Free debt advise

[anotheoldgit]

I have just heard that the goverment are going to grant another 15 millon pounds towards free debt advice.

Who is going to give this debt advice, yet another Goverment quango?

Who will be it's first customer, the Goverment perhaps?

[Buenchico]

The Financial Inclusion Fund, which is administered by the Department for Business Enterpriise & Regulatory Reform (under Lord Mandelson) receives bids for funding from relevant external bodies, including charities such as Citizens Advice. Other beneficiaries are mentioned here:
http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/policy_1234-3106-2 5792.html

Chris

[LeMarchand]

Mandy's in charge? Wonder how much of that money is going to his mates...

[Gromit]

The CAB will get most of the money. The CAB is not a quango and is very well respected.

Would you sooner these agencies did not get any extra money to cope with the extra work that a recession will bring. Should people losing their jobs, and getting behind with their payments, be denied helpful advice?

[Haggisdj]

I work in Local Government and the advice we pass out is basically - Pay your Council Tax and pay your rent. After that manage your money wisely.

[what..the?]

The CAB needs every penny they can get, they are so bad at doing their job, so much so any amount of money might not improve their debt advice skills. At the end of the day the advice over the phone and in person (if you can even get a meeting) seems to be very dependant on the education and training of the person at the CAB which from what I have heard from many clients is not worth anyone's time.

The money needs to be spend on improving and modernising the Insolvency Law and Act, tightening the leash on huge IVA companies that advertise on tv like 'Debt Free Direct' who give people advice to purely benefit their companies financies, not the debtor. Help sole Insolvency Practitioners by taking a more loose hold on their their leash and let them take on more work. If the govenment could create a government approved list of all the IP's in the country and the CAB refer people to their local IP on the government approved list these people can solve their debts sooner rather than latter, these people just need to be hand held through these difficult times, not just pushed for pillar to post and miss sold an IVA by a greedy company.