Debt Collection Agencies: establishment of a Working Party.

STATES OF JERSEY

DEBT COLLECTION AGENCIES: ESTABLISHMENT OF A WORKING PARTY

Lodged au Greffe on 7th June 2011 by Deputy M. Tadier of St. Brelade

STATES GREFFE

2011   Price code: C  P.102

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

to request the Minister for Economic Development –

1. to establish a Working Party to examine the current operation of debt collection agencies in Jersey and to consider the creation of a code of practice for such agencies to ensure that they operate according to best practice;
2. to appoint at least 2 States members as members of the Working Party and to take the necessary steps to appoint other members with relevant skills and experience, including representatives of the debt collection industry and representatives of groups representing the interests of consumers;
3. to present the report of the Working Party to the States once the Working Party has concluded its work.

DEPUTY M. TADIER OF ST. BRELADE

REPORT

Background

Early this year, it was brought to my attention that there was an alleged problem with the way in which certain local debt collection agencies had been acting. This led to me raising the matter with the Minister for Economic Development in the form of an oral question, on 1st March 2011[1].

The Minister confirmed that in the last 3 years, a total of 22 complaints and inquiries had been made to the Trading Standards Division of Economic Development, including a total of 11 relating to conduct. All of these 11 complaints related to one company. He also stated that there are 3 debt collection agencies in Jersey.

Following on from this, Channel Television broadcast a feature on 20th April 2011, in which they spoke to the Minister; Director of the Citizens Advice Bureau, Mr. Ferey ; and an alleged victim of harassment.

It was stated that the Citizens Advice Bureau receives 2 complaints each month from people feeling harassed by [name removed] debt collectors. Mr. Ferey went on to say –

The complaints that we receive vary from having no empathy with the client's situation through to the charges compounding the person's debt problem, all the way up to aggressive behaviour and implied threats and I think the best way to combat this would be to have a code of practice so that when they operated outside of that code of practice there would be some repercussions.'[2]

The alleged recipient of harassment (Anna') by the debt collection agency said –

I was suicidal; I was really in a bad way. I can understand why people get into a situation like this, when you've got somebody harassing you, the stress is even more and the pressure becomes so much. There was no reasoning on how much I could pay, there were numerous phone calls made to me, shouting, screaming, threatening that payments had to be made.'

Subsequent to the media reports, I received further contact from members of the public whose stories were consistent with Anna's. Some related to text messages and calls, late at night. Others related to very impolite phone calls and even cases of mistaken identity.

I was also contacted by Vibert s Jersey Lawyers, who operate a debt collection agency called Collect. They were initially keen to establish that the complaints received were not about them, which was the case, and they advised me that they operate in accordance with UK best practice, which involves following the Code of Conduct as set out by the UK Credit Services Association's guidelines. This they do on a voluntary basis.[3]

In a press release on 3rd May 2011, Vibert s' managing partner and director of Collect Services Limited, Advocate Blomfield, said that she commended to the States and to the Minister, a Jersey Code of Practice for Debt recovery.4

Debt collection is an important service. It not only supports the Island's business community but also helps people get back on their feet by arranging settlement  of  their  financial  difficulties.  Jersey  would  benefit  from  a voluntary  association  of  debt  recovery  agencies  and  a  relevant  Code  of Practice. Given recessionary pressures, it is important that debts are collected efficiently and effectively, but in a way that will allow the debtor to manage their personal finances, this in turn will mean the debt will be repaid without further default.'

Proposition

There appears to be consensus from all parties involved, including the Minister, that a code of conduct for all local companies operating in the field of debt collection in the Island would be beneficial, both for the companies and for the increasing number of individuals who find themselves in debt. Whether adherence to the code of conduct would be voluntary or a legal requirement is a subject that can be discussed by the working group.

Composition of the Working Party

It is recommended that the Working Party be composed of a mixture of industry professionals, States Members, and representatives from community agencies such as the Citizen's Advice Bureau and the Consumer Council. Input from the Department of Trading Standards and the Community Relations Trust should also be sought.

At the time of writing, both the Citizen's Advice Bureau and Collect Services have signaled their willingness to serve on this working group, voluntarily.

Remit of the Working Party

The  working  party  will  initially  examine  the  variety  of  issues  relating  to  Debt Collection in Jersey, focusing on matters of best practice and how this can be achieved in the Jersey context. It will be up to the party to decide how it wishes to operate – whether it holds hearings, etc., but it would be hoped that a cross-section of experience would be called upon and that all stakeholders are given an opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way.

The ultimate aim of the working party will be to come forward with one or more recommendations, which should form the basis of a proposition to be lodged at the earliest possibility by the Minister, for States approval.

4 See Appendix 3 – Collect Services Ltd. Press release, 3rd May 2011

Financial and manpower implications

There  should  not  be  any  costs  arising  from  the  adoption  of  this  proposition. Membership of the working party would be on a voluntary basis. The only possible considerations would be for the notional cost' of departmental staff, in the eventuality that they are drafted onto the working party, and advertising costs, should there be a call for evidence'. In the eventuality that the latter is required, the cost for 2 nights' advertising in the JEP will be in the region of £485 (based on comparable quotes for Scrutiny adverts).

Extract from Hansard, 1st March 2011

2.7   Deputy  M.   Tadier  of   St. Brelade  of  the  Minister  for  Economic Development regarding complaints against the conduct of Jersey debt collection agencies:

Will the Minister inform Members how many complaints have been made to his department  against  the  conduct  of  Jersey  debt  collection  agencies  over  the  past 3 years?

Senator A.J.H. Maclean (The Minister for Economic Development):

The Trading Standards Division of Economic Development has received a total of 22 complaints and inquiries relating to debt collection agencies in the last 3 years. Of those a total of 11 complaints could be said to be about conduct.

1. Deputy M. Tadier :

That is useful. Could I ask if the Minister has, of those 11 in particular, how many of those related to one company?

Senator A.J.H. Maclean:

I believe that all 11 related to one company. There are in fact 3 companies in this particular field and the 11 complaints are, I believe, relating to one of those.

2. Deputy M. Tadier :

If I just read a quote from an e-mail I received yesterday night, and ask the Minister for his opinion, it is a very short quote: "I was recently contacted at my workplace by an employee of the company and without warning the person launched into a tirade of demands for immediate cash with a very real threat of legal action and police action if payment was not received that very afternoon despite the fact that I was not the person to whom that person should have been talking." Does the Minister agree that this kind of behaviour is completely unacceptable and could he say what safeguards there are in place to make sure that these 11 complaints against the same company do not grow?

Senator A.J.H. Maclean:

All businesses in Jersey have a responsibility to trade fairly and I would certainly agree with the Deputy , the email and contents of which he has read, assuming that is as said, are unacceptable behaviour. I would suggest that he has or directs anybody who has concerns about debt collection agencies or any business trading in the Island that is perceived to be unfair in the first instance to the Consumer Council. They have, I know, in the past Senator Breckon has dealt with a number of issues in this particular area, and they are the agency to raise awareness and to best deal with such matters, certainly in the first instance.

3. Deputy M.R. Higgins:

Would the Minister elaborate on the level of complaints and context, and could he also confirm whether the debt collectors are licensed and if they are not does he think there should be a licensing scheme?

Senator A.J.H. Maclean:

I am not going to stand here and start going through the details of individual cases. There are a range of complaints which have been registered with Trading Standards. Trading Standards, as a matter of course, investigate each and every complaint that is received and they have spoken to the company in question about the range of different complaints in this particular area. As far as licensing is concerned, companies that are debt collection agencies are not licensed currently in Jersey; in the U.K. (United Kingdom) they would be. They are licensed in the U.K. under the Office of Fair Trading, under the Consumer Credit Act; that is not applicable in Jersey. The only other point that I would add is that we have just completed a consultation on the unfair trading practices potential legislation and, indeed, I will be bringing forward at the conclusion of that particular Green Paper, and that is an area where some additional protection to consumers would be most appropriately targeted.

4. Deputy M.R. Higgins:

If I could just come back on the Minister's question. I was not asking for specific examples for individuals, but I would like to know the type of conduct that has been carried out by these organisations.

Senator A.J.H. Maclean:

I  am  happy  to  circulate  general  details  of  the  nature  of  the  types  of  complaints anonymised to the Member if he would like.

5. Senator F. du H. Le Gresley:

I  am  aware  from  my  previous  job  that  there  were  many  complaints  about  debt collection practices in Jersey and I urge the Minister, would he consider introducing regulation of people who wish to set themselves up as debt collection agents and also would he consider releasing a code of conduct modelled on the one that is issued by the Office of Fair Trading?

Senator A.J.H. Maclean:

I think the best way to answer the Senator's question is that we will progress the unfair trading practices legislation, we will see the assessment of that consultation and see if, indeed, that will provide some additional protection. Regulation is a more difficult area to deal with in this particular matter, but I do think the Senator raises a very valuable point with regard to a code of practice, and I think an area which is targeted with a code of practice would be useful. Indeed, there is a code of practice, which the Senator  is  probably  familiar  with,  with  regard  to  consumer  lending,  which  was introduced about 18 months ago and has been quite useful. I think we could look at a similar model here, but I would emphasise that the first port of call and the most important, as we stand at the moment, is raising public awareness of challenges and

issues in this area and the Consumer Council is the place to target as far as that is concerned.

6. Deputy M. Tadier :

I have got 2 but I think I will have to stick to the most urgent one. Can the Minister confirm that it is not best to go directly to Trading Standards because presumably anyone who goes to the Consumer Council is going to have to refer any complaints to the Trading Standards Department anyway, so can the Minister just clarify why one should not go directly to Trading Standards to make complaints?

Senator A.J.H. Maclean:

No, the Deputy is correct. It is quite appropriate to speak to Trading Standards to raise a complaint. The connection with the Jersey Consumer Council is quite simply that I am keen that if there is a problem in this area that public awareness is raised about such matters and clearly the Consumer Council would have that role.

Tuesday 3rd May 2011

Advocate Blomfield supports Jersey Code of Practice for debt collection

In  response  to  recent  publicity  about  debt  collection  malpractice,  Advocate  Zoe Blomfield,   Vibert s'  managing  partner  and  director  of  Collect  Services  Limited, commends to the States and Economic Development Minister Alan Maclean, a Jersey Code of Practice for Debt recovery.

Advocate Blomfield emphasizes:

"Collect Services have recovered over £10 million for local businesses and traders.  Debt  collection  is  an  important  service.  It  not  only  supports  the Island's business community but also helps people get back on their feet by arranging settlement of their financial difficulties. Jersey would benefit from a voluntary  association  of  debt  recovery  agencies  and  a  relevant  Code  of Practice. Given recessionary pressures, it is important that debts are collected efficiently and effectively, but in a way that will allow the debtor to manage their personal finances, this in turn will mean the debt will be repaid without further default."

Advocate  Blomfield  met  with   Deputy  Montfort   Tadier  recently  to  lend  Collect Services' support to a question he is to put to the House at the earliest opportunity calling for a working party to address issues of regulation and licensing of the debt collection  industry.  This  party  would  include  consumer  representation  from  the Citizens Advice Bureau, Jersey Consumer Council and Trading Standards. Collect Services suggest the group, which would also include JFSC and Jersey-based debt recovery agencies, use the UK Credit Services Association's guidelines as the base model for Jersey debt recovery practices. Collect Services Limited is registered with, and  adheres  to,  the  UK  Credit  Services  Association's  (CSA)  stringent  Code  of Practice.

END

Advocate  Zoe  Blomfield  and  Advocate  Rose  Colley  are  available for further comment

Please contact:

Julie Lister, Marketing & PR Manager, Vibert s Jersey Lawyers, Pirouet House, Union Street, St. Helier . Jersey, JE4 8ZQ. Direct dial: +44 (0) 1534 632225 julie.lister@viberts.com