Debt counseling: the sooner the better!
I have been working in debt counseling since 1987. It is an exciting and dynamic profession. The great thing about debt counseling is that you can give people a new chance. They are often in serious trouble when they come to us. Not only financial, but often also others. The average debt level is currently € 40.000. A huge amount. People usually no longer see a solution when they come to us. It is nice to get them back on the road.
Many changes
Quite a lot has changed since 1987. Debt counseling has become a real profession. A lot of legislation and regulations have come around. Creditors have become more involved. They more often agree with our proposals, even if they are only offered a small portion of the debt.
Increase in demand for help
The number of customers who register has increased enormously. Unfortunately, the number of people who are not yet able to find us. More than a million households have financial problems. Only 90.000 people turn to debt counseling. And that is of course very unfortunate. In addition, if people report earlier, some of the problems could be prevented.
Reach people earlier
People often only come to debt counseling a few years after the first debt has arisen. As a result, the debt level has increased considerably. For example due to interest and collection costs. That is of course a shame. Because this makes it more difficult to find a solution. Asking for help in time is very important. That is why we have developed a new way to reach people with financial problems faster. We have taken this initiative together with Zuidweg & Partners.
debt.nl
Schulden.nl is a digital platform where people can sign up if they get behind with paying their bills. Creditors, such as the insurance company or bank, signal that arrears have arisen. They point the customer to Schulden.nl. Via a link, the customer immediately comes to Schulden.nl. The customer registers and we will contact you within two days. Within two weeks we make an inventory of the total financial situation of the customer and, if necessary, refer him to an organization where he will be helped further.
Initial reactions
Creditors are very enthusiastic about this new approach. It seems as if the time has come to quickly tackle financial problems together. We will start in July with a pilot in which we will test whether our new approach works well. After that, creditors can join our new initiative.
Anne-Mieke de Peuter, director of the PLAN group