Money Advice Service under fire

Posted in 'Credit Crunch' by Barry Stamp

21 June 2012

The Treasury Committee was told last week by Martin Lewis, of moneysavingexpert, that the many millions of pounds earmarked for the Money Advice Service (MAS) website is a “narcissistic exercise.”

He argued, “The people at the top (of MAS) are more interested in building a brand and not what it was intended to do which was help the people who are vulnerable. It’s (a) tragic shame a brand building narcissistic exercise (is) trying to compete with things that are already out there.”

Free face-to-face debt advice in England and Wales is now provided by MAS, which has an annual budget of £34.5m, and took over this public function in April 2012 from Citizens Advice.

MAS announced earlier this month that it is to seek further public money to support its debt advice activities, well in excess of the monies that were historically made available to its predecessor – and depending on whether the FSA says yes to the ambitious plans of the MAS, this could mean that the public funding of debt advice could easily double in cost.

Lewis’s characteristically damning attack was supported less aggressively by the chairman of the Financial Services Consumer Panel , Adam Phillips, who questioned the ability of MAS to be able to support its stated target of helping 19m consumers – approximately one third of the UK population.

MAS did have some friends at the meeting, one in the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, (CCCS). Its director of external affairs, Delroy Corinaldi, was looking to work more closely with the organisation, saying, “MAS can have a role in terms of being a co-ordinating force working with the organisations already in the space like ourselves. We see a thousand people a day …… trying to get back on their feet. MAS should be looking to provide free advice and work with us.”

Barry Stamp is a co-founder of Checkmyfile and is a Chartered Banker and a Fellow of the Institute of Credit Management. He can be contacted at barry.stamp@checkmyfile.com.