August 2014 – Creditaid

August 27, 2014

BC Driving to Change Legislation that Manitoba Adopted Two Years Ago to Protect Manitobans

Creditaid President and CAICCA Vice Chair Brian Denysuik was recently interviewed by The Province on the need for the BC government to adopt changes in their debt management legislation. The province has the highest rate of consumer debt in the country but current legislations leave consumers open to financial harm and loss of funds from debt settlement companies during their most vulnerable times.

Changes to the Manitoba legislations were made in 2012 and Brian comments on how those changes were instrumental in protecting Manitobans from scams. “The changes around debt settlement here in Manitoba…have worked very, very well. I think the legislative changes have helped protect consumers. I fail to understand why BC has not done the same thing.”

“Before the Manitoba government changed that province’s regulations in February 2012, ‘we were seeing a lot of people get trapped into working with these organizations, where they had turned around and they had sent them a whole bunch of money, only to be sued, only to find out that they’d been scammed,’ Denysuik said.

Denysuik said in recent years, his office has heard from far fewer upset, distressed consumers who claim to have been scammed by shady debt settlement companies.”

Read the full article on The Province, originally posted on August 22nd, 2014. Click here to be redirected to the article.

August 20, 2014

Can you relate to this divorce debt story?

John’s motto was always “work hard and play hard”. John had worked hard his entire career which often was his justification for the money he spent drinking, dining out, clothes and on his home. He was living the high life and he felt it was all justified.

If he had taken the time to figure out how much he was spending in relation to his income, he would’ve realized he was spending more than he was making. His bank account was often overdrawn and he was using one credit card to pay off the other.

His heavy drinking was only contributing more to his debt problems. Finally, it became so excessive that it drove his wife away. The divorce was the final straw. The drawn out divorce process and court proceedings resulted in his assets being frozen. He could not borrow money or sell any of his assets to make his payments. He was in a standstill.

Some debt problems are years in the making. When the pieces finally fall, things can quickly spiral out of control. If your debt story is like John’s, stop the speed debting and seek professional help from the counsellors at Creditaid.

August 13, 2014

Are you ‘Speed Debting’ with your Business?

It was always Jessica’s* dream to run her own business. She had spent her childhood in a small town and loved the sense of community she felt living there so when it was time, it was an easy decision for her to pick the location for her business.

She ran a small convenience store and business was great. Her prime location and loyal customers made the business a success. Her dream had come true.

An advantage of running a business in a small town is that competition is limited. For a long time, the big retailers never even considered entering Jessica’s town. But the town grew and then one day, the big retailers came.

The business started to change. Business dropped and even the loyal customers couldn’t resist the low prices and convenience the big retailer offered. Jessica’s over-extended line of credit became the working capital and pretty soon, her multiple credit cards were maxed out. Her own income disappeared at a time when she needed it the most. Every month became a juggling act of making rent and minimum payments. She was afraid to answer the phone, open her mail or even see her family and friends for fear they would ask how business was going.

Financially, Jessica knew she was in trouble but the hardest part was accepting that she had to let go of her dream. The mounting debt and the stress of trying to figure it all out by herself finally made her ask for help.

When debt starts mounting, the situation can quickly spin out of control. To avoid a speed debting problem like Jessica’s, talk to the counsellors at Creditaid.