Many people with multiple credit debts often feel that a consolidation loan is the right solution to help them manage their payments. On paper it sounds like a great idea – one manageable monthly instalment which is often a great deal lower than all of the current payments combined. Pre-credit crunch television advertising was awash with various lenders offering these amazing solutions, some employing celebrities to endorse their various products. Many of these companies targeted home-owners cit
4) Debt Relief Order (DRO) [England & Wales]
Debt Relief Orders are a very new addition, introduced in the last few years. They are designed for those with very few assets and very limited income. An application for a DRO can be made if you owe less than £15,000. If an application is granted the creditors are prevented from contacting you for a period of 12 months, during this time the interest and charges on the debts are frozen. If your circumstances haven’t improved the debts will
The majority of debtors owe money to the people they hold a bank account with. This makes it easy for the banks to grab money from their income to off-set against the debts when things start to go wrong. One of the cornerstones of ensuring yourself a debt-free future is to move your banking arrangements to a 'safe' bank account. This will be an organisation with to whom you owe no money to. Once your income is safe guarded your creditors will not have an automatic right to your money. This puts
There are many options available to you if you are struggling to meet your debt commitments. Some of these options are more serious than others. Due to the recent economic downturn many fee-charging, commercial companies have cropped up offering all sorts of solutions to assist the public with their debts. These companies are out there to make money, and although some of the solutions might be viable it is important to seek advice from a reputable organisation to ensure the solution is right for
Debt can take various forms, and some are more important than others. It is possible to place debts within two separate categories – priorities and non-priorities. The way that the two types can be differentiated is based on the action that can be taken for money to be recovered. With priority debts it may be possible for you to lose something tangible if you do not act quickly. As an example, some creditors could:
• Take away your home (repossession / eviction)
• Cut off your gas o
The single-most important step when dealing with debts is to ensure that you work to a realistic personal budget. This should ensure that you have enough money from your income to cover your essential outgoings such as housing costs, bills, groceries, travelling costs, clothing and health-related costs. Once you have calculated how much these outgoings amount to you can see what is left to offer your creditors. The greatest mistake that is made by individuals is that they ensure that they ensure
Non-priority debts are usually credit debts such as unsecured loans, credit cards, overdrafts and catalogues. These debts are usually the ones which are the easiest to get affordable arrangements with. The reason credit debts are known as non-priorities is due to the fact that the creditors are relatively limited in relation to the powers that they have to recover money from you. The creditors cannot remove something from you as a ploy to get their money. As an example, if you don’t pay your mor
It is possible to categorise any type of debt in to one of two types. Priority debts are the more important ones as non-payment of these could cause you to lose something. Examples of priority debts include mortgage or rent arrears, council tax arrears, utility arrears (if the arrears are with your current provider) and magistrates’ court fines. Some priority debts come with somewhat draconian enforcement possibilities, some can even lead you to prison for non-payment. You should always ensure t
Ensuring that your debts remain under control is a task which requires a pro-active approach. It is usually the case that your financial circumstances will change as time goes by. These changes will have a knock-on effect with your personal budget. To ensure that the arrangements with your creditors do not fail it is vital to ensure that you frequently revise your income and expenditure so that you can adapt. At the moment fuel costs are slowly increasing, this places additional pressure on your
Debt can be a very taboo subject, many folks don’t like admitting that their finances are unmanageable. People can fall behind with their commitments for all sorts of reasons, the most common being loss of employment income, a relationship breakdown or illness. It is a common misconception that most debtors have simply lived way beyond their means. Although there are people out there who have borrowed more than they knew they could afford, these people are actually very few and far between. This
