Solving Personal Debt Problems with Support from Europe

Most citizens of member states of the European Union (EU) are unaware of certain unexpected benefits that EU membership conveys in relation to personal insolvency. These benefits are rooted in the principle of the free movement of labour which EU citizens enjoy within the EU and are particularly relevant for those who find themselves overburdened by debt and threatened with aggressive insolvency proceedings in certain member states of the EU. Continue reading

Payment Protection Insurance Claims and IVAs

A great number of lucrative claims have already been undertaken and carry on being undertaken against financial institutions in connection with Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). Any existing debtor who thinks that they might have been miss-sold a PPI policy is entitled to make a claim against the financial institution and numerous such people have already accepted settlements from the offending creditors. Continue reading

Relieving the Suffering of Personal Debt

When men or women start thinking about their own acute debt worries they occasionally contemplate how awful it would be if they had to go bankrupt. Whether or not they petition for their own bankruptcy or one of their creditors petitions for it, the stigma or imagined stigma of bankruptcy is the worst type of emotion a person may have some. However, there are several other great and pragmatic remedies other than personal bankruptcy. It might perhaps even be more desirable for both the consumer and his or her creditors to employ a different procedure to bankruptcy. Continue reading

Fall in levels of Insolvency

In recent months I have written on the dramatic growth of personal insolvencies in the UK over the last decade and of the reasons behind this growth. That is to say it was primarily down to the explosion of availability of credit and other economic factors. I have suggested that it will only get worse before it gets any better. Then earlier this month the third quarter statistics were released by the government’s Insolvency Service. They showed that for both forms of personal insolvency, bankruptcy and individual voluntary arrangements, there has been a fall. Continue reading

How Debt Can Affect a Family

If you, your partner, or both of you are struggling with debts, it can affect the whole family and become a very harrowing experience for all. The effects of debt can cause stress, depression, anxiety and even aggravation of various physical illnesses too. The only way out of the problem is to communicate and work together to solve it, or seek help from an advisor.

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Taboos surrounding Insolvency, IVA’s and Debt

The past decade has experienced a huge growth in the number of personal insolvencies – Back in 1998 there were less than 30,000 per year. In 2007 it is likely that over 145,000 will be declared insolvent. To put this in context that equates to the entire population of Oxford for the year or 400 people each and every day. This growth has given rise to many myths and misconceptions as to the reasons behind the growth. Continue reading

Self Employed Workers and IVAs

Over the past few months there have been numerous press articles concerning the increasing level of personal insolvencies and in particular Voluntary Arrangements (IVA’s). IVA’s were introduced in England and Wales in 1986 followed by Northern Ireland in 1989. Initially, they were aimed specifically at trading businesses and the self employed but are now most commonly used by individuals who have amassed uncontrolled levels of unsecured debt. Continue reading

Safe Debt Solutions – Debt Management

If you are having financial trouble and are having difficulty repaying your creditors, one of the debt solutions you are likely to become aware of is a Debt Management Plan. This is known as one of the big three debt solutions in the UK in terms of the number of people who use them. The other two are Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) and Bankruptcy. It is estimated that there are up to one million consumers in the UK currently in debt management plans with their creditors. Continue reading