Legal assistance platform to improve the debt-advice services

ended

The A-LEX project fits within the framework of the New Consumer Agenda, especially in response to consumer needs associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, aiming at facilitating the consumers' access to debt-advice services. The project is focused on the Lazio region, where a proportion of indebted households are in a financially fragile position. Households in Lazio with a home loan considered financially vulnerable were about 1.5% of the total (1.0% in Italy); in relation to indebted households they were about 14%. The consumer is fragile and exposed to risk related to the financial and banking issues and this is also linked to a lack of information and education on a critical approach to behavioural models. So, the debt advisor has a key role in financial education and consumer assistance. However, this requires specific skills and knowledge of the banking and financial sector from the advisor, the ability to make a detailed analysis of the client's debt position and financial situation. So, the project aims to improve the operational capacity among the operators and debt-advisors at local level, through the organization of a cycle of 8 workshops targeted to debt-advisors, lawyers and legal consultants that will be focused on topics such over-indebtedness instruments, financial and client management etc. The project also foresees the provision of both physical and virtual debt-advice services in order to increase the accessibility of debt advice services to Consumers, thanks to the creation of the “A-LEX” online platform and the provision of debt-advice on the 40 regional offices of MDC LAZIO and AECI. These services and the establishment of a network of experts at local level will provide permanent contact points in all the provinces of the region and over. A communication and awareness-raising campaign will be implemented to raise awareness of citizens, of possible future debt advisors and of interested stakeholders on the key role of debt-advice.