Start of the new series about debt advice and consumer protection in all ORF Burgenland programs
Eisenstadt (OTS) – Money is everywhere. It meets our basic needs and shapes our future. However, financial education is often neglected, but is crucial to living an economically stable life. Financial discipline protects you from overwhelming debt, and conscious handling of money helps when buying a house, financing education or securing retirement. Financial and debt traps also lurk on the Internet, for example in “fake” online shops, on online travel platforms and on cheap flight offers. Information and advice is also required here.
In a new series “With advice and action – tips on debt and consumer issues” from Monday, February 5, 2024, ORF Burgenland, together with experts from the service center for debtors and consumer protection, will offer practical solutions, information and information in ten episodes Advice on debt or consumer issues. Dr. Michaela Puhr and Mag.a Angela Gruber from the debt advice service as well as consumer protection expert Mag.a Dr. Claudia Pinterich contribute their expertise to the contributions designed by Andreas Riedl.
The new series was presented at a press conference on Monday, January 29, 2024, by Deputy State Governor Mag.a Astrid Eisenkopf, ORF State Director Mag. Werner Herics, the head of the Burgenland debt counseling service, Dr. Michaela Puhr and broadcast manager Andreas Riedl presented.
Deputy State Governor Mag.a Astrid Eisenkopf: “Especially in the last few years with the corona pandemic, energy crisis and the wave of inflation, a massive wave of financial stress has hit our state. The state of Burgenland offers the ‘Debt Advice Burgenland’, a free service facility that Burgenlanders in financial difficulties, offer individual advice and help and support with debt relief procedures and have been doing so for over 25 years. With the information offensive ‘With advice and action – tips on debt and consumer issues’, on the one hand we want to give people the prospect of freedom from debt and show them that it is worth persevering through the marathon to get out of debt, but also take away the fear of those affected by turning to the country’s debt counseling service in a timely manner. With great commitment, professional competence and a lot of empathy, the employees of the debt counseling service have been able to help countless people over the past quarter of a century Helping people escape the debt trap. The consumer protection advice center of the state of Burgenland is also very closely linked to the advice center. With this information campaign we also want to address important consumer protection issues. For example, we are noticing an increased ‘shift’ of consumer behavior to online retail. This results in problems with deliveries of goods not received or received late. More and more consumers are becoming victims of fraudulent online shops (fake shops). Older consumers in particular are confronted with shipments of goods that have not been preceded by any orders. It is precisely these topics that will be part of the information offensive and are intended to make a contribution to ensuring the protection and rights of consumers.”
Dr. Michaela Puhr, Head of Debt Advice: “The performance of the service center is impressive: Since 1998, over 17,000 initial contacts have been registered, over 19,000 consultations and over 35,000 telephone calls have been made. In addition, our service center is a state-recognized debt advice center and has a ISO certification according to ISO 9001. This ensures a high quality of advice.”
ORF regional director Mag. Werner Herics: “The inclusion of content on financial education in ORF Burgenland’s programs is essential for a public service medium. Through this series we want to specifically help society cope with the challenges of everyday life can cope, but without pointing fingers, but with information and practical tips for solutions. To this end, we have created ten episodes with the experts from the debt advice service and the ombudsman’s office for consumer and tenancy law advice, which will address the most urgent questions on this topic: What does debt advice offer, how Can I create my own budget plan or what options are there for debt settlement? Questions in the area of consumer protection, tenancy law, exchanges and warranties as well as price traps in online and stationary retail are also discussed in the articles.”
“With advice and action – tips on debt and consumer issues”, from February 5, 2024 in all ORF media
The experts offer a brief overview of the respective topics on “Radio Burgenland Afternoon” every Monday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. They will then be available by telephone to answer questions from Radio Burgenland listeners. The individual episodes can also be seen on television every Monday after “Burgenland Today” at around 7:20 p.m. on ORF 2/B. The articles can be read at burgenland.ORF.at. The website also provides a complete overview of the services offered by the Burgenland State Service Office for debtors and the State Ombudsman Office for consumer and tenancy law advice.
Questions & Contact:
ORF regional studio Burgenland
Barbara Marchhart
02682/700/27447
barbara.marchhart@orf.at
http://burgenland.ORF.at