Anticipate to avoid financial collapse. In the midst of an inflationary surge, the government is launching an experiment called “Help-Budget” on Monday, February 27. An alert and support system to protect households from over-indebtedness. Concretely, from two unpaid debts, the main social landlords, such as Union sociale pour l’habitat and Adoma-CDC Habitat, but also the largest energy suppliers, such as EDF, Engie, TotalEnergies will have to trigger an internal procedure.
“It is a question of offering support and a diagnosis to the person who has not settled his two deadlines, in order to study the situation to determine if it is an accident, or if these are more serious difficulties. “, Details Bercy.
Then, the person in difficulty can be referred to one of the 500 Budget Council Points (PCB) installed in France. The PCBs offer confidential, free and personalized advice on how to manage their budget, and can, in the most critical situations, support the person in setting up an over-indebtedness file. In addition, “Aide-Budget” will also be able to put those concerned in touch with the social action of the municipalities and departmental councils.
113,000 people in a situation of over-indebtedness
The objective of “Aide-Budget”, born from the report delivered in 2021 by the former LREM deputy (now Renaissance) Philippe Chassaing on over-indebtedness, is to track down financial slippages as early as possible. If France currently has 113,000 people in a situation of over-indebtedness, the figure is only decreasing, says Bercy: – 7% over one year and -37% since 2017.
“Even if in 2022, according to the first figures that we have, there was not necessarily an increase in situations of over-indebtedness, in 2023, the context of high inflation which continues to increase, forces us to remain extremely vigilant , warns the Ministry of Solidarity led by Jean-Christophe Combe. This experiment will allow us to equip ourselves with tools that could be useful »
The experiment will be carried out in eleven departments: Nord, Isère, Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis, Dordogne, Hérault, Bas-Rhin, Côtes-d’Armor, Haute-Savoie, Seine-Maritime and Réunion. “At the end of the twelve months, an assessment of its effectiveness will be made to determine if it is extended”, specifies Bercy. Eventually, banks could also integrate the reporting system.