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Okay Chancellor Alistair Darling, you’ve got me stumped. How is manipulating the IVA market to exclude and block consumers from equal access to an IVA not as important as a little sub-prime loan fiasco?

Just a few days ago Darling announced that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) would be given new magic powers to fight market abuse. These new powers include the ability to grant immunity to whistleblowers for coming forward to spill the beans on the financial services naughty boys and bad actors.

“I can’t allow us to get into a situation where people quite deliberately manipulate markets for personal gain and with the potential to destabilise the financial system,” Darling said in comments published in the Guardian newspaper on Friday.

“People are getting away with it and the time has come for us to start looking at it again,” the chancellor of the exchequer said. “If a handful of people are up to no good we have to make sure the authorities have the tools to do the job.”

Really! Really? Maybe there was a T not crossed right but I still can’t see how the intentional manipulation and limitation of access to IVAs by creditors like HSBC is not a matter worth investigating.

This past August, the hullabaloo about creditors manipulating IVA access and acceptance really kicked off. See You Will Comply. Resistance is Futile. Comments About the Latest TIX Update on Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA).

What that debate made clear is that British creditors wanted to arbitrarily set thresholds and hurdles for consumers to cross in order to get access to the binding powers of the IVA. At the time many were in an uproar. Insolvency Practitioners were beside themselves, regulators were perplexed and trade bodies were running for cover.

After much chest beating and legal opinions, you know what happened, absolutely nothing. Yet, some banks make some really dumb investment decisions and what does the FSA do, put new powers and whistleblower regulations in place.

I know that old expression, “Money Talks and Bullshit Walks” but come on here. Why is it that consumers are run over by the creditors and then when the creditors get bruised, now new powers are pulled from the quiver?

The Treasury plans to give FSA officials “specified prosecutor status”, allowing them to grant immunity in return for evidence against people suspected of market manipulation. A form of plea-bargaining — lesser sentences in exchange for evidence — is also expected to be included.

Guys, nobody here needs special protection to point out to you the British government empty phrases of “Treating Customers Fairly”, a FSA hallmark, and the British Banking Code are all laughable slogans and documents that carry no weight when it comes to protecting consumers.

Somewhere the financial services industry got a Get Out of Jail Free card and they keep pulling it out every time they get in trouble. But what power do consumers have against the banks? None.

Consumers are getting screwed by banks on bank charges, credit card fees, PPI, IVAs, and on and on. Banks got screwed on themselves and yet the banks get bailed out by the government to the tune of billions and billions and billions. Obscene.

Consumer want to avoid financial pain and misfortunate by entering into a fair and reasonable repayment plan to satisfy their debts, they get rebuked by major creditors and the U.K. government does absolutely nothing to defend consumers.

While there is much to admire about the United Kingdom, I can’t say that I’m at all proud that this government, under Gordon Brown, allows consumers t be treated like discarded trash and treated just about anyway the banks and creditors want to treat them without fear of retribution or reprisal. And yet, this is the same government that allows local government to translate “How to dispose of your rubbish” brochures in 38 different languages at a cost of nearly £150,000.

Local governments do crazy things like spend money on Play Rangers and not consumers all across this country that just want to repay their debt in an IVA.

“Senior Play Ranger
£28,778 - £31,068 PRO RATA

Children’s Services

Young People’s Services

Islington is coming out to play!

It’s exciting times for play in Islington, following our successful bid to the Big Lottery Fund.

We are now embarking on setting up our Play Ranger Teams. Play Rangers will work across the borough in parks, open spaces, estates and schools in developing play opportunities for children.

Play Rangers will respond to children’s play needs and will primarily focus on delivering services during weekends and holiday periods and will carry out estate based work after school.

With initial two-year funding received from the Big Lottery Fund Islington, Children’s Services and partners are seeking to recruit motivated play workers with a strong play ethos, who are able, willing and enthusiastic to work with children.

£28,778 - £31,068 PRO RATA REF: CS/0571/SG

2 YEARS FIXED TERM CONTRACT, 21 HOURS PER WEEK TERM TIME, 30 HOURS PER WEEK SCHOOL HOLIDAY PERIODS (SATURDAY / SUNDAY WORK ESSENTIAL)

As an experienced play worker who is level 3 qualified in play work, you will manage and lead a team of play rangers to deliver services across a range of play settings predominately at weekends.”

- Burning Our Money

Originally Posted Here

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Steve

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