Welcome to Debt Advice Trust Blog

It has been said that moving home can leave you in as much debt as bereavement and divorce.

In the UK, if a home owner wishes to sell a property with four bedrooms or more, they must purchase a Home Information Pack, which costs £400.

A solicitor is one debt that cannot be escaped and will charge over £1000 to deal with the legal aspects of buying and selling your home.

And that's just two examples of how moving house can start debt problems. Many people in serious debt look at selling their house for a smaller, more modest house in a 'cheaper' area in order to steer themselves away from having to undergo a more serious debt solution. But with so many costs involved the profit margin in moving to cheaper housing disappears, indebted families are still in risk of an IVA, debt management, or other debt solution despite trying to do 'the right thing'.

So how can we stop ourselves from falling into debt when we want to sell our home?

Estate agents soak up a large proportion of our costs in commission which can vary from 1.5% of the sale price of your home, excluding VAT. If you are selling through more than one estate agent, you can expect fees to rise even more. If an estate agent offers to provide a free HIP, check that you are not actually paying for this in hefty commission charges.

Consumers are angry that creditors are opting to take them to court over outstanding debt rather than reaching a negotiable payment plan.

County Court Judgements have reached their peak as creditors cut corners and refer cases to court rather than comply with industry standards and try to resolve matters with their debtors before taking legal action.

Rumours that charging orders are going to be made easier to obtain will make it even easier for creditors to simply place a ‘charge’ on a debtors home, stocks, shares or land. Although the creditor will not receive the amount outstanding immediately, he has the reassurance that a debtor cannot sell his home without paying the outstanding debt first. Also of concern is that new powers given to Bailiffs will make it even easier for them to seize goods from a debtors home.

Taking a debt to court will add even further costs to the consumer who was already struggling with payments prior to the matter becoming a legal issue. Creditors need to find alternatives to the short, sharp, shock treatment of court proceedings as in some cases, debtors may be able to have their repayments reduced to as little as £1.00 per month if they can prove that they are financially incapable of paying the large sums requested. This is clearly not in the interest of either party and there are no winners at the end of this futile battle. The only satisfaction a creditor can receive at this stage is the fact that they would have tainted their debtor’s record.

When Pat Butcher fell into debt on Eastenders everyone knew exactly how she felt as she plundered through turmoil trying to make ends meet.

It has been said that one in six people have a similar viewpoint to money as Pat Butcher. Her intentions are normally always good but she sometimes waivers from her financial obligations and faces difficulties when the bills are due.

Without debt advice, many people are similar to this, they often spend money without thinking, they forget that they have monthly debt repayments and somehow think that some sort of miracle will save them when the monthly payments are due.

Many people are unaware of their credit score and have absolutely no idea how to find out what is being recorded about them

So which character do you resemble in soap land?
Are you a Pat Butcher or perhaps an Ian Beale from Eastenders? He is on the ball when it comes to money and always makes sure that his bills are paid on time.

He is the type of guy who you can never keep down for long, he never lets money worries push him over the edge and even though he has been known to make the odd serious mistake with money, he always gets right back in the drivers seat and controls his finances.

Soaps are a good way of having an inside view of how many of us cope with debt problems . If the subject is handled well, many can seek strength and encouragement when characters seek debt help and start to take back control of their lives.

The real burden in any relationship is debt so how well do people know their partners finances and would they still love them if they discovered that they came equipped with £15,000 worth of debt and on the verge of bankruptcy?

Some will take on the ‘in sickness and in health’ commitment and agree to help out a partner in financial distress but are you prepared to pay for years of someone’s life that you knew nothing about? You could be paying for their years of being free and single, of partying and impressing the opposite sex. Others think that helping a partner out in the early days, will secure them should the tables ever turn but are you certain that your partner would really help you out if things were the other way round?

Relationships are not taken with such commitment as they were forty years ago and as debt reaches astronomical heights, marrying into debt is not a road that many would want to travel down.

A real debt solution would be for any debt to be shared, this way the other partner will not consider you as merely a financial crutch to lean upon.

So if Mr or Mrs Perfect has just walked into your life, try encouraging them to show responsibility for their own finances by seeking professional debt advice.

Many of us find it difficult to understand financial jargon and often fall into debt simply by being misled with clauses and conditions in contracts.

Debt and Autism
People with autism find it difficult to differentiate between the meanings of words and a simple word such as ‘interest’ is often related to hobbies rather than interest connected to money. As a result, they can often fall into debt by misinterpreting sales talk.

People with autism are very vulnerable as they want desperately to please people. This trait means that they can be ‘putty in the hands’ for some relentless loan sharks who will take advantage of their trusting nature and lead them into debt. Despite trying to get out of debt, the debt could be made worse and lead autistic people to IVAs or even bankruptcy due to bad advice and the communication difficulties they face.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is keen to educate these people and have funded twelve projects to help individuals become vigilant when it comes to money matters.

The Sacar project works with people in a way that they can understand. It uses role-play exercises, lessons and budgeting ideas to help people spot financial fiddles and prevent them from being overcharged for credit. The new workshops help people to avoid debt from occurring in the first place.

Even debt help can be miscommunicated

People in the UK are accumulating a large amount of debt, as they do not plan for unforeseen circumstances, which can eat away at their finances.

It has been estimated that the Brits spent over £45 billion on unexpected bills during the last year.

Nearly 80% of people interviewed admitted that they did not put aside savings for unexpected expenses such as birthdays and car maintenance. This makes a dent in their budget and thus causes financial stability to waiver, as people usually have to run up debt to cover the expense.

The consequences of unexpected debts
Most people admitted that when these unexpected expenses occurred, they relied on their credit card or dipped into their overdraft to bail them out. The consequences? Further charges from the banks for taking their accounts into the red, and extra interest charges when that credit card payment is missed. Those extra couple of bills could be enough to push your finances into a state where a debt solution is your only option.

How can you avoid unexpected bills pushing you into further debt?
An instant cash account will allow you to put aside a little extra cash to prepare for the unexpected. A fund with a balance of around twelve weeks worth of salary will form an emergency aid to cope with whatever unexpected surprises life can throw at us. But

A good way of managing a savings account would be to always make a point of paying yourself first. Savings should become a number one priority and an achievable set sum should be set and adhered to every month without fail, as prevention is always better than cure.