I might have missed something here, but it seems some threads have been stopped.
While I can see that certain behaviour cannot be allowed on the forum, criticism of an IVA provider does not in itself warrant such action. People viewing the posts take them at face value without knowledge of the detail, that is the nature of the forum.
New members might see this approach negatively -
I am concerned such a measure could be construed as favouritism.
I have always found this site a source of comfort in difficult times, for myself, and I hope my support for others. It`s only natural people get stressed and anxious about their situation.
Tricky one this. I don't think it was censorship as such. There's always a danger when a forum stalwart is being criticised to see it as the forum ganging up to protect that person. That would clearly be favouritism. Personally I think that thread had come to a point where the same things were being repeated and the only logical conclusion was that the two protagonists needed to speak to each other. None of us knows where the fault lies and you can't make that judgement. Would the thread have been allowed to continue if it wasnt Mel being criticised but say GT or Payplan instead? Only Andy knows the answer but I support his decision to curtail it.
I have had threads that I have started shut down by the managment!
To be fare, those threads had run their course, and I was not prevented from restarting a new and constructive thread.
7 years after starting an IVA I finally received a completion certificate from ClearDebt
I have mixed feelings about it. I sent numerous replies to the posts throughout yesterday - as did many others. I came off the threads after a while because I felt I had nothing more to offer, and to be honest - felt like it was heading towards a self-fulfilling prophecy - one of feeling negatively judged. When I read Andy's post, I thought "that needed to happen - other posters are just getting riled up by this, and it's going nowhere", whilst at the same time thinking "the poster will now feel they were right all along - nothing negative can't be said about certain people, and only positive posts are on here - giving the wrong impression". We should be able to vent and share our thoughts and feelings on here without fear of judgement - balanced with responding 'appropriately' to the other person's right to reply - and to me, therein lies the rub - what's 'appropriate'?? It was never going to have any 'balance' because the IP would not (I think rightly) hash out all details on the forum - but extended the offer to do so off it. Feel a bit sad about the whole thing really, and quite conflicted - which is pretty unusual for me. x
IVA journey started: 30th March 2009. Settled: 17th July 2012. Completion Certificate received: 13th March 2013. Breathe. x
The forum is for open debate..however where a member has cause for complaint of their IP then this should directed through the companies internal complaints procedures and then if still not satisfied through formal complaints channels.
It is inappropriate, in my view for any personal complaints to be addressed on the forum..these should be done "off air".
The locked topics from yesterday caused debate but again in my opinion were stopped in time avoid unnecessary and unhealthy comments towards both parties concerned.
I sincerely hope they can resolve the issues "off forum" in the coming days.
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
There is a solution for everyone .... Just need to stay positive !
Remember the posts were locked but not deleted so it is not censorship. It is important to allow specific points to be sorted between two parties rather than on an open forum because in many cases we do not hear both sides of the story. Finally one person enjoys annonminity and the other doesn't.
It's always a tough call believe me but if the forum wasn't moderated 24/7 it would become eventually become a shambles, trust me.
I completely agree with Andy. I posted on a pet owners forum once - never again! I asked for advice regarding food for Harry and I couldn't believe the nasty replies I got accusing me of being a cruel owner for only feeding him dry food and calling me weak because I wouldn't make him eat what they thought he should! Needless to say I never posted again!
I used to be active on quite a few forums but this is now the only I read and, occasionally, contribute to as my experiences were similar to Skippy's. A lot of members just used them for point scoring and being childish. I have found this to be one of the best regulated forums and the fact that you get free professional advice, not what the know it all in the pub says, is invaluable. I was reading the threads in question yesterday. They were getting nowhere and as Andy said, they were locked but not deleted.
