One of the things that I see quite often where businesses and people have got into financial difficulty, is the fact that they tend to, whether you want to use the word ‘procrastinate’ or extend it out, they don’t really have an answer, so they don’t do anything.
#dougconstable #financial #Trouble #financialDifficulty
Over the years, I have dealt with a large number of trustees, and whether you go for a private trustee or a government trustee, really depends on your own personal situation. The underlying thing I’ve found with trustees, is to find one that you can talk to and you can deal with. If you leave it up to your creditors to bankrupt you, and they put in their own trustee, they are going to be very aggressive.
Earlier this week I was driving to work, and one of the topics that was on the radio, the Neil Mitchell show on 3AW was Welfare – the amount of money that’s being spent on welfare, a year. And it works out to be around about 5 million per person, per year.
I was recently talking to a friend of mine about forgiveness, and what is forgiveness and how do you forgive someone. And people sort of continue to turn around and say, “Oh, I need to forgive them,” or “I need to move on; get over.” But how do you do it?
Things are never as bad as they seem and things are never as good as they seem. And it reminds me of a particular couple that I had, that they were living in a rented house. And they were renovating the house to stay on the street, and they wanted to keep the house. So 2 years down the road, they’re panicking, “Oh, we haven’t got the money! We’re going to lose the whole lot,” and it all goes on and on and on. And it’s doom and gloom.n
One of the things I have realized over the time, when we’re negotiating with creditors and in actual fact when we are negotiating or dealing with things in life, is that there are no winners in an argument, whether it be our partners, whether it be our children, our parents. As soon as you get into an argument what we’re trying to do is to try and prove that the other person is wrong and that we are right. Now, from our point of view we’ll be right but if we accept the other person’s point of view from theirs is right, then we get a lot further.
Sometime ago, I was dealing with a fellow in the motor industry, and he had an agreement with quite a large motor repairer, to do their vehicles. He was going through a tough time, most probably wasn’t as strong mentally as he could be at that time. He’d had been 12 or 18 months of being harassed and worrying and feeling like he was going to lose everything.
When you’re depressed or when you’re focused on something and it seems to me that when I sit with people, that are going through this financial hassle in business or whatever, all they start to do is focus on themselves.
Source: The Herald Sun
Link: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/barefoot-investor/tradie-needs-to-stop-surviving-via-centrelink-and-get-out-of-debt/news-story/a536089052b2b078b343ee4a53e83a30
“JAKE ASKS: I have read your book and love it. Using your formula I have already paid off a long-term debt. Unfortunately, my partner and I have separate finances (her choice) and I recently found out that, in the time I paid off my debt, she racked up another for twice as much. Frustrating! We both earn OK incomes (combined $200,000), but are still renting at age 37. As we have three kids, I really want to get into our own home in the next four years … how do I convince her?” Read More
Source: The Herald Sun
Link: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/business/barefoot-investor/tradie-needs-to-stop-surviving-via-centrelink-and-get-out-of-debt/news-story/a536089052b2b078b343ee4a53e83a30
“The universe is telling a self-employed tradie, caught in a debt trap, to start looking for a regular job, writes Barefoot Investor”
Doug Constable Replies: It is easy to say that, “To start looking for a regular job”, but to me I would think that someone that is self employed, is self employed because they want to be self employed
And maybe they should start learning what really does self-employed means as opposed to looking for another job
The freedom, opportunity and the strain dream of having a growing business is always there,and if I am not making enough money, most probably they need to go out and work out how to make more money as a tradesman as their own business as opposed to just be in a rut to be looking for a job Read More
The subject explained in the news at the moment is Barnaby Joyce and his dual citizenship. Now I know as an Australian citizen, that I would love to have the best people running our country – the people that make the decisions based on what is good for our country and the citizens of our country.
#dougconstable #australiangovernment #deputyprimeminister #barnabyjoyce #dualcitizenship
Getting towards the end of the season in footy, for those that know me now, know that I follow Carlton Football Club. One of the things that I think is so important is that the path Carlton has taken over the last couple of years.
#dougconstable #longtermsuccess #afl #carltonfootballclub #neilcraig
One negative comment needs seven positive comments just to balance it out, in your own mind and how you feel about yourself. This is something that i learnt years ago. And what I find happens is, quite often, when people find themselves in debt or not quite able to make ends meet, they start talking about failure, of not earning enough money, those sorts of negative comments.
So the hot dog story. I would have heard this 30-40 years ago. And It’s something I try to remember. It’s a humorous story but it’s got a very good message to it. And it relates back to after the war and of course there are a number of settlers that came to America of all different ethnic backgrounds and came and settled in America. And one of those couples that came to America and virtually had nothing. They settled near a major road.
#Dougconstable #Dougconstablegroup #Hotdogstory
One of the things that is topical at the moment is why use a pre-insolvency person.Yeah of course, I’ve got a vested interest because I guess I am a pre-insolvency person. One of the advantage of using a pre-insolvency person is that they work for you. Now, again there are different types of pre-insolvency person.
One of the things to think about is when you’re being confronted by a situation whether it be: an angry creditors, someone after you for money or someone that you disagreeing with, is what approach you are going to take. And, You can either take the oaktree approach where you stand up and you just are going to withhold it and not bend and not flex or you can take the palm tree approach where you bend and go with the wind and just go backwards and forwards and rock until the storm passes.
One of things I find is that a lot of people concern themselves the about their reputation. Now to me reputation is how other people see you. But they are seeing you through their eyes and their experiences. So what happens is if you get pulled over by the police for speeding their immediate thing is to react how other people who have been pulled over have acted and some of them have been not so nice people, so the police are on guard.
Many years ago, way back in my youth I used to be involved with a company called SMI and one of the things they had was this “Principle of the Slight Edge”. How they used to say it was that we all have talents and abilities.
One of the things I get asked quite often is: what are the trends and what are of some of things that I see with companies going into liquidation and the reason behind it. Over the years I have done quite a lot of liquidations associated with builders. One of the things I see time and time again is that with a small builder, they tend to try and compete on price thinking that that’s the issue. And of course when they compete on price they haven’t got the money to do the job because they have got a cut the dollars and cut the corners so they make the living and it reminds me of the time when with my first wife.
In movies quite often there are one lines that just strike home and one of them is in The Lion King, the children’s movie. Oh yes the past can hurt, but you can either run from it or learn from it.
One of the things that happens just so often that I find is that people say “do you know a good solicitor” or they go and get their local solicitor or someone that doesn’t necessarily know about debt and insolvency. They just go find someone that is local or a nearby person.
Now certainly with debt and insolvency, it is a fairly specialised area and there are many things you can do that would help you, but the solicitor have got to know.
So when you’re choosing a liquidator or trustee to your business, there are several things to look for I think. One of the things is it doesn’t matter whether it’s a big firm or a small firm, what you want is someone that you can become a person as opposed to just just a number.So if you declare yourself bankrupt or you put your own company the liquidation or you’re forced into it. The difference is is that if you do it yourself, you get to have a bit of a say in the type of trustee that is going to manage your affairs. As opposed to, if the courts do it in the case of liquidations they will just nominate the next one on the list. So when you’re looking for someone, again look for someone that you can talk to you don’t have to agree to go with the first person you talk to. Yeah that’s one of the advantages of dealing with a pre insolvency person which I’ll talk to you about later on, in another time.
” Entrepreneurship is living a few years of life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t ”
Augsburg Valley
If Somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it say yes then learn how to do it.
Richard Branson
Journalist: “What is the secret of your success?”
CEO: “Two words.”
Journalist: “And, What are they?”
CEO: “Right decision”.
Journalist: “But how do you make right decisions?”
CEO: “One Word.”
Journalist: “And, what is that?”
CEO: “Experience.”
Journalist: “And how do you get experience?”
CEO: “Two words.”
Journalist: “And, what are they?”
CEO: “Wrong decisions.”
Doug Constable: In this episode of Doug on Debt: we talk about what happens when you borrow money to pay debts. Alot of people in Australia buy their dream home not ever thinking about what would happen if they couldn’t pay their mortgage. But rather than offer you hardship facilities, some banks actually offer you more debt! This is on top of already rising late fee’s and later, legal fee’s if the repayments fall behind even more. Before you fall into the trap of paying debt with debt (or credit); maybe seek other alternatives to get back on top.
Rejected by Decca recording studios who said ” we don’t like their sound they have no future in show business.”
If you have never failed,
You’ve never tried anything new.
Source: Foundr Magazine
Doug Constable: Do you want to help a family member start their business – by investing some money as startup capital? Think twice before deciding to become a director as well. Savvy investors know that when they put cash on the line (either through shares or venture capital), they have a great chance of never seeing that money again. But since they aren’t usually directors, they don’t share the liabilities if any debts are incurred. Do your research and invest wisely. If you don’t think that the person you’re investing in can actually run the business, think again before putting up the capital!
After Being cut from his high school basketball team, he went home, locked himself in his room, and cried.
If you have never failed,
You’ve never tried anything new.
Source: Foundr Magazine
Doug Constable: In this episode of Doug on Debt: we talk about how book keeping may be better done through an external provider, rather than a family member. Often, business’s get into trouble because an unpaid family member is used to do the books save money, only to prioritise family matters over the running of the business. By using an external book-keeper, you’ll take out all of the emotions from money-management and concentrate on proving the product or service that your business is all about.
Was demoted from her job as a news anchor because she “wasn’t fit for television.”
If you have never failed,
You’ve never tried anything new.
Source: Foundr Magazine
I had a friend come around the other day to fix his car which had broken down on a previous visit and so had to leave it at my place. He was catching the bus to come and get it going when his wife rang him and said that the sheriff had turned up. He had come calling in relation to some parking fines on cars that were in his name, but which his employees were driving.
He wasn’t able to speak until he was almost 4-years-old and his teachers said he would “never amount to much”
If you have never failed,
You’ve never tried anything new.
Source: Foundr Magazine
Fired from newspaper for “lacking imagination and having no original ideas.”
If you have never failed,
You’ve never tried anything new.
Source: Foundr Magazine
Steve Jobs
“At 30 years age he was left devastated and depressed
after being unceremoniously removed
from the company he had started. ”
If you have never failed,
You’ve nevertried anything new.
Source: Foundr Magazine
One of the issues I see regularly is where a company gets itself into difficulty and the directors are responsible. In Australia, a business only really needs one director in control of a company. But quite often, what happens is what actually happened to one of my clients recently. They have a tax debt and have been issued with directorss penalty notices. At the time, it was a father and son, and the father put some money into the son’s business, but he also wanted to be a director to have some control. Consequently they are both responsible for the debt.
Self-managed Super funds are a fantastic tool for people to use for their retirement. One of the things I see quite often is clients who have taken money out of their self-managed Super fund to put into their business.
Principles of Bankrupt
The law of bankruptcy is contained in the Bankruptcy Act 1966, [“the Act”] which applies throughout Australia. Only natural persons can be made bankrupt. When a person becomes bankrupt, most of their property is taken over by either a registered trustee or the Official Trustee. A trustee can take most of a bankrupt’s real estate and personal property situated in Australia or elsewhere, with some exceptions. A person will usually remain bankrupt for 3 years. Bankruptcy continues until discharge or annulment takes place. For some people, bankruptcy may be the best way to handle their debts. When considering bankruptcy, the advantages and disadvantages should be considered as well as all other options.
Sometimes holding on
Does more damage
Than letting go
Source: Unknown
There’s a story behind every person.
There’s a reason why they’re the way they are.
Think about that before judge someone.
Source: Unknown
I have had the experience of being harassed by government creditors. I was a partner in a child minding centre that was wrought with financial issues stemming from a husband and wife partnership. The government body for WorkCover, QBE, were owed money and proceeded to threaten me with a summons to court and the winding up of the business. This was some time ago now, and even though I no longer am partner in the business and the business has been sold, this government creditor continue to call and threaten me. To date I have not seen a summons.
#DougConstable #GovernmentDebtcollectors #Bullies #Intimidationbycreditors
Dealing with debt often leads us to feeling guilty and debt collectors and creditors play on this, they firstly try to humiliate us into paying. This is normally a lot cheaper for them than paying a solicitor to take you to court (giving you the time to organise your assets) only then to be advised you don’t have anything. It’s a lot better to string you along collecting little bits at a time knowing one day if they embarrass or humiliate you long enough you might pay.
Why Our Education System Lets Us Down
Schools, parents tell us that education and getting a career are the compelling pathways to wealth. They may be and there is certainly nothing wrong with getting an education. This book promotes education as a lifelong process. But if you were told at school that you would need to work for 35-40 years from 9 to 5 and then live a very, very modest retirement, how many would sign up for that?
J.K. Rowling, the mega successful author of the Harry Potter series, was rejected by twelve different publishers before she found one to accept her manuscript. Even after agreeing to publish her first novel, they advised her to keep her day job. It seems no one had any faith in J.K. – but J.K. herself.
While Henry Ford is today known for his innovative assembly line and American- made cars, he wasn’t an instant success. In fact, his early businesses failed and left him broke five times before he founded the successful Ford Motor Company
I was once told that you aren’t a true entrepreneur if you haven’t gone bankrupt at least once! Well Walt Disney shows us how it’s done, he was fired by a newspaper editor because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” He went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. In fact, the proposed park was rejected by the city of Anaheim on the grounds that it would only attract riffraff.
Are you a procrastinator and wait until the last minute to get things done or worse put things off for so long so that it actually hurts your business? When all is said and done, there are two types of people when it comes to stereotypes in times of crisis. There are the ones who are burdened at an emotional level by the life crises, be it sickness, relationship breakdown or business failure and who get stuck in recrimination, anger, bitterness and inertia. Then there are the ones who take full responsibility for what has happened, absorb the losses and move on.
#DougConstable #EmotionalStuff #OstrichPhenomenon #OstrichProblem
Using the Professionals Appropriately
Consider the case of a young couple who came to see me.
The couple came over from Fiji and had a couple of children. He started importing used car parts and re-selling them on eBay. Eventually this trading provided him with full time employment. He had a friend who was a BAS agent and helped him organize his tax and gst affairs. The agent had said to him “I’ll handle all that.” So my client sent all his statements and the like to the agent. In the end he did not pay any tax. The ATO did an audit; not necessarily because they were suspicious about his trading but because they had some concerns about the agent from previous dealings.
#DougConstable #WorkwithLawyers #WorkwithAccountants #WorkwithTrustees #WorkwithLiquidators
In my case here I was separated, divorced, had virtually nothing, driving my daughter’s car which just a few years ago had given her for her 18th birthday and sitting around waiting and then happen to have a conversation with a solicitor friend of mine who said to me “Doug you’ve got to get back in helping businesses and I said. “Yes, you’re probably right.’ But then I thought “But how do I do that?” So I phoned a colleague who helped me out with some interim work, nothing much. But then I was introduced to a client of an accountant friend of mine and helped him out. Pretty sooner I was on the way. I went from earning just $200-$300 a week to earning many times that. There was a point in time in this stage of my life where I said to myself “Enough is enough”. I needed just one bit of inspiration to get myself going again.
We need to eliminate ‘failure’ from our lexicon. Failure is when you give up. If you have a mindset of openness and a preparedness to deal with all the difficulties then you have not failed, you are still in the game. It is the mindset that is your leverage.
As you rebuild your financial life after bankruptcy, remember the hard lessons learned. You don’t want to become a serial offender; you DO want to rebuild, that’s natural, once you strip the emotional detritus that is currently around you, out of the way. Be diligent with your finances and be careful not to over extend yourself again. Take good care of your credit and your financial health after filing for bankruptcy.
#DougConstable #Rebuilding #Bankruptcy #Whattodowhenyoucantpaydebts #protection #techniques #ScurrilousActs
Oh Yes, The Past Can Hurt.
But You Can Either Run From It,
Or Learn From It.
#DougConstable #PastQuote #LearnQuote
“Never Give Up”
“Mistakes are proof that you are trying”.
“A wolf doesn’t lose sleep over the opinion of sheep.
He just eats them.
Problem solved.”
Source: Unknown
#DougConstable #WolfQuote #SheepQuote #FinanceQuote #SuccessQuote
“ 85% of your financial success is due to your personality and ability to communicate, negotiate, and lead.
Shockingly, only 15% is due to technical Knowledge. “
Source: Carnegie Institute of Technology
www.cmu.edu
“Insolvency expert, self-help author uses senior Bandido to settle debts”
1. The information provided here notably “Bandido” by Cameron Houston and Chris Vedelago is used to embellish the article.
“Doug Constable claims to be an “insolvency expert”, who helps ailing businesses stave off creditors and avoid bankruptcy.
The 66-year-old businessman, who wrote a book called How to Not Pay Your Debts, says he is “passionate about helping people draw a line in the sand in times of financial distress”.”
2.The information provided here by Cameron Houston and Chris Vedelago is used to embellish the article, notably helping businesses “stave off” creditors. Please provide evidence.
#DougConstable #CameronHouston #ChrisVedelago #SMH #SydneyMorningHerald #TheAgeMelbourne
Read More
An open letter to Cameron Houston
Good afternoon Cameron,
After your phone call Thursday afternoon, I had the opportunity to reflect on your questions and comments.
It has reminded me of our last phone discussion in June last year.
As a result of that discussion you wrote an article with a particular slant or angle, you neglected to point out I had been threatened by Peter Hiscock, I was unhappy with the work of Randal Glennon of the Three Wise Men, the logo presented to me was a copy of a logo already being used and some of the content was plagiarised.
#PeterHiscock #RandalGlennon #ThreeWiseMen #RandalGlennonPlagiarised
Read More
In 2014 Christopher Collier first met Doug Constable when Collier responded to an ad Doug’s company ran on radio for people who had a debt problem.
Doug met Chris Collier at a pub in Hawthorn. Chris didn’t want current employer “Guild Insurance”, also located in Hawthorn, to know he was working in another business concurrently.
Doug explained what had to be done next with Collier’s failing business.
At this time Doug also referred Chris Collier to a Mortgage Broker.
Ultimately Doug found there was no trading Chris Collier’s failing company Cobb & Co Clocks out of its crisis.
#DougConstable #CameronHouston #ChrisCollier #RandalGlennon #SMH #SydneyMorningHerald #TheAgeMelbourne
Doug Constable, Response
The Age National
13 April, 2016
The Age recently ran the heart-breaking story of Aaron Szepesvary and his family who lost everything and were forcibly evicted from their suburban Melbourne home, all over an unpaid $20,000 credit card debt.
You can read the original article here:
- http://www.theage.com.au/national/riches-to-rags-a-family-made-homeless-from-a-credit-card-debt-20160226-gn4nc7
- Age article Riches to Rags
About Me
I am Douglas Constable, affectionately known as “Doug” author of “What to do When You Can’t Pay Your Debts”.My primary work, Carlton Ross, is a business management resource and services company to help business owners at any stage of their business.With over 50 years business experience, I had assisted clients to see a complete picture of their business and financial circumstances and provided simple, smart solutions to keep people moving forward.I was backed with a network of skilled accountants, solicitors, financial planners and finance brokers.
Who Am I? What Do I Do?
It is difficult to explain precisely what I do as most people know very little about the practical side of personal bankruptcy or its corporate equivalent, corporate insolvency. That’s not really a surprise since people usually have no need to know about it until they experience it. Even then I’m surprised at how little, people who have experienced it actually know about it as well.
The best answer of what I do probably comes from a client I had recently helped achieve annulment from his bankruptcy and restore his credit file as if it had never happened. “What is Doug Constable? He’s The Conductor.” If you’ve ever been to the symphony you’ll know what he meant . The orchestra is made up of groups of individual musicians. These musicians are grouped into families. The woodwind family, the strings family, the brass family; you get the idea. If you’ve ever heard one of these families on their own you’ll appreciate that whilst they are entertaining on their own, the sound when these families play in unison is far superior to the individual families playing on their own.
Imagine that one of the families is your legal service, the other your accountant’s services, the other may be your financial advisor; each individually respected and, hopefully, efficient services. Do you ever wish you could get them operating in unison? Do you ever wish you had a way to coordinate their services in a harmonious manner? That’s what I do. I’m the conductor.
In the same way that an orchestra needs all of the individual families to make the beautiful sounds you hear at a recital, individuals and businesses need a variety of services to achieve their financial goals. I’m not a solicitor, nor an accountant, nor a barrister, or a valour, a trustee or liquidator. My role is to strategize a plan for you to conduct your professional services in unison.
My Role
The conductor title seems to fit (except those that know me know I couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket). My role is to help my clients orchestrate a smoother financial transition and to walk alongside my clients and provide a partnership if you like through, not just this phase, but also their ongoing business or personal financial journey for the years to come.
Another client refers to me as the Master Strategist. This too fits. My philosophy is that a strategy is the most important tool you can have in your toolbox. Without a strategy it’s difficult to fulfil my role as the conductor. It’s a bit like trying to conduct an orchestra without any musical score to work from. I’m sure you would agree it just wouldn’t work. It’s the same with my role as the conductor. It won’t work if I don’t have a strategy to work from and it’s the ability to create an effective strategy that defines what I do.
My Experience
You can’t study the techniques I deploy to create my strategy at any educational institution. It’s something that you can only learn with lots of experience and dealing with lots of personal and business-insolvent clients. That’s what I have – experience and I’m delighted to share it with you.
Simply put, I’ve never met anybody with my experience and who does what I do. There are many books about the laws of bankruptcy, the rights of creditors, the role of the trustee, as well as biographies of famous bankrupts, but none that I can find that can I can share with you, and which could teach the strategies and techniques that ordinary people like you have used to survive and build a better financial future.
My Book
I had published a book “What to do When You Can’t Pay Your Debts”.
This is not a book for dodgy business people. It’s not a book for financial gurus seeking to take advantage of other’s misfortunes.This book is about how to avoid bankruptcy and insolvency where possible, but not at the expense of your own sanity, health, relationships and future business and income opportunities. It’s about knowing when to draw the line, how to be timely with your decisions and what you can do to move forward.
This book is about how to benefit from the financial mechanisms available to you; how to find the armour you need to join in the battle and how to emerge from the battle victorious and back on the path to future financial prosperity for yourself, your business and your family.
You won’t read what I’m about to tell you anywhere else. Simply put, I’ve never met anybody with my experience and who does what I do. There are many books about the laws of bankruptcy, the rights of creditors, the role of the trustee, as well as biographies of famous bankrupts, but none that I can find that can I can share with you, and which could teach the strategies and techniques that ordinary people like you have used to survive and build a better financial future.
About Carlton Ross Advisers & Consultants
I am the director of “Carlton Ross Advisers & Consultants”.
We are specialists, many of our staff have been in situations similar to our clients so we understand what you may be experiencing. We have helped many people to start afresh and go on to have a successful career or business ownership.
Our solutions for individuals and businesses in financial difficulty are proven and will provide you with a clear direction forward. Your current financial situation is not a dead end. It is a common bumpy patch, and by seeking immediate help you can most likely get your life back on the road with these events behind you.
Never allow financial problems to fester. The personal stress will build and the longer you leave things, the fewer the options.
Carlton Ross will approach your situation swiftly and with compassion. We will always be in your corner to relieve the burden from your shoulders.
Sarah Danckert, Reporter
Sydney Morning Herald
8 December, 2015
Alleged union fraudsters such as Kathy Jackson and the heads of some of Australia’s largest collapsed financiers could be key beneficiaries of reforms to bankruptcy laws proposed by the Turnbull government.
#DougConstable #SarahDanckert #SundayMorningherald #bankruptcyandinsolvency
Click Here to view the Invoice: Three Wise Men Communications Pty Ltd 50% of Invoice PDF
How to Not Pay Your Debts author, Doug Constable, in debt again
Response
- This headline assertion is false and misleading. Doug was not in debt.
- Randal Glennon and his company Three Wise Men were paid.
- The title of the book is now “What to do When You Can’t Pay Your Debts”.
- An invoice issued by Randal Glennon, director at Three Wise Men Communications Pty Ltd, totalled $18,000. See 50% invoice pdf.
- The Randal Glennon Three Wise Men $18,000 invoice was for a marketing campaign including website and email marketing to generate leads.
- Randal Glennon’s $18,000 invoice was exploitative and gouging as it failed to deliver on contractual obligations.
- Randal Glennon’s invoice was extremely overpriced, extremely under-delivered, unreasonable, exploitative, a gouge, unfair and un-Australian.
- As a result it is Randal Glennon and Three Wise Men Communications Pty Ltd that is in debt for work owed.
- Randal of Three Wise Men is expected to repay the sum.
June 28, 2015
CAMERON HOUSTON CHRIS VEDELAGO
Response
- Cameron Houston and Chris Vedelago have written this article in a biased and distasteful way.
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