Recession in the Bay: perceptions differ
Golden Bay debt collector, Louise Amitrano says she is very busy but she doesn’t buy into blaming her workload on the recession.
“I’m definitely doing more work on behalf of clients,” said Louise, “But I think it’s arising out of businesses getting on to outstanding accounts more quickly than they used to. I’m getting lists of outstanding account-holders when they’ve missed one payment. Some businesses used to wait until their clients were several months overdue. I’ve got a better chance of getting the money to them if businesses act quickly.”
Ms Amitrano also attributed some of her work to “slack” finance companies for extending too much credit to, in some cases, “totally inappropriate” young people.
“I’ve had to repossess cars from young people who had no chance of keeping up their payments,” she said. “They end up losing everything. What are these companies thinking?”
Meanwhile the Golden Bay Community Workers report that their workload has definitely increased as a result of the downturn.
“We’ve had a few people come in for advice after losing their jobs,” said worker Premal Gauntlett. “We’ve recorded a definite spike in the numbers and it’s more than just seasonal. The jobs being lost are from a range of industries and include full- and part-time work. The community foodbank has been busy too. It can always do with help from generous individuals and groups in the community.”
Neil Wilson
