T for Travel

One of the more unusual meetings I had with an indebted client occurred a couple of years ago now. I spend my time travelling around the UK because one of the things extremely important to me is to make sure that I visit each client face-to-face. I know a lot of debt advisors are happy to conduct their business over the phone, and when I first started out this was something I thought about. However, for years now I’ve made it a priority to meet clients, usually in their own homes, because it is important I am somewhere I can fully go through their income and expenditure.

Even though clients take the first big step in admitting they have a problem by getting in touch with advisors, often they are still reluctant to truly reveal the extent of their debt. Actually sitting down with them inside their homes they usually feel much more obliged to admit the scale of their debt.

Sometimes, however, going to their homes isn’t always an option. A tricky case I had to take on involved an individual who worked on a coast trawler. Every meeting we conducted had to take place on the boat, and I was lucky to catch him in the country. Despite being out of the UK for six months at a time, he had racked up £70,000 worth of debt – all with UK creditors.  He spends half his time travelling around Africa and then a couple of months in Britain every year.

His situation makes it very difficult for his creditors because they never know when he will be in the country. Originally, he was thinking about attempting to do a debt management plan on his own, following advice garnered from the internet. I managed to convince him – and luckily for him I did – that because of his continual absence, attempting to get creditors to trust him without the assistance of a debt professional would only harm his standing with them. Although it is still difficult for me to manage liaising with him AND with his creditors as he spends so much time abroad, I know both parties are grateful that I am there to act as a middle-man.