need to personally present yourself at your creditors to present and/or sign the relevant documentation required to conclude the new requested process.
7. Your co-operation and commitment is therefore of utmost importance and critical

There is no task too big or small for the EFFRS team so be assured that we do not make exceptions for any client as we follow our internal stringent processes and policies which is aligned to global best practice standards and therefore aligned with most large creditor organizations. Our staff are also subject to a stringent code of conduct which is a credit for all concerned parties.

If you are facing a dire situation and we do appreciate the embarrassment where most debtors do not want to open up and discuss there problems with external parties, be assured we understand this very important point which is why we created a neutral environment for clients like yourself to feel comfortable when discussing these very personal problems and issues.

The fact is regardless of how you feel at some point you must take action or suffer the consequences which can be harsh especially if your debt is very high. We deal with clients with extreme debt and we have many success stories where those individuals are comfortably repaying their debt with no regrets.

We believe in relationships and continuing to maintain them so much of our business initially was based on referrals and it continues to be so until today.

We know that historically the stigma of debt alienates people which is why we are trying to change that perception that debt is a disease and that we must stay away from people who are in debt as they are a problem and create more problems where this is far from the truth most times. Debt does not distinguish, it consumes anyone so it is wrong to discriminate because everyone deserves a second chance in life so we assure you we will do our level best to help you resolve this problem.

It’s tough when you have no support, nobody believes in you or your ability to overcome your debt problems and change your situation but the key point we found is that the very people in positions of strength who are able to support you, never realise that they could find themselves facing the same problem as nobody is immune.

The way forward in this life today is to reach out and try to touch as many lives as possible, because only then do we in turn receive what we asked for…