The Central Bank has said it will pursue debt management firms that are breaching its consumer protection regulations.
The announcement follows the bank's first report on the sector, which found most of the firms inspected failed to adhere to its standards.
The number of private debt management firms grew during the recession. The Central Bank was appointed as the sector's regulator in 2013 and its first report has revealed only one in 26 firms whose websites were reviewed displayed information on fees and charges.
It also found wide variations in initial charges (from €0-€615), hourly charges (€125-€246) as well as monthly retainers (€35-€50).
The Central Bank also found only 12% of online documents reviewed displayed the required content, while only half of the firms had given each consumer their terms of business.
60% of the firms assessed did not always record the information required to be able to advise customers appropriately.
