Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB), the independent oversight body for the debt enforcement sector in England and Wales, has opened a consultation on proposed new Standards addressing vulnerability and ability to pay.
At their core, these draft Standards aim to do two things:
- improve the way that enforcement firms and agents identify and respond to vulnerable people, and
- increase the use of sustainable payment arrangements for people who can’t pay their debt in full immediately
ECB says that getting these new Standards right is critical to achieving its mission and ensuring that people experiencing enforcement in vulnerable circumstances do not sustain unfair or worse outcomes. It believes that firms and agents should be able to demonstrate that they are taking a “vulnerability first” approach, recognising and responding to vulnerability throughout all stages of the enforcement process.
The draft Standards also highlight the importance of sustainable payment arrangements for people who cannot pay their debt in full to put a stop to unrealistic or unsafe payment plans.