August 31st, 2010
Have you heard of IVAs? Individual Voluntary Arrangements? Plenty of people have. More and more people with debt worries are now seeking IVA advice and they are becoming an increasingly popular alternative to bankruptcy. IVAs were introduced in 1996 as legally binding agreements between creditors and debtors that freeze the debt. The latest financial figures reveal that in the final quarter of 2009 there were over 13,000 Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) in England and Wales – a rise of over 25% on the same period in 2008.
IVA help comes in a number of forms and it’s important that you take proper independent and expert IVA advice to guide you throughout your decision making. On the plus side an IVA offers you greater control over how your assets are dealt with and how payments to creditors are made. There is even the possibility that with creditor permission you can retain certain assets (for example your home). You will also avoid the restrictions that apply to bankruptcy. The costs of an IVA debt management are likely to be lower than those associated with full-blown bankruptcy. On the other hand you will need to flexible in agreeing terms with your creditors, and once set up you must be absolutely committed to meeting the repayment plan. Failure to stick to it would only make a less than ideal situation even worse. You also have to be fully transparent about your debts and assets, otherwise your creditors can still petition for bankruptcy.
Do you qualify for an IVA? The best thing to do, as with all matter concerning debt management, is to seek professional IVA help. With the right sort of input you will quickly be able to establish whether an IVA is a viable option. In general, if you have debt in excess of £15k, haven’t applied for one in the previous 12 months, have sponsors prepared to help pay or contribute towards paying your debts and you have an income that enables you to pay regular sums to creditors then you then Individual Voluntary Arrangements might well be just what the doctor ordered.
Don’t delay though. IVA debt management as with all other forms of debt management becomes progressively harder (and more expensive) the longer you leave it. Seek proper professional help today.
Tags: Individual Voluntary Arrangements, iva, iva help
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August 26th, 2010
As Winston Churchill said during World War II, “he who fails to plan, is planning to fail.” He was absolutely 100% correct, especially when it comes to managing debt and navigating tricky or hazardous financial waters. Without clear, informed, impartial and experienced debt advice and debt management plans, carefully considered and put together by a debt management company who knows what they’re doing, you could be in trouble. Anyone in the unfortunate position of being in debt could easily end up finding themselves in more unnecessary bother if they ‘fail to plan’.
Of course even to get to the stage of seeking debt management services needs the realisation that there is a problem that needs solving. All too often people or organisations who are running at a loss and sinking ever deeper into the red are reluctant to face up to the realities of their situation. It’s all too common to simply ignore the signs, however clear they are and just wish things better. To trust that there will be an upturn. Unfortunately though, things rarely sort themselves out. Extracting yourself from the financial mire needs a lot of hard work, clear planning, the support of your creditors and more often than not the guidance and debt advice of a suitably skilled debt management company to pull it all together.
Debt management services come in many shapes and sizes. You don’t have to look too hard to find a whole host of different organisations peddling their wares. A quick Google search on anything from debt management or debt management services will quickly turn up hundreds of different options all likely proclaiming to be the easiest and the best.
Perhaps the smartest advice when seeking help is to make sure that you identify a company that offers free, impartial and experienced professional advice. Look for a partner who won’t charge you for their input and has no bias when it comes to making recommendations. That way you can be confident that you really are getting a solution that suits you and your specific requirements, not their quotas or other hidden agenda.
Plan to recover from your debt dilemma by working with a company you can trust.
Tags: Debt advice, Debt management
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August 17th, 2010
Getting into debt is not uncommon. Figures reveal that average UK household debt stands at over £58,000. Every four minutes someone in the UK will be declared insolvent or bankrupt and approximately every 12 minutes a property is repossessed. Nearly 10,000 people a day turn to the Citizens Advice Bureau for debt help and advice and their range of debt management programs.
It isn’t hard to get into debt. As any debt management expert will tell you it only takes a couple of months of unemployment to quickly slide from sitting pretty to feeling pretty broke. Once you’ve slipped into the red, clawing your way back up into the black can be a nightmare, especially without professional debt management. UK consumers not only have the outgoings that got you into trouble in the first place to contend with, the credit card bills, the store cards and the loans, but they also have the added costs of servicing a debt. Just ask the UK Government about the difficulties in managing debt. It’s estimated that every day the UK government borrowing grows by as much as half a billion pounds. The British public themselves pay nearly £200 million a day in personal interest. Repayment often comes at a heavy emotional cost as well as a financial price.
Whether you owe a small fortune that is drastically limiting your options or are just unhappy with the expense of a relatively small amount owed, the only way to tackle debt is through proper and considered debt management. Debt management programs exist for one reason and one reason only – to organise a viable way of reducing end eventually eliminating the money you owe. The quickest, simplest, cheapest and least painful way of handling debt is through debt management.
UK consumers in many respects are fortunate as there are a variety of free independent and professional services available, all of whom can offer the kind of experienced debt management services that anybody unfortunate enough to have a debt problem can benefit from. The advice is there, it’s free and it’s more often than not simply a phone call away. Everything you need to help you structure and plan your way out of your debt problems is right there, freely available. In a world that costs plenty, something for free has to be good value, doesn’t it?
Tags: Debt advice, Debt management, debt problems
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August 5th, 2010
It’s not uncommon these days to owe money. Most people in the UK, even the wealthiest, use some form of debt. From mortgages to credit cards to loans to overdrafts, you name it there are a thousand and one ways to borrow the money you need to get by and to do the things you want to do. Owing money is normal – it’s ‘the way of the world’.
When owing money isn’t such a great idea though, is when you are struggling to make repayments on your debt. For a short while it might be possible to move money around and keep essential payments up by borrowing from elsewhere or extending loans. In the long run, unless you are very careful your debt will eventually catch up with you. Often, through no fault of your own, you might find yourself running out of options. Maybe you have been off work through poor health, perhaps you have lost valuable overtime or even been made redundant or suffered a change in domestic circumstances. Whatever the reason it’s important to face up to your debts and the challenges in meeting them. One option you might want to consider is an Individual Voluntary Arrangement or IVA.
UK consumers with money problems have flocked to the IVA as a relatively clean and simple form of insolvency. Far less onerous and restrictive in many people’s eyes than traditional bankruptcy, an IVA, referred to as a Protected Trust Deed or Scottish Trust Deed north of the border, establishes a set regular repayment over an agreed period (usually 60 months). Whilst bankruptcy can be cleared quicker than an IVA, UK consumers seem to prefer the fact that an IVA or Protected Trust Deed leaves them with less restrictions and stigma. For example, it does not prevent individuals from maintaining office or a company directorship, as is the case with bankruptcy. IVA help also means that creditors are unable to add to the agreed repayment amount or add interest.
Could an IVA help you? To find out make sure that you take impartial, professional advice on order to take a close look at the most suitable debt management solution.
Tags: Individual Voluntary Arrangements, iva, iva help, protected trust deeds
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August 4th, 2010
Debt consolidation and debt consolidation loans, often in the form of a credit card debt consolidation loan can offer extremely worthwhile debt solutions for anyone who’s experiencing debt problems on a number of different fronts. They can be especially beneficial if you want to avoid bankruptcy.
It’s not hard these days to find many different ways in which it’s possible to run up debt. In fact most people suffering debt problems have ‘robbed Peter to pay Paul’ at some stage. They’ve spread their borrowing across a variety of sources. As repayments becomes difficult through one form of borrowing, say a credit card for example, then it’s often possible to turn to another card or alternative form of borrowing to manage the existing debt. Unless you are extremely careful it won’t be long until you are caught in a web of increasingly unmanageable debt on a number of fronts – store cards, mortgages, unpaid bills and additional credit cards debts all maxed out to try and pay off the others. Before you know it you are owing money left right and centre, with different amounts to different lenders piling up.
It’s also likely that the interest rates on some of your borrowing, credit cards or overdrafts will far exceed rates on other types of borrowing. Of course, it makes sense to be paying the lowest rate possible. This is where debt consolidation and debt consolidation loans come in useful as a debt solution that can help simplify and lower the cost of your repayments.
The basic concept behind debt consolidation is that it pulls all your respective loans together into a single manageable debt solution. A single loan such as a credit card consolidation loan can prove to be a powerful weapon in fighting off the need to enter into bankruptcy.
Planning for debt consolidation means clear, careful and accurate budgeting, as you will need to be able to commit to an agreed repayment amount over an agreed period of time. Realistic planning is important. If you miscalculate and find yourself unable to maintain your new consolidated repayments, you run the risk of falling into even deeper debt trouble.
Take professional and impartial advice to look at how you can consolidate your debts and manage your repayments effectively.
Tags: debt consolidation
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June 4th, 2010
Money problems are an increasing cause for concern for a growing number of people in the UK. Recent figures reporting on the final quarter of 2009 show that over the last three months of the year nearly 36,000 people throughout England and Wales were declared insolvent. That’s a quarter up on the same time the year before and contributed to a massive figure of nearly 135,000 for the year as a whole – a record level well above the previous high set in 2006 at 107,288.
By far the largest rise in insolvency schemes (with a leap of more than 20% for the year) came in the form of Individual Voluntary Arrangements or an IVA. UK consumers seem to like what these alternatives offer, with many now preferring IVA help as opposed to bankruptcy. Scottish consumers have their own version of the IVA in the form of Scottish Trust Deeds.
What has made IVAs increase in popularity so much over the last few years? What is so attractive about an IVA?
The UK Government introduced IVAs in 1986 as legally binding agreements between creditors and debtors that freezes the debt. No more interest, no more adding to the money owed. If you have debt of more than £15k and are finding it impossible to pay it off then an IVA might be just what you need.
IVAs allow an agreed repayment plan to be established over a specified length of time (usually 60 months). They come with fewer restrictions and outstanding amounts are usually written off at the end of the repayment period. More flexible and less restrictive than bankruptcy, if you have a form of regular income and are able to budget monthly repayments with the agreement of creditors, then look closely at using an IVA as the best means by which you can get back on your financial feet again.
Don’t delay. If you have financial concerns, a debt that is becoming increasingly difficult to manage or are finding that your income simply doesn’t cover what’s going out every month, act before things get completely out of hand. Talk to a debt management expert about how IVA help can offer you the financial breathing space to get your debt under control.
Tags: Bankruptcy, Individual Voluntary Arrangements, iva, iva help
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May 21st, 2010
Running up debt isn’t hard. We’ve all got a pile of fixed costs and essential expenditure around our necks before we’ve even started. Utilities, council taxes, business rates, running a car, communication costs, subscriptions, and memberships – it all mounts up. We could stay in bed all day doing nothing and the meter would still be running. These days money doesn’t simply seem to drain away, it floods away. We always seem to be sprinting to stand still and if there’s anything out of the ordinary on the horizon, a holiday, a treat, a new outfit or an irresistible restaurant for example, then tight just gets tighter.
While the money’s coming in regularly and you can meet the costs of living then of course everything’s fine and dandy – debt advice or IVA advice are the last things on your mind. Even if you do splurge out and slip into the red as long as next month or the month after, you can restore the balance and get things back on an even keel then there’s absolutely nothing to worry about. The real problems, the long-term issues that can cause serious distress and worry, come about when things aren’t running so smoothly. You might suffer a drastic fall in income through redundancy, the loss of overtime or a change in your domestic arrangements – a divorce or separation perhaps. Maybe there’s been an unforeseen and unavoidable leap in expenses – an interest rate rise, an unexpected bill or a family crisis. It can happen to anyone and it can happen at any time. Life is unpredictable and no one is immune from the possibilities of falling on hard times.
Fortunately debt advice UK wide is now readily accessible and when it comes to free debt advice, UK consumers are in a privileged position. A debt advisor can quickly be called upon to help try and resolve debt management issues. Independent, impartial and free debt advice might take the form of IVA advice, loan consolidation or bankruptcy – whatever debt advice is needed to properly address the situation. If you have debt problems that you feel would benefit from proper advice then don’t delay. The faster you tackle your money problems, the faster they can be resolved.
Tags: Debt advice, debt consolidation, iva
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May 5th, 2010
Have you heard of Individual Voluntary Arrangements? IVA debt management assistance? Or in the case of the Scottish system, the Protected Trust Deed? No? Well keep reading, because if you are suffering financial worries, finding it difficult to make ends meet and/or service a debt then IVA help might be just the thing to get you up and on a steady financial footing again.
There’s no great shock, no great surprise. Times are tough. The chances are that they’re going to get even tougher before the light at the end of the tunnel starts to feel like the warm glow of recovery and we can all start to enjoy proper, long term, sustainable economic growth. The last thing anyone needs at the moment is ongoing financial problems. The first thing anyone who is dealing with debt needs to do is to address money owed and debt incurred with vigour and to do everything in your power to resolve any problems. In other words, don’t hide from debt. Sticking your head in the sand won’t make it go away. Debt doesn’t just disappear in a puff of smoke because you want it to. Ignoring financial problems simply makes them worse. Deal with debt head on and do what you have to do to make it go away permanently.
What about an IVA? Debt resolution is ideal for individuals or companies who owe a substantial amount (more than £15,000) but are still in a position to honour an agreed and ongoing repayment plan. IVA help offers an alternative to traditional bankruptcy, which many people prefer to avoid because of its severe restrictions (for example, once bankrupt you are unable to hold the post of company director) and the adverse publicity.
In England and Wales IVAs usually run for five years whilst Scottish Protected Trust Deed arrangements run for three. Creditors are unable to take any further action against you and no more interest can be added – in effect the debt is frozen. Your trustee deals with all creditor correspondence, and unlike bankruptcy, IVA debt management is a private affair.
Interested in IVAs and IVA advice? Then talk to an experienced, impartial and independent debt management agency about IVAs and how they might offer you the most constructive way forward in dealing with your financial problems.
Tags: Debt management, Individual Voluntary Arrangements, iva help, protected trust deeds
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April 30th, 2010
Debt questions come in many forms, shapes and sizes. Fortunately so do debt solutions. UK consumers are in the lucky situation of having plenty of options when it comes to having their debt questions answered.
It’s not difficult to start racking up debt these days. With prices on the up, pressure on wages, overtime and job insecurity at what feels like an all-time high, it’s easy to see how just a few months of dipping into the red can soon lead to more serious and deeper financial problems. What needs to be remembered though is that it’s far from unusual and there’s absolutely no shame in having to borrow money to get through a difficult period or to invest in essentials. In fact, it’s common economic practice and in normal circumstances makes perfect sense. Just look at the UK government. In debt to the tune of around £180 billion, the powers that be felt it necessary to extend borrowing to this level in order to avert a major financial crisis. Money well borrowed, according to many financial experts, as inaction could well have deepened the recession and plunged the nation in to a full-blown and much longer depression.
It wouldn’t be unreasonable to say that these days most people to a greater or lesser extent experience some form of debt. UK individuals in fact owe over £30,000 each, including mortgages. Personal debt UK-wise now totals £1,500 billion and an astonishing £200 million needs to be found every single day just to meet interest payments.
Of course it’s not the borrowing of money that presents people (or governments) with the problem. It’s replaying loans that cause debt problems and starts to restrict your financial options and cause difficulties.
If you have found yourself in a position where making repayments on the money you owe is proving difficult then take advice. No ifs, no buts – take proper, professional advice on viable debt solutions. UK agencies experienced in these matters will quickly be able to assess your specific circumstances and put together a plan of action that will help to contain, manage and gradually resolve your debt problems. The key though is to ensure that you tackle your debt as quickly as possible.
Tags: debt, debt problems, debt questions
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April 21st, 2010
Have you found yourself in a bit of a financial black hole, wondering where the money goes? Are you in a position where every month you are struggling to make ends meet, shifting funds around in an attempt to keep your creditors at bay? It’s not an uncommon story the length and breadth of the UK. There are plenty of people in the same leaking debt boat, frantically bailing and trying to work out ways to deal with their financial problems. At least those with the realisation that there is an issue that needs to be addressed are facing up to the less than convenient truth they have money problems and are seeking debt management services to assess the lay of the land and implement a viable debt management solution. They are the fortunate ones.
The poor souls in the worst of trouble are the ones in denial. Those who simply refuse to acknowledge their financial woes and try to avoid tackling them head on with informed and impartial debt advice. The problem (as we all known deep down inside) is that these things just won’t go away of their own accord. And rather than retaining an element of control over events and being in a position to act out of choice, the debt advice deniers soon find themselves hostages to fortune and forced to take drastic measures to sort the situation out.
Which side of the reality line are you on? Do you deal with this through a proper debt management services to craft a viable debt management solution side? Or the head in the sand debt advice avoider, the person who crosses the road to avoid debt management plans for fear that the cold light of day would be too much to take?
As the effects of the recession drag on and increasing numbers of people begin to feel the squeeze on income and savings, so the number of people having to choose between facing up to financial problems or just wishing them away will rise. Now is the time to realise that there is plenty of help at hand if you want it. Experienced, impartial and best of all… free. Debt management services that can quickly and expertly help you turn your financial problems around, saving you both money and sleepless nights in the process.
Tags: Debt advice, Debt management
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