29 Mar 2023 | Posted In Bob's Blog (MALG updates)

Ramadan Mubarak and Happy Easter to all our Members and contacts!

We have a great deal to update you on before the long Bank Holiday weekend next week. But first, a quick reminder: Please ensure that you register for all Regional and National MALG Meetings (both virtual or face-to-face) in order to receive full joining instructions and please let us know if you have registered and are then unable to attend. This really helps us to run events smoothly. The fortnightly MALG Friday Forum is a ‘drop-in’ so there’s no need to register for that.

MALG National Members Meeting 11 May – join us at the London Transport Museum

Thanks to continued sponsorship from CDER Group, we are able to bring our Spring National Members Meeting back to the London Transport Museum this year! Those who attended last year will remember what a great day it was with a fabulous lunch and free access to the Museum thrown in.

The event will start at 10.15 and close at 15.00 with sessions on Consumer Duty and Energy plus special guest speaker Isabelle Parasram of Social Value UK. MALG National Members will receive more details and an invitation to register soon. With so many new Members on board, it is set to be one of our biggest and best yet so make sure you’re taking advantage of this free Member benefit.

At this Meeting, we will be launching our brand new MALG Annual Members’ Survey, which will be open to all National and Regional Members (plus wider contacts and stakeholders) immediately following the event and will ask for your feedback on everything we do so that we can continue to improve our important role as a facilitator of ‘working together to improve the lives of people in debt’. More details to follow.

Future National Members Meeting dates:

  • 13 July (No.6 Alie Street, London, E1 8AN) – immediately after MALG AGM. Results of the new Annual Members’ Survey will be presented at this Meeting and released publicly thereafter.
  • 21 September (via Zoom)

MALG Members Friday Forum update – new financial year, new Zoom link and password

We are taking a break from the MALG Friday Forum over Easter as the next scheduled session falls on Good Friday so we’ll be back on Friday 21 April 2023 at 10am.

At the start of our new financial year, we’ll also be re-issuing the Zoom link and password to access the Friday Forum which is openly available to paying National and Regional Members as a Member benefit. Look out for the email and if you don’t receive it but think you are eligible, please email info@malg.org.uk.

Whether you’re a regular, have attended before, or are a National or Regional Member who’s yet to take advantage of this member benefit, we would be delighted to welcome you on screen for an hour of informal, open – and usually lively! – discussion and debate on the latest issues facing those across the debt landscape. These discussions often result in tangible solutions and collaborative opportunities so don’t miss out.

If you want to share or discuss any particularly pressing topics, you can either join the forum and raise your virtual hand, or please email us on info@malg.org.uk in advance and we can arrange for you to introduce your topic to the room yourself.

Full details, including joining instructions and future dates, can be found here.

MALG Conference 2023

For those who missed the news, the MALG Conference will return to Birmingham Repertory Theatre for 2023 on Thursday 9 November.

Huge thanks to Intrum for signing up as headline sponsor for the 5th year running and to CDER Group for sponsoring once again. We have already had a lot of interest in the remaining sponsorship opportunities and will soon be releasing full details of exhibitor packages so please email bob.winnington@malg.org.uk asap to register your interest.

Watch this space for delegate bookings opening soon!

External Events:

Hidden Harm: How Debt Advisers can identify and address Illegal Lending, 14 April 2023

MALG CEO Bob Winnington will be Chairing the upcoming Stop Loan Sharks event in association with Debt Managers Standards Association (DEMSA), sponsored by IE Hub and Vulnerability Registration Service.

At MALG, we have been working with Cath Wohlers and Patricia Cassidy of Illegal Money Lending England to help raise awareness of their important work around loan sharks amongst our Members for some time now. As a result of them speaking at our events, we have had excellent feedback, with some firms saying they have since taken up and benefitted from their specialist training.

This free virtual event, being organised by Heidi Oliver of Absolutely Admin, is open for registration to all via Eventbrite here. It is predominantly aimed at debt advisers but will bring together a wide range of stakeholders including policy makers, Consumer Duty champions, and adviser trainers, to delve into the challenges of illegal money lending during the cost of living crisis with new research and expert insight.

Credit Summit 27 April 2023

Bob and Heidi will be attending Credit Strategy’s Credit Summit on the new date of 27 April at QE11 Centre in London. They are looking forwarding to catching up with many of our Members in person as well as networking with others from across the sector. If you are interested in attending and meeting up with them at the event, click here for the agenda and booking details.

New Members

Welcome to our newest MALG Members Newlyn and Perch Group who have signed up as National Members, Acclaim Credit Management & Recovery who have joined the MALG North East & Yorkshire Group, and Birmingham City Council who have become a Local Authority Member.

These organisations, along with our 160+ existing Members, are demonstrating their commitment to our purpose of ‘working together to improve the lives of people in debt’. Even in turbulent economic times, our Membership is growing rapidly with plenty more in the pipeline from across the whole debt landscape. We firmly believe that our Membership Benefits are more valuable than ever and as our Membership grows, the more you and the people in debt you serve will benefit from your engagement.

So don’t forget to shout about your Membership, remind yourself of the benefits to make the business case for renewing, and encourage others to join.

MALG Regional Meetings update

Remember, if you are a National Member, you have access to all of our Regional Group Meetings. Please ensure you email us with your preferences should you wish to amend any regions specified on your original application and take full advantage of this membership benefit.

Details of all upcoming Regional Meetings, including MALG East Anglia at Essex Business School on 18 April and MALG North East & Yorkshire via Zoom on 20 April, can be found here. You can also suggest topics and speakers for them using the form here.If you are currently not receiving regular invites to regional meetings and think you should be or want to be, please contact info@malg.org.uk to ensure you are on the mailing list for the relevant regions. Should you wish to contact a particular regional secretary, please use the following addresses:

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