licensed insolvency trustee

If you are already under stress as a result of your financial situation, it’s difficult to decide where to turn when looking for debt relief. Meeting with someone in person who has an office where you live can be helpful.

Licensed Insolvency Trustee, Derek Chase explains the benefits of seeking out a local Trustee firm that you feel comfortable with. Meeting face to face can be reassuring, avoiding the pitfalls of doing business on the internet.

Derek also discusses:

  • The benefits of consulting with a Licensed Insolvency Trustee
  • The strict code of ethics LIT’s must follow
  • Why Bankruptcy is the last option discussed
  • When to seek help
  • Getting fair and honest advice from a local LIT

Licensed Insolvency Trustees are federally regulated and experts in debt management solutions. They follow a strict code of ethics as well as government regulations

Wayne Kay 00:04
The benefits of meeting with a local Licensed Insolvency Trustee. That’s our topic today on the Debt Matters podcast, where we help Canadians find solutions to their debt with Licensed Insolvency Trustees from across Canada.

I’m Wayne Kay and we’re going to talk about who do you trust when it comes to getting good financial advice? Watch out for some dangers that come along with using the Internet for advice. How can you be sure the advice is real and not a fraud or a scam?

We’re going to talk about that and a lot more coming up today on the show. My guest today, Derek Chase from Chase & Associates Licensed Insolvency Trustee with office locations throughout Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and the BC North Coast. Derek, thanks for coming back to the show.

Derek Chase 00:52
Oh, it’s my pleasure, Wayne. I really look forward to these.

Wayne Kay 00:55
Yes we get to teach people a little bit about how they can maybe find some solutions to their problems, because a lot of people have some major financial problems, wouldn’t you say?

Derek Chase 01:07
Oh, there’s no doubt about it. The pressures just seem to be going up on different aspects of life, and that leads to financial pressure.

Wayne Kay 01:14
And then it leads to people making some critical errors to try to get out of this situation they’re in. And that can really mess them up even worse, because, I don’t know about you, but I’m seeing all these ads on tv, I’m hearing ads on radio. I’m seeing ads and as soon as you mention it, all of a sudden they’re popping up on social media.

You don’t know what to do or who to trust. So why don’t we start off by talking about maybe some of the specific benefits of meeting with a local Licensed Insolvency Trustee?

Derek Chase 01:52
It’s a good question. And you’re right. There’s a lot of people that proclaim to have financial expertise, but when you’re talking about the benefits of meeting with a Trustee – behind the scenes, there’s a tremendous amount of training that a Trustee has to go through.

So the expertise that’s built up through that training is available to the public to come in and tap into. Then when you combine that training and expertise with the experience that most Trustees have had, looking at thousands of different situations over the years, that’s powerful. That’s a really good resource. And so even if you didn’t need to use the services of a Trustee, most Trustee offices will provide a free initial consultation.

And what we find in those settings is sometimes all people need is another set of eyes to look at their situation and kind of confirm what they’re thinking. There’s some tremendous benefits to meeting with a local LIT and taking advantage of that expertise and experience.

Wayne Kay 03:07
Now we mention the words all the time. LIT or Licensed Insolvency Trustee. Can you explain what that means?

Derek Chase 03:16
A Licensed Insolvency Trustee is usually someone who’s been trained formally as a chartered accountant and then has gone through a secondary licensing process with the federal government, taking another set of courses and training, and is finally granted a license by the federal government to allow a Trustee to help a person or a company reorganize their financial affairs.

And a local Licensed Insolvency Trustee is the only person that’s able to file a Consumer Proposal or file a Bankruptcy for a Canadian. And so as an officer of the court, we’ve got a high standard of care to be able to deliver good quality advice to people irregardless of their situation.

Wayne Kay 04:10
And it’s all regulated, as you said, by the government, which is much better than just somebody picking up a business license and doing an online course and then figuring that they can help you out by giving you weird loans and changing things around. It can get into a very ugly situation quickly. And I’m sure you’ve seen people come to you after they’ve done those things.

Derek Chase 04:34
Well, you don’t always know what people have done in the past, but certainly the level of quality control, the quality of dealing with a Trustee should be a lot higher than someone that you just don’t know what their background or experience or standards are. I also didn’t mention that as a Trustee, we were bound to a code of ethics for treating people fairly in a businesslike manner. And the list goes on.

That whole filter of getting to be a Trustee, you’ve got high standards and high expectations that you pass along through your advice to the person that’s sitting there – sometimes terrified that terrible things are going to happen, and then they find out otherwise. It’s a good system to produce fair and honest advice.

Wayne Kay 05:30
I guess that’s where you go when it comes to trusting somebody to give you good financial advice. This is the perfect place to start.

Derek Chase 05:38
Yes. That level of trust, it’s so important. And, you know, the Internet’s a murky place and you just don’t know who you’re talking to. Sometimes when you’re just going through a phone call to an Internet phone number.

Certainly if you can meet with someone locally, I think that’s the best way. There’s a deeper level of trust when you can sit across the table from somebody and see them eye to eye, you know, see their body language. And I know we certainly take as much time as people need to get everything answered and make sure that they’re feeling confident in having enough information to make good choices about what they should do next.

Wayne Kay 06:21
And they love the confidence, too. Like when I – anytime I ask you any kind of a question, you’re there with an answer. And that’s the same with them.

They come in, they’re embarrassed, they’re scared. There’s all these feelings that are going on, but when they sit with you, all of a sudden there’s this, this comfort that. Okay, Derek and his team know what’s going on.

Derek Chase 06:47
Yes. We’ve had that feedback, which we work hard to try and keep up to that standard. And it is something to be able to deal with the same person or the same, you know, one or two people and to be able to access them.

So that’s a huge benefit to dealing with a local Trustee, that you’re able to get a timely response from your inquiry. Or if you need a meeting, you can get in on this Wednesday instead of six weeks from now or sometimes you don’t know who’s going to call you back.

So there can be some really good, trustworthy components to that that just help build the confidence that you’re not getting ripped off, you’re not getting defrauded. It’s a transparent, honest process. So that’s a huge benefit, I think.

Wayne Kay 07:38
Let’s talk about the one thing that people do, though, when they get into financial trouble or any kind of trouble or anything, is they turn to the Internet. What’s some of your advice to being aware of the dangers of the Internet?

Derek Chase 07:52
Well, yes, that’s a tough one to convey. It’s buyer beware. You look at some Internet sites and they look just fantastic. But when you start talking to somebody, you don’t know if they’re sitting in San Diego or Mississauga or who knows where.

I don’t know how you vet that, really, because even when you look at the reviews, the reviews on their site could be terrific. And that’s one thing. It’s another to be able to actually see the storefront and come in and say hello and see what a person looks like.

Wayne Kay 08:28
Right.

Derek Chase 08:29
I just think you have to be quite careful when you’re using the Internet to start making that big decision and disclosing some personal information. Certainly if you can get someone that you trust to see if they know about that person and that, again, could happen in the local community.

Wayne Kay 08:49
That’s a great point, though. When I can walk down the street and I go to your office, well, chances are you’re not going to mess with me because if I’m disgruntled in a very bad way, I know exactly where you are. Right?

Whereas if you were going to scam me, you wouldn’t be, you wouldn’t have an office sitting right there. So how do you know if there’s a fraud or some kind of a scam that’s going on or that you’re actually getting real advice? Do you have any advice on that?

Derek Chase 09:21
Well, you can, once again, have confidence in a Licensed Insolvency Trustee, because there’s not going to be any fraud in that context. There’s a tremendous amount of oversight from the federal government through the office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy that would clamp down on that real fast if it was a Trustee doing anything along those lines. And in the whole context of Canadian law, you can also access through the provincial court. There’s remedies.

Whereas if you get defrauded on the Internet, where do you turn to? You might not even know where to go to try and get your money back. Like I say, if it’s some sort of international site that you’ve unknowingly visited. So as  not to be defrauded, not to be scammed – I know there’s a tremendous amount of safeguards in place on the Trustee side, but for other organizations, I don’t know if they can say the same.

Wayne Kay 10:27
I just watched a movie called The Bee Keeper, and what stood out for me is that the whole movie starts on a fraud that happens to a sweet retired lady and she gets scammed on the Internet, sees something, clicks the button, says, hey, for help right now, call this number she calls.

And of course, they were caring and concerned, and they were right there to walk her through until she trusted them and hit one button, and then they completely wiped out all of her savings. And this is something that actually does happen. So when I was watching that, I was thinking about this show and thinking it’s terrifying what can happen to people and the fraud that’s out there. So you truly have to be so careful when it comes to getting help for yourself, financially.

Derek Chase 11:26
We’ve helped numerous people that have had a similar story where they’ve lost money due to some sort of financial promise that’s ended up not coming through or ended up causing them tremendous tax problems down the line. And, yes, there’s no shortage of people trying to steal from you out there. And the more confidence you can have going into a financial transaction, the better.

I don’t want to be repetitive as to what those are for us, but I can tell you there’s a lot of them, and that’s really good. So, that’s just one of the benefits of dealing with a Trustee or a local Trustee. You’re in good hands.

Wayne Kay 12:20
When we talk about meeting with a local LIT, when’s the best time to do that?

Derek Chase 12:29
There isn’t really any best time of the day or the month or the year, really. You should get consistent service throughout the calendar year. Sometimes Trustees do get caught up in personal income tax filing season a little bit. If you’re getting close to the end of the calendar year, I would say do it before the calendar year switches over rather than waiting till the new year. There’s a bit of a benefit to getting it going in that current calendar year.

But probably more importantly, I guess, is if you just don’t know where to turn, you’re losing some sleep, you’re getting collection pressure – you just don’t want to wait. There’s no benefit to waiting because this initial consultation I mentioned is free, so you’ve got nothing to lose there. And when that initial consultation takes place, the local LIT, they’re going to be familiar with what’s happening in the local area. They’re going to be familiar with the local economy and the local industries.

It might just be a matter of referring you to a local agency that can help. But there will be some good ideas that come out of that initial meeting, and you will go away better equipped to make choices for your financial future.

Wayne Kay 14:00
Does that happen quite often where all of a sudden somebody will come in and you’ll throw them some great ideas that they will say, wow, okay, I’m going to go implement these and give these a try and see what happens?

Derek Chase 14:12
Yes, it is. Yes,, for sure. We always say that a Bankruptcy filing is the last thing that you want to do. That’s the last place you want to go to. So we walk through all sorts of different ideas and ways and possibilities that a person can consider before going to the formal remedies of whether that’s a federal Consumer Proposal or federal Bankruptcy filings, there’s different solutions that you want to hear about. And believe me, a Trustee has seen them all. So it’s like I say, a good resource.

Wayne Kay 14:48
Terrific. So when they walk in and say, oh, this is the worst case you’re probably ever going to see, you say, I doubt it, right? You’ve seen all kinds, that’s for sure.

Derek Chase 14:57
Oh, my gosh. Yes, that’s the truth.

Wayne Kay 15:01
All right, Derek, any final words of advice you want to share with us today?

Derek Chase 15:06
Yes, again, the benefits of meeting with the local LIT. There’s a tremendous amount of benefits, so don’t be shy. Just reach out, say hello, and ask for a 30 minute meeting, and you’ll gain from that.

Wayne Kay 15:20
Yes. And as you mentioned, totally free. Derek, thanks so much for being on the show today.

Derek Chase 15:24
It’s my pleasure, Wayne.

Wayne Kay 15:26
My guest today, Derek Chase. You can learn more and schedule a free consultation with Chase & Associates Licensed Insolvency Trustee through the website bankruptcytrusteebc.ca.

That’s it for today’s Debt Matters podcast. Make sure you subscribe wherever you get your favorite podcast and for more information, you can always check out debtmatters.ca. Thanks for listening.

About Derek Chase

Derek Chase is a Licensed Insolvency Trustee in British Columbia. He has been helping individuals and corporations restructure their debt since 1997. His areas of practice include personal and corporate insolvency including Consumer Proposals and Bankruptcy. The best part of his work is to be able to witness lives change for the better when the heavy burden of unmanageable debt is lifted.

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