I was thinking today about a lady called Charmaine and what she said from listening in to a Webinar that were both listening too.  I had the opportunity to discuss some concerns of the Internet Marlarky stuff and how confusing it all can be.  I don’t think I am alone in this…..am I.

Charmaine told me a story that she had read and kindly passed that story on to me, as Charmaine felt I was not giving myself enough credit for what I do.  I am very happy to highlight John Harrison of Streetwise Publications Ltd for this insight and I promise you it is well worth the read.  Thank you, Charmaine, Yours truly, Graham Sands, MD

MICHAEL MCINTYRE AND THE DEBT COLLECTORS by John Harrison of Streetwise Publications Ltd

I’m disappointed.  I used to be a fan of comedian Michael McIntyre, but he just went right down in my estimation.

A couple of weeks ago he was contracted to appear at a private function for a financial services company.  Cabot Financial for a fee of £28,000.  But an hour before the event, he pulled out on a matter of ’principle’ because he discovered that the company operate in the field of debt collection.

Cabot takes over the bad debts incurred by credit card companies and banks, and it was this that McIntyre objected to.  You see, before he hit the big time (and made a multi million pound fortune) about 3 years ago, it turns out that he was over £40,000 in debt, owing money to banks and credit card companies and barely able to pay the rent.

I think it’s a mark of much of what is wrong in the UK at the moment that McIntyre’s withdrawal was widely perceived by the public to be honourable and heroic, and that Cabot were painted as the villains of the piece.  Aside from the most obvious reason why this was a dishonourable act – McIntyre had signed up to do something, and it was up to him to fully acquaint himself with the details before doing that – there’s a much bigger issue here.

When McIntyre got himself into £40,000 of debt, it probably didn’t happen by accident.  Nor did it happen overnight.  What probably happened is that he made a decision to live beyond his financial means.  He chose to use other people’s money to finance a lifestyle that his earning power at the time could not support.  He made the decision to use credit to pay for stuff he wanted to buy – stuff that other people in similar financial circumstances chose to forego. Lots of people do this, and while it’s not the way I’d choose to live, each to their own, and it’s fine for people who can manage the debt.

But some folk, who run up debts like this, aren’t willing or able to repay them.  When this happens, they frequently come up against a company of debt collectors like Cabot.  And what’s wrong with that?  These aren’t Neanderthal thugs who come knocking on your door at midnight with a baseball bat.  They are professional debt collectors who go about recovering monies owed to their clients by the due legal process.

So who’s the real dishonourable party here – the debt collection company attempting to get back what people have borrowed but can’t or won’t pay back – or the borrowers themselves who have had the benefit of the money they’ve borrowed but are now attempting to escape paying back the price?

If you had to trust someone in a financial matter, who would it be – the bloke who borrowed some money but didn’t pay it back, or the bloke trying to get his money back after lending it out to a defaulting debtor?

Not a hard question to answer is it?  So why did so many people sympathise with McIntyre’s stance when he pulled out of that engagement with Cabot?  The answer reveals much more about how the national psyche has changed in recent years, and explains why the vast majority of people find themselves handicapped by their attitude.

For every Michael McIntyre, going from £40,000 in debt to multi millionaire status, there are tens of thousands of others who do not.  It’s fortunate that McIntyre has a unique talent, because this sort of attitude makes it difficult to succeed via a more mainstream route.  The subtext of his decision to pull out of that engagement seems to be this…..

When people get into financial difficulties, it’s not a situation of their own making.  The bank either lent them too much money, or they have run into difficulties they didn’t foresee.   It isn’t ethical or fair to push those people to make every reasonable effort to abide by the agreement they entered into.  Someone else is to blame and someone else should pay.

How else can you possibly justify taking the moral high ground against debt collectors attempting to enforce what was freely and openly agreed?  How else can you justify siding with the man who has spent money that doesn’t belong to him, and isn’t able to pay it back?

Now I know that a lot of people will say “Yeah, but no but yeah…”  In a Vicky Pollardesque sort of way before arguing that this money is borrowed from banks, credit card companies and other large financial institutions that have massive resources and can afford to bear the loss.  At the risk of insulting their intelligence, I would ask those people where they think these huge financial institutions get their money from, and who they think pays for these unpaid debts, in the end.

Just in case asking such a question wouldn’t be insulting their intelligence after all, let me spell out the answer here.  The cost of bad debts doesn’t rest with the banks and other financial institutions.  They’re far too canny for that.   Ultimately it finds its way to the door of prudent and honest borrowers through higher interest rates on their loans, and careful savers, through lower interest rates on their deposits.

Next time you hear someone cheering on a debtor keeping one step ahead of the debt collectors perhaps you might point that out to them.

But here’s the main point I want to make…

If you find yourself siding with defaulting debtors over their creditors, then it’s a fairly strong indication that you are going to find success and achievement something of a struggle.  Success almost always requires that you take full responsibility for your actions and the consequences of those actions.  And as a result, you expect the same in others.  It requires that you assess the risks associated with any action you’re going to take, and fully accept the blame if things don’t work out. 

Because when you leave yourself the escape route of having someone else to blame for failure, it’s pretty easy to take it – and allow yourself to fail.

If you take full responsibility in advance though – resolve to take the consequences of a failure squarely on the chin – the chances of success in any endeavour you undertake, are multiplied many times over.  None of this is easy of course.  Taking responsibility is onerous and painful - Sometimes it can result in a massive blow to the ego – as well as the bank balance.  But it’s the only proven and workable way forward.  You see, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.  If everyone was doing it, it wouldn’t give you a massive advantage.  And if you didn’t have a massive advantage, you’d be hidden away, back in the pack, with the also-rans…

And I’m pretty sure that’s not where you want to be.   -   John Harrison – Streetwise