Date 22.11.16
I recently met with a woman who had been struggling to make payments on all her debts for the past year or so. Although she had heard of consumer proposal and bankruptcy, she was unsure of exactly what each meant. She would call and book an appointment and not show up! I would always call and leave her a message, that should she want to rebook, to just give me a call. One day when I called she answered her phone. When I asked if she would like to rebook I could hear hesitation in her voice and she apologized for not coming to her last few appointments and said that she has been very nervous and scared about the meeting and what it entailed. I proceed to talk to the lady over the phone and told her that it’s just like a “conversation” not a formal appointment. There would just be her and I talking and I would show her all of her options. She booked a time to come in and see me.
The woman arrived at her appointment and I could tell she was still very nervous when I introduced myself. We sat down and with nothing on my desk I just asked her to share what was going on in her life. She started talking and explaining that in the past 1½ years, she went through a marriage breakdown and job loss, so now cannot afford to pay her debts. Everyone was calling her for payments!
After listening to her, I made some notes and then proceeded to go over her options and how each process works from beginning to end. At the end of the meeting, the woman looked like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She looked at me and said “I wish I would have come in sooner.”
We booked a time for her to come back to sign the paperwork and in the meantime; I gave her a little check list of what information she needed to get in order to finalize the paper work.
In the end, the woman was relieved from answering all the collection calls and the stress that was holding her back, so she could move forward.
Life happens; I am here to listen and to help people move forward with their lives.