Did you know that when out for dinner in a party of four, it’s highly likely one of you will have a mental health condition.

Recent stats from Royal College of Psychiatry tell us:

• One in four people has a mental health problem
• One in four people with a mental health problem is also in debt
• Debt may be a cause and consequence of mental health problems
• One in two adults with debts has a mental health problem

Since working at ClearDebt some three and a half years, I have quickly come to understand the emotional issues connected to money worries; I have witnessed client testimonials sent to us talking about the relief felt when we have been able to help make a difference to someone’s debt and their path to repaying it.

Mental capacity issues and the debt industry

Identifying mental capacity is a key issue for the debt solution industry and for the Office of Fair Trading who recently published their “Mental Health – OFT Guidance for Creditors” paper. The connection between Mental Health and debt has quickly established itself as a matter to be taken seriously and for those talking to people in debt it’s often been a “taboo” subject.

Debt Resolution Forum training on mental health and debt

I and other members of ClearDebt staff attended a pilot training scheme provided by Debt Resolution Forum (DRF) and presented by MIND. The aim of the training was to help us bto be more aware of the mental health conditions people can suffer from and how to communicate best with people in these circumstances to make sure they feel comfortable with the conversations they may be having with us. The training also helped us understand the importance of being able to confirm the caller we are speaking to has the mental capacity to understand the information being discussed and the implications of any solution we explain.

In today’s society, when debt, mental health and well- being are so interlinked, providing the correct debt advice can no longer be enough. It’s vital we’re now also able to connect to the people we’re talking to and to pick up on any other “stresses” in their life which may affect their understanding of what we are saying and to do something with the advice we provide. The way in which we communicate with clients suffering from mental health conditions should be flexible so that processes can be adapted to fit in with their needs.

What I learnt from the training

The mental health training was truly inspirational – a wake up call for those of us who either haven’t yet known someone with a mental health condition or do know someone with a mental health condition but have never taken the time to truly ask or appreciate the affect this may have on them and their life. We understand, as professionals in this industry, the heartbreak and strain money worries can bring to someone – and to their family; I hope the training by DRF is just the beginning of an industry wide change which means that debt advisors have the ability to provide for people with mental health conditions as equally as we would anyone else.

The teams at ClearDebt and Abacus took a different approach to this year’s office Secret Santa, read on to find out more!

If where you work is anything like where I work, each Christmas, we all take part in “Secret Santa”. We pick a name out of a hat and buy something for that person – normally a mug, some soap or maybe a hat and gloves. Creative, I know…

But this year, we’ve been working with Rainbow Trust – a charity which offers support to terminally ill children and their families. Bearing in mind the work they do and the people they help, we decided to organise a “Secret Santa” campaign that will actually make a difference to someone – to be exact, 196 someones.

196 gifts from ClearDebt and Abacus

This year, each member of our staff contributed to a fund which raised a total of £400. Rainbow Trust provided us with a list of the age and gender of 196 children who they support in the Greater Manchester area – some of whom are terminally ill and their siblings.

From the details provided, we worked with Tesco Altrincham to source the first 100 gifts; a huge thanks goes out to them and their Community Champion, Lisa. A selected member of the Tesco team designated to help worthy causes in the local area.

We then scoured the local shops in Altrincham for the remaining 96 gifts which were wrapped and labelled for each age and gender, and collected by the Rainbow Trust representatives.

Not only have we provided the gifts for these children but we also agreed to cover the cost of the postage.

It’s at this time of year that I think it’s important to evaluate our contribution to other people’s lives – what we do with our life outside of our everyday routine which makes a difference to others. I’m proud to be a part of this campaign which enables every member of staff at ClearDebt, Abacus and ClearCash to be proud of taking a few coins from their wallets to think of others and help make a difference.

On Christmas morning, families across Greater Manchester saw gifts for their children which arrived without condition or cost. This year, we have in true essence become “Secret Santas” to the children of Rainbow Trust. If you don’t know much about the work of Rainbow Trust, why not tune into the Rainbow Trust Youtube Channel to understand why we chose to get involved.

We’re helping to lighten the load this Christmas by giving away £600 in our “12 days of Christmas” promotion.

As the cold, dark evenings begin to set in and the stores sprinkle their aisles with festive décor, it’s only natural that those watching the purse strings begin to twitch with worry about how much the next month is going to cost us.

The gift list can easily spiral out of control no matter how hard you try to cut back, and of course, there’s still Christmas Dinner to think of….and Boxing Day…and New Year’s Eve.

We know how hard it can be at this time of year and so, we have decided to lighten the load a little and try and help out with the costs during this festive time.

This December, we’re giving you, our clients the chance to win £50 a day for the first 12 working days of Christmas. Six IVA and six Debt Management Plan clients will be selected at random to receive a £50 gift voucher for any store of their choice making a total giveaway sum of £600!

This money can help buy the food for Christmas Day, presents for the family or even be used to treat yourself – relieving a great strain on anyone’s shoulders at this time of year.

Look out for counter updates on the ClearDebt homepage showing how much we’ve given away as the total rises between the 1-16 December.

In the meantime, we wish you all a Happy Holidays and a healthy New Year!

The results are in and…ClearDebt are extremely proud to announce that our very own Matthew Foley has been named “DRF Advisor of the Year 2011”.

Matthew was announced as the winner of this award at the 2011 Debt Resolution Forum Conference which was held on the 27th September in Manchester. He took to the stage at the conference to accept his engraved glass trophy and enjoyed a well deserved round of applause from all in attendance.

The nomination – why we think Matthew is a great debt advisor

As a member of the Debt Resolution Forum (DRF) we were invited to nominate one of our advisors for this award. Matthew Foley was a strong contender and we put together a comprehensive nomination that covered all of the DRF’s criteria.

Matthew was judged in the following areas:

• His customer satisfaction level
• Performance
• His participation and approach to teamwork
• Level of industry knowledge and awareness
• And finally his contribution to the company as a whole

As well as this extensive list, Matthew’s nomination also included independent votes and testimonials from many of his clients who wanted to speak up about the standard of service and care he provided.

All nominations for this award were considered by the DRF Board. To guarantee that there could be no bias towards one advisor over another, all personal and company information was removed from the nomination submissions before being shown to the Board. This was done to ensure that the winner was chosen purely on merit. Board members who had submitted nominations were unable to vote for their own candidate.

DRF Board decision

David Mond, Chairman of the DRF announced that Matthew had won the award at this year’s DRF Conference. Hosted in Manchester, this prestigious annual event is attended by 250 professionals working within the debt solution industry. David Mond explained, Matthew received more independent votes from board members and client testimonials than any of the other nominee.

The DRF has since stated:

Matthew was nominated by ClearDebt based on his integrity of character, professional development, ability to lead by example and his approach to going the extra mile in the standard of advice and care he provides to clients. Matthew also received a high level of client votes sent in from people he had helped, directly to the DRF, explaining how his advice and care had given them confidence in a solution which could help them work towards a debt free future.

You can read more about this award and the other winners at the DRF website here: Award Winning Calibre – DRF Award Winners 2011. We hope you will join us in congratulating Matthew on his truly justified win. He is an inspiration to all here at ClearDebt and Abacus. The DRF Awards will be back next year and we hope to recognise more members of staff with nominations for the 2012 award categories.

As a member of the Debt Resolution Forum, this year we were invited to nominate a member of our team for the title of “DRF Advisor of the Year 2011″. We had a lot of experienced advisors to choose from and after much consideration, we have selected Matthew Foley.

Here are some of the reasons why we have selected Matthew to represent ClearDebt at the 2011 DRF Awards and how you can vote for him as “DRF Advisor of the Year 2011″.

About Matthew

Matthew joined ClearDebt in 2008, originally dealing with repossessions; he quickly worked his way up to a debt advisor role.
In character, Matthew is unassuming, modest and always a model of professionalism. In addition to his reassuring and supportive approach when speaking to people in need of debt advice, Matthew is also a valued member within his team. He regularly assists his colleagues offering cover when they are away and advising their clients.

Professional Debt Qualifications

Matthew completed his CertDR (Certificate in Debt Resolution) qualification at the start of the year. This involved three individual modules which focused on different areas of the UK debt industry, from the historical context and legal regulations to studying each debt solution in detail and best practice guidelines for giving debt advice.

Matt undertook around 210 hours of study for this qualification and passed all three examinations with flying colours.

What people say about Matthew

Here are some comments from people Matthew has advised, as posted on the independent IVA review site IVA.com (click on the name of each reviewer to read the full review)

I spoke to Matt Foley at ClearDebt who outlined the benefits of an IVA and was very informative and helpful. The whole process was very easy and Matt was on hand at every step to answer any questions I had.

Duncan

Matt Foley was excellent to a point that our relationship became more personal than business like. For a company that must have thousands of clients its great that when I call him he knows exactly who I am from my voice!

Mr. Snaith

Fantastic. Very understanding, Matt Foley made me feel very much comfortable with the situation.

Fate

Matt Foley was amazing, very informative and explained things so I could understand.

Dorren

How you can vote for Matthew

The DRF awards panel will choose the winner of this award and will take into account a number of different criteria, including votes from clients. If you’ve spoken to Matthew and would like to vote for him you can do so by emailing the DRF Awards panel with the following information:

1) Name of the Advisor you are voting for.
2) Your name, contact details and reference number – these details will remain confidential and are only needed to verify your vote.
3) A short statement on why you think Matthew Foley deserves to be DRF Advisor of the year.

Email your votes to: awards@debtresolutionforum.org.uk

The deadline for voting is Friday 2nd September and the winner will be announced at the annual Debt Resolution Forum Conference which will be taking place on Tuesday 27th September 2011.