Written by Condon Associates on 13 July 2009

In my last blog I spoke about the number of “broke” people who supposedly can’t afford to pay their creditors, but can miraculously fund a barrage of experts to assist them in their dealings with their trustee or liquidator.

What never fails to shock me is the number of IP’s who are willing to act in such a capacity.

This week, I want to expand on this further. I see so many people come through my office doors broke, yet can find the funds to pay a variety of advisors, who then leave them worse off.

The best piece of advice that I can give to people who are in financial trouble is to be honest from the outset with your insolvency expert, this way your case can be resolved without any hidden surprises, or more importantly, extra costs.

If you’re not honest, you’re guaranteed to be caught out in two ways:

1. You’ll potentially end up paying more than what was initially quoted by your insolvency expert, and/or
2. The other advisors you seek out won’t always tell you the truth if they are simply fee focused. You’ll also end up having to pay your insolvency expert on top of the fees you’ve been charged by the so called “experts” that you sought out.

One thing is for sure, the two above mentioned points are guaranteed to cost you both time and money.

The most common external advisors I see people seek out are the people who pretend to be professionals. Often these “professionals” are simply sales people who will promise the world, but deliver nothing.

I find when people are under severe financial stress, they only hear what they want to hear and often that is all these snake oil salesmen are able to deliver. They don’t deliver real advice.

So for my real, honest and independent advice — stick to the good turnaround and insolvency professionals. They’ll provide honest and independent advice, that’s far better than worthless advice that costs you a fortune.

If you’ve found yourself in financial trouble, feel free to call me on 02 9893 9499.