Credit Counsellors Australasia

During the period July 1996 to June 1997 only forty seven debt agreements were established but by June 2004 that number had grown to an annual figure of five thousand three hundred and eighty two clearly establishing that a sizable market existed to be serviced.

Commerciality took a further step when administrators started utilising the services of brokers. The broker’s role was and remains today that of facilitator of debt agreements and many promote their services in the print, audio and visual media, undertake the tasks of formulating and collating both the proposal and statement of affairs then on selling the client to an administrator to administer, if accepted, for a fee or commission.

The veracity of proposals submitted were under constant attack from creditors and broking services only exacerbated growing difficulties arising from and associated with the collation and formulation of debt agreement proposals. Manipulation of statutory thresholds, exclusion of select creditors thereby denying them voting rights, and excessive brokerage fees being amongst the crescendo of complaints. Brokers, but by way of vehement criticism of the administrator, were accused of lacking a modicum of commercial morality. Easy fees, a market place filled with desperate and insolvent potential clients seeking remedy opened the door, but to the detriment of the system ethics were left at the door.