Thank you to Movimento Consumatori and Titiano for inviting Ripon Ray of Debt Talk CIC to speak at the recent round table discussion on debt advice and consumer protection across Europe. The discussion focused on Ripon’s experience of the UK debt advice sector, including how debt advice services operate in practice, the characteristics of the UK model, how services are funded, and the role of charities, regulators, and community organisations in supporting people facing financial hardship. It was also a valuable opportunity to listen to organisations from France and Austria and learn more about different approaches and best practices in supporting indebted communities across Europe. Thank you again to Movimento Consumatori for creating such an important space for international dialogue, learning, and collaboration.

  Money Advice & Pension Service, one of the leading funders of debt advice and pension guidance in the UK, listened to debt experts from a variety of minority-led service providers and debt experts to understand the interlink between poverty and mental health within minority communities.  Ripon Ray was able to share his knowledge as a debt expert from the perspective of the Bangladeshi community in Britain based on his expert knowledge of debt advice and campaign work he carried out during the pandemic under the umbrella of BritBanglaCovid. There is a broad range of issues that impacted minority communities and some of the recommendations outlined by MaPS is welcome.  The challenge would be to implement the recommendations of the report for the benefit of minority communities since the pandemic exposed structural inequality in health and other spheres of minority life.

This week, CEO of Fair Finance gives the listeners an overview of the alternative lending industry. Prior to taking on the role of CEO, Faisel Rahman worked for the World Bank and Grameen Bank.  He  subsequently set up a microfinance service in East London, a debt advice project for local residents and founded Fair Finance in 2005.   He speaks to me about the role of payday lenders, credit unions, peer-to-peer and other ethical lending. I also had the opportunity to hear views from the members of the public as to what you think about alternative lending. If you have any money related ideas that you want me to cover just send me a message on www.commmunitymoneymatters.com

lllegal lending and loan sharks are not widely talked about in our local communities. Most of our attention has been given to payday loan and mainstream lenders who prey on vulnerable debtors due to their high interest and charges.  My experience as a debt advisor has taught me that a substantial proportion of those from deprived communities who seek debt advice are unaware of the differences between illegal lending, payday loans and pawnbroking.   The distinction between an illegal lender and a legal one rests on the failure of the illegal lender to seek approval to operate as a commercial lender, from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as the regulator of financial services in the UK. According to provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, any UK financial activities have to be regulated by the FCA unless legally exempted from such regulation.  In the following report published by the regulator: Shining a light on illegal money...

It’s a well-known fact that individuals who suffer from a hampered mental capacity - be it mental health or learning difficulties - are most likely to be vulnerable in our communities. They are also more likely to be victims of miss-sold products and services by companies, even though organisations that are providing financial products and services have a duty under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to take extra care towards these individuals. This is what the FCA has to say about vulnerable customers: ‘  The vulnerability of the customer, in particular where the firm understands the customer has some form of mental capacity limitation or reasonably suspects this to be so because the customer displays indications of some form of mental capacity limitation  (see  ■  CONC 2.10) But due to a culture of intensive selling to consumers, generated by employers placing and enforcing - often difficult and unrealistic - performance goals wh...