Mr. Tom O'Reilly:

This relates to the very start of the process where a standard financial statement is completed by a person over the telephone in a supermarket or sitting room without professional help. This is the basis of the decision the bank makes. If a person had proper financial or legal advice, the standard financial statement submitted would probably be very different. This would hold true in 80% to 90% of cases. A bank would probably make a very different decision with different information. Therefore, the process from the start needs to change. We suggest that the criteria banks are using for making decisions be made public. Second, a ban should be placed on people completing standard financial statements without professional and financial help.