One Advice | Bankruptcy, IVA & Debt News

Are you struggling with your credit card debt? If so, then you are not the only one. More people are finding that their credit card debt is harder to repay, and recent figures from the International Monetary Fund predict that 7% of all personal debt in Europe (totalling $2,467 billion) will be defaulted on.

Many of these defaults will be in the UK, as it is the largest nation of credit card debt borrowers besides the U.S. Coupled with a fluctuating house market, rise in unemployment and banks becoming more strict about who they offer secured lending to, many people are turning to credit cards and unsecured loans.

Author of the report,  Charles Geisst, who has investigated American credit card debt, says the average American has 13 credit cards and each. “Unemployment is the straw that will break the camel’s back. The default rates already are twice what they used to be. I think it’ll get worse.”

If your credit card debt is harder to repay, there could be a solution for you. A Debt Management Plan makes your credit card debt easier to repay by reducing the monthly credit card debt repayment that you need to make. Contact us now for further help with your credit card debt.

Halloween is notably a time when things tend to get a little scarier around the streets of Britain, but this year one thing could frighten you even more: your bank balance.

Popular holidays tend to stretch our finances a little further than we would like, Easter and Christmas being prime examples. But it now seems we are making more of an effort with our Halloween celebrations as research suggests that UK parents will spend £200 million on scary Halloween costumes and treats.

Debt advice could be high on the list of many too as this research by Egg reveals that 77% confess to spending more than they can afford to. This could lead to many needing debt advice as these extra outgoings mean falling behind on debt repayments or go over your overdraft.

The fact that Halloween falls around the school half-term means it is likely to stretch your wallet and debt management skills even further as you spend an additional £270 trying to entertain the children with additional treats, pocket money and days out.

Spokesperson  from Egg, Vanessa Wood, commented: “Halloween has become much more of a calendar event in the UK than it used to be and we can see this reflected in the cost to parents.”

Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) are a legally binding contract between you and your unsecured creditors which aims to help you cut your debts to an affordable level and allow you to repay the debt over a fixed period of time, typically 60 months. IVA legislation forms part of the Insolvency Act 1986 and allows you with a realistic alternative of bankruptcy.

There are number of key IVA benefits which you may want to consider when deciding upon a debt solution. These include:

1. Protection from creditor action: An IVA can protect you from your unsecured creditors as they cannot take any legal action to recover the debt once the IVA has been agreed to and you stick to these terms. Once the IVA has been agreed it is legally binding between you and your creditors, so they cannot change their mind.

The only way that a creditor could take further action against you is if you failed to keep to the terms of the IVA agreement, such as by missing payments.

2. Assets are protected: Unlikes bankruptcy, you will not lose control of all of your assets. This means that you should not have to risk losing your home, although you may be required to release some of the equity of your home.

3. Avoid personal bankruptcy consequences: Bankruptcy offers a number of key restrictions which cannot be avoided, but you will be able to avoid some of these with an IVA.

For example, a bankrupt is not allowed to continue in or move to certain positions or sectors of employment. An IVA should not affect your professional status of a debtor.  You should still be able to continue with your professional practice and can even hold public office.

Bankruptcy is a very public process and details about your bankruptcy will be publicly advertised. However, an IVA is a private agreement between your and your unsecured creditors. There is no publicity in the local newspaper about this, although your details will be available on a government website.

Whether of not you can take advantage of the key IVA benefits is dependant on your personal circumstances. Call One Advice now for free IVA advice from one of our personal IVA consultants – 0800 048 1752.

First time buyers are becoming more stretched as the credit crunch limits the amount of best buy mortgage deals available. According to  research published by This is Money, the average homeowner needs a deposit of £40,000 before they can get a mortgage deal at a good rate.

The figure is up 43% from the previous year where the average deposit to secure a lending rate was £20,980. This is because, although house prices are falling, lenders have scaled back their loan-to-value ratios. This means that those who are looking to purchase a home need to raise 20.75% of the asking price.

This Thursday and Friday’s planned postal strike has led many to worry about their bills and personal finances, and are seeking debt advice in order to ensure that they can keep on top of their money and ensure that everything will be paid on time to escape fines from their creditors. Things which you should keep an eye on when it comes to your debt and the postal strike include:

Credit Card Debts: If you miss or make a late payment to your credit card debt it could show on your credit score, you could be hit with a fine or lose any special promotional interest rate deals which you have with your creditor. It is important that you ensure that your credit card debts are in check over this period, if necessary use online banking or call up your creditor to ensure that everything is being processed as it should.

The good news is that many of the main providers have said they will give a degree of leniency to those who make late payments on their credit card debts, but these cases will be dealt on an individual basis so it is always a good idea to be pro-active to ensure you don’t make any late payments.

Utility Bill Debts: If you’re billed by post, ensure that you keep an eye out for these statements or contact your utility bills supplier if these are late, as you could lose out on early payment discounts. Also utility bills are classed as a priority debt so always ensure that these debts are paid or you face losing the service.

Bank Statements: If you rely heavily on posted bank statements to ensure that your finances are in check, now could be a good idea to explore the world of online banking as you have instant access to this information.Many ATMs will also provide you with mini-statements.

Selling online: If you are an online seller then communicate to your customers as soon as possible about the planned strikes and explain why there is a possibility of late delivery. If possible, send the items so they can be tracked online. That way the buyer knows they have been sent and they can check their progress.

Debt Advice…. Would you have been struggling with your debts without the added stress of the postal strike? One Advice can offer you ethical debt advice about a range of debt solutions. There is not one debt solution to fit all, which is why we offer a full range of services to ensure that you are best informed about your debt solution options.

Over the past year, almost two million Brits have ‘cut’ credit card debt, quite literally, by cutting up their credit cards in order to avoid getting into unaffordable debt with their credit card provider.

Apparently 6% of the £52 billion credit-card market has taken the initiative to cut up their plastic credit cards to avoid temptation and sinking into financial trouble during the credit crunch. uSwitch also believe that a further 10 million have stopped using their credit cards but keep them in case of a financial emergency.

7% of us are estimated to have between five and six unused credit cards which have a combined credit limit of £200bn.

If you are looking to cut the amount that you are paying to your credit cards each month, One Advice could help. We could be able to offer you a debt management plan which allows you to reduce the amount of debt that you need to pay on a monthly basis. Call us now for further information.

Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) are designed to help those suffering with unaffordable levels of unsecured debt. Those who cannot afford to repay all of the unsecured debt but wish to benefit from making a reduced monthly payment over a set period of time, could find that an IVA is a perfect choice of debt solution.

If you are looking to avoid bankruptcy and pay off the debt that you can afford, you should be aware of how IVAs work. Below gives you a guide to how an IVA works but please call one of our IVA advisors today for personalised IVA advice.

How an IVA Works

• Speak to an IVA advisor
  Before embarking on an IVA you will have to speak to a professional IVA advisor about your current personal financial circumstances, such as debt level and employment status.
  They will be in the best position to tell you whether an IVA is right for you or whether your circumstances are better suited to an alternate debt solution.
• IVA Proposal
  If you find that an IVA looks to be the most suitable financial solution for you and you decide that this is right for you, the next stage will be putting an IVA proposal together for your unsecured creditors.
  We will work with you in getting this together and it will contain various bits of your financial information, such as how much each of your unsecured creditors can expect to receive if the IVA is accepted. (more…)

The credit crunch is hitting the whole of the UK hard, bit it seems as through the over 50s are the ones who are suffering the most. Research by the Post Office reveals that almost half of the 50-plus need help to manage debt as they resort to using their credit cards in order to afford daily living costs, with three quarters having access to more than one credit card.

Putting money aside for a rainy day is becoming more of a hope then an actuality, as a third of those in this age bracket are unable to save regularly.

Duncan Caesar-Gordon from the Post Office said: “In an economic climate where living costs are soaring, over 50s are finding they cannot afford to save and are more reliant on credit.”

Sadly, these figures do not get any better with age. 57% of the over 70s are unable to make any deposits to their savings and 64% admit to regularly paying for food with credit cards.

Credit cards debt are one of the most common causes of UK debt problems. As a country, Britain has more credit card borrowers than any other European country. Credit card debt is a growing problem, both in the UK and across the globe. There are a number of reason why it is easy to fall victim to mounting UK credit card debts:
* Multiple credit cards making it easy to spend money that you have not got.
* Missed payments lead to additional charges.
* High interest rates coupled with a low minimum repayment required.
* Lack of consumer knowledge when it comes to the consequences of the end of promotional introductory offers.

UK Credit Card Debts Advice

Knowing that you are struggling with UK credit card debts is the first wake-up call that needs to happen, as this allows you to come up with a plan to seek debt advice or start to repay your debt.

Budgeting: One of the first steps that you need to take when tackling mounting UK credit cards debts is budgeting. Devising a budget planner can help you work out how much money you have available for repaying debt after you have accounted for essential living costs and bills.

Work out where you can cut back on frivolous spending. Successfully learning how to cut back means that you can prioritise repaying your UK credit card debts or other unsecured debt. You may want to pay off the one with the highest interest rate firsts so you don’t build up unnecessary credit card debt.

One of the ways which you can ensure that you won’t be stung with charges from your credit card providers is to set up a direct debit to ensure that at least the minimum amount of your debt is paid.

Getting Debt Advice about your UK Credit Card Debts: Sometimes a simple budget plan is not a drastic enough solution to help you repay your debts. Perhaps even the minimum amount of debt is too high to pay once you have taken into account all of your living expenses and secured debt repayments. (more…)

There are a number of reasons why, and why not, you may be debt management suitable. The best way to see if your financial circumstances mean that you are suitable for debt management is to seek professional advice about your debt. This should help you to understand an alternate debt solution which you could benefit from as well accessing if you are debt management suitable.

If you are debt management suitable, it make sense that you understand the nature of this debt management solution and how it can help you with your debts and, ultimately, allow you to become debt free. The  following offers you the basics of a debt management plan…

A debt management plan is an informal agreement between you and your unsecured creditors. A debt management plan allows you to reorganise how your debts will be repaid to your creditors. It will allow you to make the repayment at a level that you can afford after all essential living costs, such as food, utility bills and mortgage payment, have been accounted for.

A debt management plan is best for those who are struggling to meet even their minimum unsecured debt repayments after other living expenses have been accounted for. Unsecured debts includes debts such as credit cards, personal loans, store cards and overdrafts, all of which can be included in your debt management plan. (more…)

When you are trying to resolve your debt problems, you will be looking for that one debt solution which stands out from above the rest; the one debt solution which is perfect for your financial circumstances.

It can sometimes be difficult to know which one debt solution is right for you, especially if you are unsure about what debt solutions are on the market and who they are suitable for. This article aims to highlight a number of different debt solutions which have successfully helped our clients deal with their debt.

The following debt solutions offer a generalisation only, and the only way to discover the one debt solution for you is to seek professional debt advice. Our One Advice debt advisors are only a phone call away, call now on 0800 048 1752.

Debt Management Plans: Debt Management Plans are flexible agreements between you and your unsecured creditors where you agree to repay debts at an affordable rate  over a longer period of time.
All of your unsecured monthly debt repayments can be able to be included in your debt management plan and you just need to make one single monthly payment, which is distributed between your creditors. This is one debt solution which many people opt for when they are servicing low levels of debt, typically under £12,000.

Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA): If your debts are over £12,000, one debt solution to consider is an IVA. IVAs allow you to repay the affordable percentage of your outstanding debt over a typical period of 60 months. As long as you stick to the agreed IVA repayments (which should be affordable as they are based on your own set of financial circumstances) any unpaid debt will be written off and you should not have to declare bankruptcy.
This is one debt solution that many homeowners opt for as they do not have to risk losing their home, unlike you would if you declared yourself bankruptcy. Your home can be excluded from your IVA proposal, although you may have to release some of its equity.

Trust Deeds: One debt solution exclusively for residents of Scotland who are not be eligible for IVAs, as this is only legislation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Like an IVA, a Trust Deed means that you commit to repaying an affordable proportion of your debt over a fixed period of time, usually 36 months. Like an IVA, the unpaid unsecured debt which has been included in your Trust Deed can be written-off on successful completion of the Trust Deed term.

Bankruptcy: Bankruptcy is the most extreme of all the debt solutions, and is the one debt solution you should only consider after all others have been fully explored. If you do decide to opt for bankruptcy, you will be pleased to know that One Advice have our own dedicated Bankruptcy Service which can make the process of bankruptcy a little easier.

This gives you just the basis about a range of debt solutions which One Advice offer. Unlike many other similar companies, we can offer the full range of debt solutions meaning that we will ensure that the debt solution is right for you. To discover more about which one debt solution is right for you, call our advisors now on 0800 048 1752.

Those who are looking to get out a Christmas loan to fund additional spending may come across a few problems in getting their secured loan application accepted. Banks are warning that they plan to cut back further on their lending criteria in the continuing wake of the credit crunch, rise in unemployment and global economic problems.

According the the 2008  Bank of England’s quarterly Credit Conditions Survey, there will be a reduction in the amount of credit available over a range of products, such as mortgages, credit cards and loans.

This is bad news for the High-Street in the run up to the Christmas period. Many consumers are already under pressure with lack of disposable income and the rise of cost of living, leading many to seek additional debt advice. Many may look to get a Christmas loan in order to afford the extra cost, but these requests could now be rejected.

There has also been a rise in the number of people who are defaulting on their loan agreement, as over 44% of lenders said they have seen an increase in the number of households who struggle to keep make repayments.

Debt Management Plans allow to consolidate all of your debt into the debt management plans which leaves you with one lower monthly payment to make which will cover all of your debt. This new monthly repayment is typically much  lower than what you were paying to your debts beforehand.

Using debt management plans to be debt free is an alternative to debt consolidation loans, as this type of plan does not involve borrowing any more money. Therefore your debt burden should not increase and you can concentrate on repaying these debts and becoming debt free.

A debt management company can organise a debt management plan on your behalf. They will contact your unsecured creditors to agree new deals on how you repay your debt, ensuring that it is at a level you can afford. Some creditors are also willing to freeze additional interest charges and some fees on your unsecured debt. Although it will take you longer to repay your debt because you are making smaller monthly payments, an important point to remember is that you will paying a sum which you can afford.

Once your debt management plan has ben agreed, all you need to do is make this single payment to the debt management company. This money will then be distributed to your creditors as agreed. You don’t have to worry about multiple creditor repayments any more, all you need to do is ensure you make the payment to your debt management plan. You should have no trouble making this payment; a debt management plan is tailored to your individual circumstances to ensure that it is affordable to you. (more…)