Modern Workforce: Support

Introduction

Money Advice Direct's vision is that all of the UK have access to practical and emotional support to cope with the financial pressures so that they can be the people they aspire to be. The leading financial support organisation in the UK, Money Advice Direct has been meeting the needs of UK's debt problems for over 10 years. As the services continue to develop and evolve, people accessing and benefiting from the assistance provided continue to grow.

Financial Support Line

In September 2000, Money Advice Direct introduced its national telephone helpline (0800 074 6918) the 24 hour advice, support and advice service, which has received more than 2,000 calls a month since its launch.

Staffed by advisers with financial experience, callers have direct access to experts who are able to listen and empathise with their concerns and difficulties. The service is totally confidential and can help with problems big or small, work related or personal. Money Advice Direct exists to offer practical advice to empower people to find solutions to the financial issues they raise and recent evaluation suggests that over 100% of callers believe Money Advice Direct has been beneficial for them.

Issues raised by those calling the service have been diverse and it is true to say that each call represents a particular concern or combination of factors that makes the callers situation unique. Nevertheless, a number of issues, such as multiple debts, are mentioned more frequently and seem to be of concern to a wide section of the population.

Callers frequently speak of ‘transporting mountains of debt between credit cards' and ‘of feeling overwhelmed by high interest rates’. In a quarter of all issues raised, callers were experiencing stress, anxiety and depression at work. Many callers described feelings of helplessness in the face of avoiding bankruptcy or mentioned difficulties in managing marital relationships . Unsurprisingly stress experienced before, during, and after an bills and financial statements arrive also appeared to be a common theme.

Richard Sorsky, Director, Money Advice Direct comments:

"Overwhelmingly, feedback to Money Advice Direct advice team has been extremely positive. We have had countless calls confirming that the service is practically helping families to resolve their problems and move forward afresh with financial confidence. Problems addressed at an early stage invariably have much simpler solutions. We encourage callers who are experiencing financial problems to avoid hesitation and call before their health deteriorates and job and personal lives become adversely affected.”

Money Advice Direct represents a modern response to the current needs of the UK's workforce. The requirement to evaluate the full range of support that Money Advice Direct provides has also led to an evolution in its more traditional areas of support.

Debt Support Services

In the past, Money Advice Direct activities focused on an individuals in debt, and the provision of bankruptcy avoidance advice for callers and their dependants. These services are still available but have been reinvigorated. More effective, specialised welfare services for callers with serious debts are having a much greater impact on the lives of callers seeking debt advice based assistance

To compliment these new programmes, Money Advice Direct offers money and debt advice to provide callers specific financial and debt advice. Money & debt advice coupled with short-term financial help seems to be the most effective way of helping callers in debt. We find that ill health is the main reason for debt amongst callers and can cause a great deal of stress and anxiety. Money & debt advice and welfare benefit checks are now carried out on cases to ensure applicants are receiving their full entitlement to state benefits.

New ways of delivering support

With access to computers increasing, Money Advice Direct has developed a new website, which provides information on the full range of services it offers to those seeking advice. The site will continue to develop and the provision of on-line money advice and ‘real-time’ online advice is planned. We anticipate it will soon become one of the largest and most exciting initiatives in the e-advice arena in the UK.

Research suggests that people are less inhibited using e-mail and feel better able to discuss what can sometimes be intense emotions and issues with this new medium. When this is viewed in conjunction with the government’s commitment to the dealing with debt and the increasing use of computers in the home, the new site heralds a significant advance in the level and depth of support people can access.