Debt Talk – Détails, épisodes et analyse

One of the important changes in the last decade is the rise in the consumption of products and services on Buy Now Pay Later, as many low-income households are using these products to buy household items.

In this month’s Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray discusses ‘Indebted with Buy Now Pay products’. To address this pressing subject, Sean Breen from the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland and Gulsah T from Bromley Citizens Advice highlight some of the issues faced by communities struggling with buy-now-pay-later products and services.

Sean Breen, Director of Financial and Postal Service from the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland, explains that, based on their research, most consumers are from low-income households. They are already struggling with their finances and must be made aware of the consequences of non-payment, such as not being covered by the Financial Ombudsman Compensation Scheme. Many of them are also prone to being attracted to illegal money lenders.

Gulsah T, Head of Advice Services, at Bromley Citizens Advice, highlights the changes in the types of clients they see. Where among many debts, they have seen an increase in young people purchasing buy now pay later and how education is crucial in highlighting the cost of default in payment of buy now pay later can be to the individual credit rating and a claim in court since the Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate them.

The next podcast is on ‘Pensioners & winter fuel payment’.

Thousands of unpaid carers have been fined due to falling foul of earnings rules in the UK. Some of them also faced prosecution. The Department of Work and Pension (DWP) is recovering the overpayment of carers’ allowance from their existing benefit or salaries. On this month’s Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray explored: ‘Carers & benefit overpayment’ with distinguished guests from a funder and civil society organisations.

Rory Ewan, Senior Analyst from Policy in Practice, spoke about financial and non-financial challenges carers face in the UK. He explained the nature of carers’ role and how they have fallen foul of the criteria for carers allowance. He also describes how income received under carers allowance is different from universal credit. Universal credit has a taper system where carers lose the whole of their allowance if they earn a pound above the legal threshold. The DWP then use drastic enforcement action to recover the debt which leaves carers in further poverty and with some faced with criminal prosecution.

Abby Jitendra, Senior Policy Adviser from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) explained the UK's carers' state. They are mostly women, low-paid and deemed to fall within the vulnerability category. JRF carried out several research into the causes of poverty and carers and they are financially penalised for caring and also marginalised from the labour market leaving them with insecurity. Abby also highlighted the importance of changes in the benefits system to support carers in the long term.

Both panel members provided Debt Talk listeners with TOP TIPS to consider policy change to improve the lives of carers in the UK. My next podcast is on: 'Indebted with By Now Pay Later products.’

As we head towards another winter, the cost of electricity and gas will yet again be of concern for many households. Ripon Ray spoke with a savvy pensioner and a Fuel Poverty Action representative to address such an important issue on this Debt Talk podcast episode to explore the causes of the fuel crisis.

Barry Duckett, a local pensioner in South London, spoke about the challenges he and many pensioners fear in the coming winter due to the existing fuel cost. Yet, no government subsidy support is being provided to them compared to last winter.

Chia Harrington explained the causes of the rise in fuel cost and some of the strategic decisions many fuel suppliers had made by putting prepayment meters in many vulnerable households. This resulted in OFGEM developing tighter guidelines to support susceptible consumers and strong supervision measures. She questioned the relevance of social tariffs within the broader context of fuel poverty.

They also provided TOP TIPS to Debt Talk listeners. Next Debt Talk podcast, the subject matter: 'Alternative lending & debt'.

One in 422 adults entered insolvency between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023. The economic factor is crucial in considering bankruptcy for many individuals, particularly when personal Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) and Debt Relief Orders (DRO) are concerned. In this episode of the Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray explored: ‘DRO or IVA? That is really the question...’

Sara Williams, the founder of Debt Camel, began the conversation by looking at the history of bankruptcy and IVA leading up to the introduction of DRO in 2009, the commercial drive for many IVA providers to solely provide the only option who do not consider the interest of consumers through to its sales tactics and providing misleading information to entice consumers. There are early IVAs termination due to unsustainability for many low-income households. She also provided recommendations for short and long-term changes to regulations to consider for the interest of indebted communities.

Kevin Still is the CEO of the Debt Managers Standards Association (DEMSA), a trade body for debt solution providers. He emphasised the importance of coming together and tightening the quality and compliance framework to eliminate harmful practices. He recognised that community-free advice providers are essential in holistically delivering impartial service.

Both panellists provided TOP TIPS for listeners on such an important topic. The next topic is: 'The cost of fuel'.

There are 17.5 million people in financially vulnerable circumstances, one in three adults in the UK. Some of these vulnerabilities can be seen in the form of financial exclusion. In this episode, Ripon Ray discusses: ‘The cost of financial exclusion’. To navigate the Debt Talk podcast topic, panellists were from a financial inclusion funder, a debt crisis and money training social enterprise, and a household debt campaigner.

Diane Burridge, Community Finance Propositions and Segmentation Lead for Fair4AllFinance, develops strategies for financial inclusion projects and provides funds. She focused on supporting innovation to reduce financial exclusion by undertaking research and working with various third sector organisations to promote ways to make the financial services sector fair.

Jerry During MBE, Co-Founder of Money A and E, a community money and debt advice organisation in London, emphasised the need to form partnerships with community groups and government agencies to help change policy and remove barriers for marginalised communities to access financial services. He argued that lived experience must be at the heart of the decision-making process to address financial exclusion.

Joe Cox, Senior Policy Officer of the Debt Justice campaign group, is part of a global movement to end debt inequality. He focused on the strength of financial institutions, which are far more influential than vulnerable communities that are excluded from decision-making. He believes grassroots campaigns can bring about positive change for communities in financial difficulties.

Debt Talk podcast panellists also provided helpful TIPS to listeners. The following podcast is on: ‘DRO or IVA? - that is the question'.

For those who are listing to the Debt Talk podcast and want to share your experience or want to hear a subject of your choice, you can get in touch with me: ripon.ray@yourdoctordebt.com or Twitter: yourdoctordebt

Do you know about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and, most importantly, AI within the financial services and debt sector? You will once you have listened to the 12th episode of the Debt Talk podcast. In this episode, Ripon Ray explored the subject with experts from academia, visionaries and tech gurus as they spoke about the actual workings of AI in the financial services and debt sector.

Prof Carmine Ventre - Director of King's Institute for Artificial Intelligence - explained the history of AI, the actual workings of machine learning and the algorithm required to create a tool where AI is weak and strong. He emphasised that AI machines require feeding with information and patterns from humans to complete tasks.

Douglas Silverstone - Director of Southern Housing and tech visionary, looked at the use of AI for social purposes and emphasised the genuine operational and organisational need to establish AI to be successful with the ultimate user in mind.

Rachel Curtis - CEO of Inicio, a debt recovery firm that uses AI to complete affordability assessments - explored how AI solves the affordability assessment problem within financial services and debt space to provide consumers with a supportive space based on consumer needs and outcomes.

Maysam Rizvi - founder of Elifinty, a debt management firm and a tech entrepreneur - embarked on developing AI to support debt advisers to focus on the consumer journey within a problem debt space.

This is a must-listen podcast for those considering developing AI within the financial services and debt sectors. The panellists have also provided TOP TIPS to Debt Talk listeners considering moving to AI.

Next podcast: The cost of financial exclusion.

On this month's Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray explored: 'The welfare state, deficit budget and debt'. Trussell Trust, a network of food banks in the UK, gave out nearly 3 million emergency food parcels to people facing financial hardship, and it has noticed a 37% rise in accessing its service compared to the previous year.

The question for this month's panellists is: have we moved away from support provided by the state and diverted to the third sector? To assist Debt Talk, panellists for this month were the following:

Helen Barnard - policy director of Trussell Trust, explained the welfare state's history and purpose and how the UK has significantly shifted away from its initial cause. Food banks are now playing the state's role because the current welfare system is not providing sufficient support to meet the needs of vulnerable and low-income households. The trust is seeing people with disability and working people seeking help because the current social security system does not provide sufficient benefits considering the cost of living in the UK.

Rachel Gregory, the senior external manager of Christian Against Poverty, outlined that many of its clients seeking debt advice have unsustainable budgets to live on. She emphasised that debts owned to public bodies, such as local councils and the central government, are systematic. Many clients have suicidal thoughts due to financial pressure and the inability to sustain living under the current benefits system.

Amy Taylor - a debt adviser and chair of the Greater Manchester Money Advice Group - emphasised that the role of a debt adviser changed due to funding cuts and heavy audits. As a result of which, experienced debt advisers have left the sector. Yet, she sees the role of an adviser as essential to supporting clients in financial hardship. Debt advisers can listen, understand and help clients with their options when they are in financial trouble and have that difficult conversation.

Apart from providing TOP TIPS to Debt Talk listeners in ways to deal with their debt during such a difficult time, they explored the significance of the Universal Basic Income piloted in England.

If you want to share your experience or want to hear a specified subject that is of interest on Debt Talk, you can get in touch with the host: ripon.ray@yourdoctordebt.com

In this episode on the Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray explored the link between mental health and debt and how being in debt can worsen your mental health.

Minara Meghna Uddin shared her experience of domestic and economic abuse, which impacted her mental health where seeking to go for support and speaking out was not an option. Whilst coming out of her marriage with children to look after and the anxiety of getting letters from debt collectors and visits from bailiffs. After having made several visits by a bailiff, he encouraged her to represent herself to go to court to deal with her debts.

Dr Thomas Richardson from the University of Southampton, spoke about how he lives with bipolar disorder. In his research work as an academic, he explored developing work for communities struggling with mental health and debt. He highlighted different types of mental health treatment available and how poverty makes it hard to overcome some of the strains in life.

Steven Coppard FCICM of Arum spoke about the taboo around discussing debt compared to mental health. He also explored the government regulatory breathing space regulations when someone struggles with mental health.

The panellists also provided top tips to Debt Talk listeners to support them in their journey out of mental and health debt.

In the next Debt Talk podcast in June, Ripon Ray will cover: ‘Welfare state, deficit budget & debt’.

In this month’s episode on the Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray explored: ‘Debt advice, MaPs and advisers’.

During the pandemic, free advice charities noticed a demand for debt advice. This demand had substantially increased during the cost of living crisis due to high inflation and people’s income not increasing simultaneously. Many debt advisers left the sector to join other sectors, such as the National Health Service or local councils. Their move from the industry was mainly connected to high-stress levels, targets and audits. Save Debt Advice Campaign was launched to respond to the impact in the debt advice sector.

Tanis Belsham Wray, a former debt adviser, shared her experience at Step Change during the pandemic when many unresolvable cases due to clients having a deficit budget and complex priority debts. After returning from maternity, she fainted twice due to stress whilst giving advice.

Tamra Mannin - Co - CEO of Talking Money - an advice charity based in Bristol. The Money Advice & Pension Service (MaPs) funded its debt advice service to deliver debt advice work. They decided not to renew their contract with MaP's due to the bureaucracy involved in audit, targets, management of the service and supervision of debt advice work compared to other projects it delivers.

Michael Agboh- Davison, Unite the Union representative, who has been leading the campaign in the sector, explained some of the challenges faced by the industry and the need for an increase in funding from companies profiting from consumers. He emphasised non-FCA regulated providers such as fuel companies to contribute to funding debt advice. He also explained that some issues impacting debt clients are interlinked with national policies.

Debt Talk also approached MaPS to participate in the podcast and Ripon Ray read MaPS’s statement on the issue.

The panellist also provided top tips near the end of the podcast. In the next episode, Ripon Ray will speak about "Mental health & debt' during the cost of living crisis.

If you want to listen to a particular debt-related topic or you want to share your experience on the Debt Talk podcast, you can get in touch with Ripon Ray on Twitter: @yourdoctordebt.com or email: ripon.ray@yourdoctordebt.cm

During the cost of living crisis, the need for insolvency advice has been far greater than in the previous years as shown by Government’s data due to a rise in high inflation and change in consumer behaviour. In 2022 there has been a 56% increase in the number of companies going insolvent compared to 2021. In this episode of the Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray explored the financial challenges faced by small businesses and the inevitable advice needed from insolvency practitioners to save them.

Robert Tame ran a catering business. During the financial crisis, his business began to have a cash flow problem. But not every part of his business was struggling; so he had to prioritise his profit-making part of the business and make the inevitable decision to make his staff redundant. He was able to pull through due to meticulous financial planning and advice from an insolvency practitioner. He later sold his company with profit to a global company.

Anita Pickersgill spoke about how small businesses need to be clear with their terms and conditions. When a small business faces a financial challenge, directors of the business are also responsible if they do not take reasonable care and skill and seek advice if they are not sure about their business. It is crucial that small business owners act prudently.

Kate Ellis explained the types of insolvency options there are for businesses when it comes to insolvency: voluntary and compulsory. She emphasised the importance of getting advice early. Creditors can be sympathetic to your cash flow problems but it is essential that you let your creditors know sooner rather than later.

You can also find the top tips they offered to Debt Talk Listeners on running a small business, how to address cash flow problems and ways to deal with your creditors.

The next podcast will explore: ‘Debt Advice, MaPS and advisers’ during the cost of living crisis. There has been a change of plan due to technical issues. We initially stated that it was to be: Funeral and debt'.

If you want to share your experience or expertise on the Debt Talk podcast, you can get in touch with Your Doctor Debt, Ripon Ray: ripon.ray@yourdoctordebt.com