Archive for March, 2010

With Bankruptcy in the UK at record levels proper bankruptcy advice has never been more important

Monday, March 29th, 2010

A recent report from bankruptcy information monitors the Insolvency Service revealed that individual insolvency in the UK during 2009 totalled nearly 135,000, a 30% rise overall on the previous high of 107,288 set in 2006.

The reasons for the disappointing figures are wide-ranging and complicated. Many believe that the sharp change in attitude towards lending now shown by banks and lenders and their refusal to extend credit or even offer it in the first place has been a large factor in pushing up the levels of bankruptcy. UKunemployment, cuts in overtime and the economic malaise that has gripped the country post-banking crisis have also had an impact.

A closer look at the Insolvency Service details shows that the largest increase in insolvencies by far came in the form of IVAs, which jumped over 20% whilst figures relating to technical bankruptcy in the UK rose 11% on the previous year.

With experts suggesting that the UK is currently trapped between the economic devil (in the form of massive public borrowing commitments) and the deep blue sea (in the form of necessary public spending cuts and tax rises that could throttle economic recovery) it would seen that the bumpy ride is set to continue.
So what can you do if you find yourself suffering cash flow or repayment problems?

Everyone is agreed on their first piece of advice. No matter what, don’t ignore the reality of your financial difficulties. When it comes to the financial and emotional costs of debt it is absolutely imperative that not a moment is wasted in tackling your problems head on. Time is both money and heartache if you’re facing financial meltdown and ignoring your problems won’t make them go away.

The second thing anyone should do as well as gathering as much bankruptcy information as possible is to take independent and impartial bankruptcy advice.

Professional, experienced bankruptcy advice will give you a clear lay of the land. You may discover that bankruptcy isn’t even your best option. If it is your best course of action then again proper input will show you that there is life after bankruptcy and that with considered management you will be able to get back up and running with the minimum grief. But taking independent advice may also show you that there is more than one route out of the financial mire, so if you’re struggling with money problems, don’t leave it until it’s too late. Get advice, and get it now.

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Debt Management and why it matters

Friday, March 26th, 2010

Debt management isn’t just a fancy way of borrowing from Peter to pay Paul or taking out an even larger loan to settle money owed. Debt management and debt management programs play a vital role in helping individuals and companies get to grips with the state of their finances and cope with their financial obligations. It’s a way of cutting through the fear and concern surrounding debt and getting to the very heart of how best to organise it so that it can be repaid as cost effectively and as efficiently as possible.

It’s worth remembering too that when it comes to debt it isn’t just the creditors who suffer through not being paid what they are due. Debt management services are there as much to help alleviate the stress and the pain of a situation from the debtor’s perspective. Problems that if left unmanaged and allowed to continue to run their natural course might easily spiral out of control and make the situation worse for all parties. If you owe money that you are finding difficult to repay or have been in that situation in the past then you will know how unpleasant it can be. It’s in no-one’s interests for debt to remain unpaid and unmanaged.

One more thing to bear in mind is that if you do find yourself in the unfortunate position of having to seek debt management, UK agencies that are impartial and independent are on hand to help you avoid the less scrupulous organisations that thrive on people’s financial weakness. These less scrupulous organisations may, if you are not careful, leave you in a significantly worse state than the one you started in. In other words, if you are in the difficult position of owing money that you are struggling to repay and find yourself with limited options, then you are potentially vulnerable to exploitation. Going to debt management services that have no vested interest in partisan support for one side or the other can help you avoid that situation.

Fortunately when it comes to debt management. UK consumers are lucky enough to have a wide range of free, independent and experienced debt management programs offering experienced and helpful debt management advice and guidance to help you turn your situation around.

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Looking for the best citizens debt advice? Use the Citizens Advice Bureau UK

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

When it comes to finding good, impartial debt advice, many people’s first thought is to make an appointment with their local Citizens Advice Bureau. UK Citizens Advice has now been operating for more than 70 years offering expert, impartial debt advice to millions of UK clients from its 416 Citizens Advice Bureaux across England and Wales. They have a further 22 bureaux in Northern Ireland.

The Citizens Advice Bureau is a free, independent and confidential organisation. A powerful channel for official government debt advice, it also uses the ground level information that it deals with to influence decision makers and help change social policy for the better. In the last year alone the 21,000 Citizens Advice volunteers helped 1.9 million people to solve 6 million individual problems, many of them debt related. In fact Citizens Advice deal with 9,300 new debt problems each day, with an estimated 1,000 people seeking some form of formal debt rescheduling plan every day in the UK.

In all its 70 years it would seem that the citizens debt advice administered by the CAB and so widely appreciated by those seeking to take control of their finances has rarely if ever been more in need. With personal insolvency declarations at record levels, the volunteers and staff at the CAB are coming to the aid of more people than ever before.

People suffer redundancy, loss of overtime, marital break-up, a decline in their health that has made work impossible – there are countless ways in which household finances can start to slip dangerously in to the red, and they can all benefit from citizens debt advice. It doesn’t take many months of running on empty before things can go seriously wrong and spiral out of control. With fixed commitments such as the rent or mortgage, council tax, utilities bills and other essential outgoings taking a big chunk out of your income, often little is left at the end of the month to live on let alone think about repaying money owed.

When it comes to debt management and tackling your debt problems head on with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of free, qualified, confidential and impartial advice, along with the Debt Advice Trust the CAB should be right at the top of your list of independent debt management agencies to contact.

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Bankruptcy Advice you can rely on

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Have you been struggling with your finances over recent weeks, recent months and now wonder where to turn and what to do next? Has what was once just a cash flow issue turned into something more serious? Do you receive mail you’d choose to ignore rather than open, phone calls you’d rather not answer, sleepless nights, the pressure and anxiety that so often comes with financial worries? You’re not alone.

Worries and concerns over financial problems and especially bankruptcy in the UK are at record levels. Recent research by AXA PPP Healthcare estimates that 1.4m British workers have taken time off work in the last 12 months as a result of concerns over their financial situation. A reported 1.2m spend more than 25% of the day feeling anxious and 70% admit they spend time at work worrying about their finance, with over 30% spending worrying up to 15 minutes a day.

Bankruptcy in the UK

According to the Insolvency Service a record 134,142 people in England and Wales were declared insolvent in 2009, a figure well above the previous 2006 high of 107,288
When it came to full-blown bankruptcy as opposed to IVAs (Individual Voluntary Agreements) or other formal arrangement with creditors, a total of 74,670 individuals were declared bankrupt over the year. This is a rise of nearly 11% on 2008’s figure. Bankruptcy in the UK is clearly not uncommon. Fortunately bankruptcy advice is easily available. When it comes to debt management advice on IVAs and bankruptcy UK debtors are very well supported.

The trick though is finding the right kind of bankruptcy advice – impartial, experienced and trained professionals who can help you with financial concerns and give you clear, concise bankruptcy advice on what steps to take and how to take them. For example, don’t allow yourself to be told that bankruptcy is an easy option. In many respects it is the most radical form of debt management that you can turn to – a last resort not the first. There are long-term consequences and it might well be that an alternative form of debt management is more suitable. A good, free advice agency will be able to clearly and simply present you with all the bankruptcy advice to help you choose the path that is best for you. Let the experts in financial management and bankruptcy advice guide you on the best steps to take and help you spend less time worrying about your financial future.

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Debt Consolidations Loans can save you money

Friday, March 12th, 2010

Debt comes in many shapes, styles and sizes, from credit card bills, overdrafts and store cards to mortgage debt, unpaid domestic bills and all manner of other types of loans and borrowing. The various ways that you can borrow money and end up owing it are almost endless. Those different forms of debt each demand differing interest rates, with some forms of debt being much more expensive than others. For example; you might find that the interest you are paying on a store card or credit card is far higher than the interest you are paying on a mortgage. Though the amounts are you are dealing in are financially smaller, the rates you are actually paying might be far greater. Clearly the lower the amount of interest you are paying on your different loans, whatever amount of money you might owe on them, the better. This is where debt consolidation loans can help you out.

If you find yourself in debt but not severely, then debt consolidation might be just the thing to help get you back on track – a single loan that will cover everything. If it is simply a case of cutting your interest rates so that your payments become manageable, then debt consolidation loans can offer a quick and clean debt management solution. Maybe your income has reduced and you are unable to meet existing repayments. Again, debt consolidation loans can make them manageable.

The best debt advice when considering even unsecured debt consolidation is to budget as carefully and as accurately as possible. If you budget incorrectly or your circumstances change for the worse and you fail to maintain your consolidated repayments, you might quickly find yourself in trouble and facing insolvency. In the case of consolidated debt secured against your home you may even lose your house if you fail to keep up with the repayments.

Take a close look at your existing commitments and understand clearly how much you are being charged to borrow. There are plenty of professional organisations that will be able to offer impartial debt advice and help you compare the current costs of your loans against the cost of debt consolidation. Debt advice is only a phone call away.

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Debt management into the New Year

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

It’s that time of year when the excesses of Christmas can begin to catch up with us. It’s not unusual for people to ‘push the boat out’ over the festive period. After all it’s been a tough year for many and who would begrudge anyone a little light relief and a little indulgence during the holidays?

The problems start to arise though, when it comes to settling up those credit cards bills or paying of that overdraft and you find yourself struggling to meet your commitments. It can quickly turn into a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul, and before you know it you’ve run short of options – and money. The more you shuffle your debts and the more you end up owing, the more expensive you debt becomes and the more difficult it is to manage. It doesn’t take long until your whole financial set up spirals out of control. If you’ve ever been in that unenviable position you will know all too clearly how quickly and almost imperceptibly things can go wrong. One minute, things are fine, the next, maybe you lose a source of income, your job, your overtime or interest rates rise and things rapidly begin to unravel. Maybe you find yourself in that position now – staring financial confusion and worry in the face, wondering what you can do to get things back on an even keel. How do you turn things around?

Debt Advice UK and Debt Management

UK borrowers need know two words of advice – debt management. Experienced, expert, impartial debt management from reputable debt management services is the key to your future financial stability. For those living in the UK, debt advice such as this is plentiful. In fact when it come to debt management, UK borrowers are fortunate. There are all manner of agencies with all the latest information and guidance on IVAs(Individual Voluntary Arrangements), rescheduling, debt consolidation, bankruptcy and the whole range of debt management tools and techniques to help you take back control of your finances in a way that suites your individual requirements. Free Debt advice is plentiful and, most importantly, impartial. Don’t delay if you are having money problems – seek out some debt advice today before things get any worse.

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Why free debt advice is the best debt advice

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

If you have found yourself with a debt issue that you want to get resolved as quickly and as painlessly as possible and are seeking debt advice, then you will want to know that the debt advisor you are talking with is an impartial debt advisor. Why? Because only if the debt advice that you are receiving is free debt advice, independent of any commercial bias or influence, can you be assured that it is the best debt advice available. In a situation where you have found yourself owing money that you are having difficulty repaying, it is vital that in order to manage the debt properly it is your best interests that are being reflected in the debt management decision making, and not anybody else’s best interests.

First things first though – the question of whether to pay for debt advice. If anyone does try to charge you for debt advice just politely turn your back and walk away. They’re wasting your time. Don’t let them try to waste your money too, especially if you haven’t got any to waste. No credible debt management agency worth its salt will charge you for advice.

Then again just because the best advice is free advice don’t be fooled into thinking that all free debt advice it really is impartial. After all doesn’t everyone offer free debt advice? The question to ask yourself is – is this free debt advice I’m getting, IVA advice for example, just a way of guiding me towards an inappropriate debt management product? Is it really debt advice that I can rely on and trust? Who am I speaking with? An experienced, well trained representative of an independent agency who can advise on my best course of action, or a salesperson who’s trying to guide me towards the most lucrative commission?

Confused? You needn’t be. There’s plenty of impartial debt advice UK wide that can prove a great starting point in helping you manage your way out of financial trouble. From IVA advice, advice on bankruptcy, debt consolidation and Debt Relief Orders, there really is a wealth of knowledge and know-how out there.

At DAT we already deal with more than 100 people a day, offering them independent guidance and advice to help them get to grips with debt problems. Maybe we can help you too.

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How impartial IVA help can help you manage your debt problems

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

With insolvency figures at a record high, it’s hardly surprising that requests for bankruptcy advice, IVA help and guidance on debt relief orders (DRO) and how best to manage debt are also at an all time high. At the Debt Advice Trust we deal with over 100 people a day calling us for debt advice and IVA advice. The Citizen Advice Bureau deal with around 9,300 debt related problems a day whilst 1,000 people each and every day seek some form of debt rescheduling.

Times are tough and all the signs are that they’ll get tougher before things ease up. With rising inflation and the likelihood of large-scale public sector spending cuts on the horizon, the signs are not altogether positive.

More often than not debt problems are purely and simply the result of nothing more than a little misfortune or some slight financial miscalculation. However benign the causes, the consequences can be drastic. The aim of proper debt management and IVA help is to take control of the situation before things have the chance to spiral out of control and become unmanageable. It’s important that you act while you still have choices and are able to put together a viable debt recovery plan.

Perhaps the best initial course of action is to make sure that you are speaking to a debt management agency that has not only the experience and the expertise, but most importantly the impartiality to be able to get you moving in the right direction. The last thing anyone needs in times of difficulty is to find themselves being taken down an inappropriate route that might end up benefiting the advisor more than the client.

Take Individual Voluntary Arrangements as an example – if you have substantial debt (in excess of £15k) and are struggling to repay it then an IVA might be the best option. There are other advantages too – the set repayment period, the fact that your creditors are unable to add to the agreed repayment amount or add interest. Whilst most debt management agencies could quickly identify and IVA or Protected Trust Deeds (PTDs) if you happen to live in Scotland, only a truly independent and experienced professional can guide you in the direction of the best IVA provider for you and your specific circumstances.

Seek impartial IVA help and take it.

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