Protecting the Family from Debt
Friday, April 17th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
Personal debt (of which a substantial amount is credit card and unsecured loans) in the UK stood at a staggering £1,457 billion at the end of January 2009 and someone, somewhere, is declared bankrupt or insolvent every five minutes. These cold statistics don’t even touch on the full story of the real casualties of debt.
All the latest research shows that debt can dramatically affect family life. On average, 78% of people surveyed about debt worries say that being in debt has affected relationships within their family and 75% say that being in debt has had a serious effect on their health. As many as 88% say that worrying about debt is keeping them awake at night. That situation is aggravated as the same surveys find that serious debt issues are typically ignored for as much as nine months before something happens which finally triggers action. The cause of these epiphanies can include divorce, the real threat of repossession or a visit from a bailiff, job loss or being made redundant, or a serious health problem.
Because most people’s experience of dealing with a serious debt problem is virtually non-existent, when they do decide to go for help, most simply don’t know where to turn. Many turn to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, but this government funded volunteer-staffed organisation is overloaded given the depth of the current credit crisis. Its advisers are faced with over 7,000 new debt problems every day. So, is there anyone left to turn to?
Families in debt desperately need timely, honest, straightforward advice. There are some less than reputable companies in the market offering questionable advice with nothing but their own commercial gain uppermost in their minds. Guardian Financial Group and it’s sister company Credit issues have been in the vanguard of preaching and practicing the very highest professional standards - they are regulated by the Ministry of Justice and using their own, highly qualified, in-house legal team to ensure success.
In most cases there are relatively straightforward solutions to many serious debt problems. If the debt that’s causing concern is on credit cards or unsecured loans that were taken out before 6th April 2007, it may even be possible to have the amount completely written off! Credit Issues recently challenged a client’s credit card debt of over £16,000 due to some inaccuracies in the lending institution’s administration procedure. The debt had been sold off to a debt recovery agency when the client fell behind with his payments. After examining the agreement Credit Issues was successful in removing the client’s liability to the debt and was able to clear the entire balance.50. In the first three months of 2009, Credit Issues has challenged well over a £1 million worth of consumer debt and is experiencing urivaled demand for its full on-site specialist legal team.
Other solutions may be as simple as writing to your creditors, using debt management or IVAs, consolidating the debt or even bankruptcy. There is always an answer that can return family life back to normal. Putting unsecured debts into a debt management programme can free up more income and allow you start regaining control of your debts. The increasingly popular IVA route will leave you ‘debt free’ after 60 months and a similar solution, called a Protected Trust Deed, is available if you live in Scotland.
You just need to know which is the best solution for you and be confident that the advice you are being given is correct, professional and effective. So don’t “ostrich” yourself and choose to address your debt issues sooner rather than later. With a comprehensive plan in place and light at the end of the tunnel you’ll be able to get back to a normal and happier family life, free from worry and stress.
Technorati Tags: No Tags
Related Tags: No Tags
Possible Related Posts
