A consumer group has called on the insolvency regulator to impose stricter guidelines on advertising by debt agreement administrators, which, it says, is misleading.The Consumer Action Law Centre said many people who have entered into debt agreements under Part IX of the Bankruptcy Act have been unaware of the serious consequences of such a decision.A Part IX agreement will be listed on a person's credit report for seven years and is likely to be viewed by creditors as an act of bankruptcy. If a creditor does not agree to a debtor's proposal the creditor can apply to a court to make the debtor bankrupt.The debtor's name is recorded on the National Personal Insolvency Index, which is a public record.Consumer Action looked at advertising by administrators of debt agreements and found that many of them appear to either overstate the differences between debt agreements and bankruptcy or understate the consequences of entering into a debt agreement.In a new paper on the issue, "Fresh Start or False Hope?", Consumer Action reports on its investigation into the advertising and marketing practices of debt agreement administrators and credit repair companies. Advertising commonly emphasises the "stress" of bankruptcy compared with the "solution" provided by debt agreements.Consumer Action found that some administrators offered "free" assistance, but this usually referred only to the initial consultation. Others gave examples of successful repayment solutions without mentioning that the repayment plans were subject to the agreement of creditors. None of them mention that debtors can negotiate directly with their creditors.Insolvency Trustee Service Australia, which regulates the bankruptcy system, registered 17,591 bankruptcies and 8951 debt agreements in 2011/12.Part IX debt agreements were introduced under the Bankruptcy Act in 1996. They were designed as a low-cost, simple form of insolvency for low-income earners and debtors who have few assets.A debt agreement allows debtors to provide a plan for paying outstanding debts over a number of years. Lenders may forego some of the debt.Any person can act as a debt agreement administrator (a friend or family member, for example) but most administrators are commercial businesses.Consumer Action said that, in some cases, the debtor would be better off going into bankruptcy. If the debtor is below the income threshold required for contributions, bankruptcy may mean the person doesn't have to pay anything to creditors.