Nuisance calls that will make your debt problem even worse

Nuisance calls are a pain for us all. But if you're already struggling with debt, they could make things far worse.

We’ve all had them at some point. You’re in the middle of doing something and the phone starts ringing. When you pick up there’s the unmistakable pause before you get connected with someone trying to flog you something.

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Lately we’ve spoken to more and more people in debt who’ve been bombarded by these sorts of phone calls trying to sell inappropriate financial products to those that can’t afford them. These companies are getting their details somehow.

More than just a nuisance

Most of us find these nuisance-calls an annoying fact of life, but if you’re in a bad situation financially these calls could make it much worse. Our clients are in debt; many are vulnerable and anxious, so a call from someone offering to take all their problems away can be very tempting.

Sadly we’ve spoken to some who’ve taken up these offers and found themselves in a much worse situation. We helped them pick up the pieces afterwards, but we’d rather these types of type of calls didn’t happen in the first place.

Widespread problems

Research has found that 82% of people with a landline receive nuisance calls. We think the sheer number of these calls (and texts too) is leaving many vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous firms.

Many of these companies buy up huge lists of contact details that have been gathered on us all by companies we’ve willingly registered with. This might be because there was a little box to tick to say you didn’t want them to pass your details to “trusted third parties” or perhaps you ticked the box, but they ignored you and shared your details anyway.

77% of people worry that their personal details aren’t treated safely, so it seems that many people share our fear that some companies are sharing personal data inappropriately

Real life stories

In February this year, a client of ours called Amy was cold-called by a company that told her to leave her free debt management plan and move to an IVA (individual voluntary arrangement) they’d operate instead. Rather than base their advice on her actual circumstances, the advisor said he’d “make up” a budget on which the IVA would be based, ignoring some of her income.

This meant that Amy was recommended a debt solution that had no bearing on her actual finances at that time. The advisor didn’t mention anything about IVAs being legally binding or the possible ramifications of applying for an IVA using dodgy figures.

We believe that all of our personal details should be safe

We’d like to be able to have confidence that companies will respect our rights to privacy and keep personal information private.

We also think it’s important that being in debt isn’t seen as a cash cow by companies wanting take advantage of people in vulnerable situations. We’ve had reports from our clients that they’ve received nuisance calls specifically because they’re in financial hardship.

There is also a need for greater clarity. Everyone should know what details companies hold about us and how they’ll be used.

Please complete our short survey and tell us your experiences with nuisance-calls.

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