Debt Community

This is where we publish blog posts, articles, research and other debt related information. You'll also find contributions from site users in the debt story section.

Topic: Debt News | Posted: 4 days 9 hours
A recent question asked on the forum was whether a County Court Judgment (CCJ) would harm the candidate’s chances of becoming a police officer. It is a question many people ask who are working in a variety of professions for both the public and private sectors.

Take Up Of New Debt Relief Orders Disappoints

Topic: Debt News | Posted: 2 weeks 2 days
Overworked Insolvency Practitioners have reported that there is a low take-up of the new Debt Relief Orders (DRO) which came into force in April this year. The problem may be that DRO’s only apply to a tiny percentage of debtors – principally those with no income and no assets to work with.

YouGov Survey Results: 700,000 Hidden insolvencies

Topic: Debt News | Posted: 3 weeks 15 hours
The latest figures from YouGov demonstrate that over 700,000 people who are technically insolvent are currently being left off the official insolvency figures even though they are technically insolvent. The reality of debt for Britons is over 1 million are insolvent in the UK – a number which testifies to the prevalence of debt issues confronting so many people today.

Credit Card Interest Rates at Record Peak

Topic: Debt News | Posted: 3 weeks 2 days
The Bank of England may have frozen interest rates at 0.5% but someone must have forgotten to tell the credit card companies because their rates are at an all-time record high of around 18%!

Commercial Court, London Scuppers Get Debt-Free Quick Schemes

Topic: Debt News | Posted: 4 weeks 4 days
The Courts in London recently ruled on use of unfair provisions in the Consumer Credit Act which has been promoted by innumerable debt agencies charging enormous up-front fees for a debt solution.

Those in Debt Targeted by Scam Artists

Topic: Debt News | Posted: 5 weeks 1 day
The worry which debt brings can and frequently does cause people to make decisions they otherwise would not entertain in a million years. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has highlighted the vulnerability of those suffering from debt concerns and that this section of the population is now even more of a target for online and internet scams than their 2008 preferred group – the elderly.

Unsecured Debt May Still Result in Home Repossession: Charging Orders

Topic: Repossession | Posted: 5 weeks 2 days
An increasing number of homeowners are discovering that unsecured credit cards and loans are being used to compel the sale of their homes to repay the debt. A little known provision in the law allows for unsecured lenders to compel homeowners to sell their homes even though the debt is and was established on an unsecured basis; charging orders.

Twenty and Thirty-something Women Face Higher Debt Costs

Topic: Misc. Debt | Posted: 5 weeks 3 days
Younger people in particular have run into debt in the opening years of the new millennium and are now facing drastically higher debt costs as we end the first decade.

Know Where You Stand with Debt

Topic: Money Management | Posted: 6 weeks 11 hours
It does not take much to push a good paying customer who has stuck by their debt repayments to suddenly fall behind a couple of months and even more. Losing a job is an obvious reason but it can be many others too such as loss of overtime or reduced bonuses, illness causing loss of income or increased expenses for a variety of reasons such as a new child or car repair costs.

Is Debt Consolidation the Answer for Me?

Topic: Debt Consolidation | Posted: 6 weeks 2 days
Running up debts from multiple lenders is a fact of life for many households; it is typical to have a couple of credit cards and an overdraft alongside a car loan and maybe another loan or two under credit agreements for the TV or kitchen makeover.

88% - The Percentage of Those Kept Awake at Night With Debt

Topic: Misc. Debt | Posted: 6 weeks 3 days
Debt has a significant social stigma attached to it and never more than when we are falling behind; this is something ingrained into us from a very early age and it is not that long ago that being a debtor who could not pay their way was an extremely serious state of affairs.

What is an IVA?

Topic: IVA | Posted: 6 weeks 4 days
An Individual Voluntary Arrangement or an IVA as it is better known, is a debt solution mandated by law and which will allow you to deal with your creditors and debts so they can be written off and repaid without the need for a messy bankruptcy. Firstly, who are they most suitable for?

Don’t Leave Calling for Debt Advice Until the Last Moment

Topic: Money Saving Tips | Posted: 6 weeks 4 days
The news is doom and gloom with county courts issuing more repossession orders for homes with delinquent mortgages and spiraling arrears, record numbers of bankruptcies and insolvencies and soaring unemployment levels while home prices are at rock-bottom leaving many with negative or low equity and unable to refinance.

Who Do You Turn To For Debt Advice?

Topic: Misc. Debt | Posted: 7 weeks 1 day
If you are asking yourself this question then good for you! The first step in dealing with your debt is to recognise you need help and advice so while your situation may be causing you a great deal of personal worry and stress, you are on the road to finally being free of your financial problems.

What Do I Need to Do to Set Up An IVA?

Topic: IVA | Posted: 7 weeks 2 days
An Individual Voluntary Arrangement or IVA is an arrangement which is laid down by law to help you free yourself from the burden of debt without declaring bankruptcy and so losing your property and assets.

Is Bankruptcy the Only Option?

Topic: Bankruptcy | Posted: 7 weeks 3 days
No! Bankruptcy is an option of last resort but before you get to this point there are plenty of excellent ways in which you can avoid declaring yourself bankrupt.

Why Your Creditors Revise Payment Terms On Your Debt

Topic: Money Management | Posted: 7 weeks 3 days
Many people are unable to deal with the scale of the debt they have accumulated; debt can be very insidious in how it grows not only with day-to-day use of a credit card or overdraft facility, but the hikes in interest rates, additional fees and charges and the affect can be adversely multiplied if you fall behind with payments – a returned cheque or direct debit for a few pounds can incu

Advice from the Insolvency Service

Topic: Debt News | Posted: 8 weeks 18 hours
Insolvency and bankruptcy are words which many people are frightened of; they see bankruptcy as a shameful thing to happen and so deny themselves the relief from unrealistic debt levels and repayments which the law provides for and many options exist before bankruptcy should be considered. Here is what the Insolvency Service has to say, taken from their own website:

Credit Card Control: An American Perspective

Topic: Debt News | Posted: 8 weeks 1 day
America is run on credit and with an $800 billion stimulus package being implemented; President Obama’s administration is also taking action to make sure the fix has a degree of permanence attached to it. It has been a bad week in many respects for the US economy with the announcement of one of America’s largest car makers, Chrysler, filing for bankruptcy and the announcement

Is Bankruptcy Really As Bad As It Sounds?

Topic: Debt News | Posted: 8 weeks 2 days
The word “bankruptcy” strikes fear into the hearts and minds of many people, particularly the older generations for whom it was very closely associated with personal failure, shame and the very real loss of all of your assets including your home and even your car.

Know the Symptoms of Financial Stress

Topic: Debt News | Posted: 8 weeks 3 days
Britain is hurting and there is no denying it; if you can’t see all the green shoots of recovery many pundits are talking about it is probably for a simple reason – they are not there!

Bankruptcies Soar and Half are Homeowners

Topic: Debt News | Posted: 8 weeks 4 days
Latest figures released by the Insolvency Service show bankruptcies are soaring with an increase of 19% compared to the same period last year; most of the increase has been created by homeowners prompting calls for longer term loans to reduce payments.

Insolvency service reports big rise in bankruptcies

Topic: Debt News | Posted: 9 weeks 13 hours
In the first quarter of 2009, 29,774 people have become bankrupt or taken out an IVA. This is a 23% increase in bankruptcy and nearly a 12 % increase in IVA's.

30 days grace from the debt collectors announced

Topic: Debt Collectors | Posted: 9 weeks 3 days
A recent announcement by the government and the Credit Services Association is going to provide valuable breathing space to anyone facing the threat of debt collectors turning up on their doorstep.

Debt Management vs the IVA

Topic: Misc. Debt | Posted: 19 weeks 3 days
If you can or want to avoid bankruptcy, debt management or an IVA are normally the two solutions a debt advisor will consider for you. They both offer very different things but share a common objective. They both aim to make you debt free and your monthly repayments manageable. The key areas of distinction are: Only one is legally binding