Money advice service - Lenders exploit most vulnerable

With the low cost of borrowing, many people have gone deeply into debt and are now turning to the State’s Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) to help them to extricate themselves.

Social Affairs Minister Séamus Brennan plans to spend €14.5 million on services next year. This will be 10% up on 2005.

The service, which was introduced in 1992, now has 60 officers operating around the country and 150 money advisers. One of their main tasks has been to help people who have borrowed from street lenders charging exorbitant rates of interest.

MABS now has a specially automated software system, which should provide useful statistics on the nature of the debts incurred, as well as help to identify trends, and provide a profile of the type of people getting into borrowing trouble.

Over 60% of the people who used the free confidential service were on low incomes or social welfare. Such people are inevitably the most vulnerable.

It is important that they should get the best advice to help them avoid exploitation at the hands of seedy money lenders, or even the punitive rates of interest that are charged on credit card debts.