Myvesta Foundation Articles

A rather alarming story appeared in the Mail on Sunday today regarding Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) in the UK and its position on Individual Voluntary Arrangements. The online article stated “But Financial Mail has learned that CCCS might not be as independent as it boasts and could be obtaining revenue from possibly ' inappropriate' advice given to debt-ridden clients.”

In response to the implementation of H.R. 4, which contains significant changes to the law governing tax-exempt credit counseling, the American Association of Debt Management Organizations (AADMO) will hold a live audio on-line webinar briefing featuring industry and legal experts to explain the law's content, meaning, implications and important legislative history.

Evolution/Revolution - It's a whole new world, Association of Business Recovery Professionals - Berlin, Germany May 2007

This Article takes advantage of a rare double opportunity to break new ground in commercial, consumer, and comparative law. First, it offers one of the first detailed analyses of key elements of the new U.S. consumer bankruptcy reform law, which will go into effect on October 17, 2005. Second, this Article offers a unique perspective on the new law in light of a curious and surprising discovery: It turns out that the U.S. consumer bankruptcy system as reformed will resemble in many critical respects the consumer bankruptcy system in place for the past six years in the Netherlands. As a result of this serendipitous U.S.-Dutch convergence, years of experience under the Dutch consumer debt relief system can serve as a sort of crystal ball, providing a rare glimpse into the future of the new U.S. system. This Article describes both the law in books as well as the law in action as it has developed in the Netherlands in recent years. The Dutch law on the ground has diverged in significant ways from legislative expectations, and such divergences might well be repeated - for better or worse - in the United States in coming years. In particular, several key similarities and distinctions between the Dutch and U.S. systems reveal latent weaknesses and portend an impending breakdown in the credit counseling and means testing parts of our new system. A comparative view of recent Dutch developments offers not only cause for concern for coming problems, however, but also hope for some effective solutions.

A round-table discussion with Mike Norris (UK Insolvency Service), Mike Blackburn and Derek Oakley (Debt Free Direct) and Steve Rhode (Myvesta).   Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation, London - 13 Feb 2007