Personal Insolvencies Hit Record Levels as More UK Citizens Seek Debt ... Earthtimes (press release)
CHORLEY, UNITED KINGDOM -- 11/09/09 -- The latest figures released on National Insolvency report a record number of insolvencies. Director of Consumer Debt Advice Service, ClearStart Nigel Stockton has responded to the latest National Insolvency Statistics and has provided an insight into the potential debt management trends in future for UK citizens."Today's National Insolvency Statistics have showed an increase of 28.2% in personal insolvencies compared to the same quarter last year, with figures hitting record levels as consumers continue to struggle to service their debts.
"The latest figures have shown year on year growth in all types of insolvency solutions, but most worrying with bankruptcies/debt relief orders being the fastest areas of growth.
"Whilst bankruptcy may sound like an easy option for consumers, in that quite often debts are considered satisfied within twelve months, it can limit employment prospects, ruling out roles in parts of the financial services sector; the forces and directorships. Additionally, there is a stigma of bankruptcy which can continue for 6 years and financial exclusion is a certainty with access to credit denied.
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For help with your debts go to www.debt-advice-help.org.uk If you want to get out of debt then this solution is a powerfull tool for debt relief ...
Who do you recommend in the uk for financial advice & debt management,and help in all sorts of financial?
difficulties.What are your views on both C.C.C.S. and The Citizens Advice Bureau?Are they any good?Is anyone with Payplan or Credit Action? Does anyone recommend bankcruptcy,rather than say debt management?or is it better to just stick to doing debt management even if it takes ten yrs or more to clear all your debts?I am a divorced single middle aged mum who cant work as i'm disabled,i'm on benefits,and the stress and pressure and worry about all my debts AND being behind on several household bills is just too much for me to cope with any longer.I've also got a contract phone thats a struggle to keep on top of.I'm only two months in to a 18 month contract.I only got a contract as i saw a mobile i liked but obviously could never afford to buy so the only way to get it was to take out a contract.I didnt expect this but my first bill was pro-rata and more than the £35 a month i was told,and it came in 10 days after taking out the contract.I thought it wouldnt come in for a month.
Get yourself an appointment with the CAB as soon as possible...
Sorry missed the bit where you are disabled. Are you getting all the benefits you are entitled to. Check with Jobcentre
Ironically I am training to be an accountant and am three years away from being a chartered accountant.
Please use the CAB office and do not miss any appointments.
who can give me the best debt advice in the uk?
I agree with Bob P - CAB is definitely the way to go. They helped me lots. You also might want to check this page out, which takes you step-by-step how to get a bit more control yourself, before you even go to the CAB. http://www.squidoo.com/personal-debt-management-five-steps
do it now before you get any further in there good luck...
they were a great help to me.
http://www.debtquestions.co.uk/
Consumer Credit and Counselling service
www.cccs.co.uk
0800 138 1111
National Debtline
www.nationaldebtline.org.uk
0808 808 4000
These are both free phone numbers, and both funded by the government. They offer a number of different ways to help. For Example, get rid of certain debt if held for over a certain number of years, they will give you your own adviser etc.. all for free.
I hope this helped and good luck.
Oh, and dont go to any "Company" that will help to consolidate your debts, you will end up paying for their service, and you will end up with twice as much debt.
account all you incomes and outgoings and work out a payment plan to suit you. They will take an agreed amount from your bank each month to pay each of the companies you owe money to. They DO NOT charge for the service, therefore all the money you pay out goes to your debts.
There are a lot of companies who charge you money to help you, try to avoid them. Hope this helps. x
If your having debt problems---the free advise is---get two jobs or more and get the monkey off your back. Stop spending Stop buying. Stay out of the pubs--being blotto does not help--If I had a consulting office I would charge you 50 pounds. Stay away from the professional he will charge more--OK
Good Luck-----
I have to agree with the other answers and say the CAB as a first stop. They are free and independent.
If you go to a IVA or debt management company you will end up paying one way of another.
The CAB is over run with debt cases at the moment and transfer a lot of their work load over to CCCS and Debtline which are also free, but to qualify for help from those companies you must have some surplus income and debts of over a certain amount.
The CAB will help you work out exactly how much you owe, who to and calculate what you can pay back by working out a pro-rata payment scheme (IVA) They will help you write to all your creditors and in some cases can get debts written off. Its quite complicated but they know their stuff!
(But be warned if you go to CAB and they help you but you then muck up your creditors CAB wont help again!)
Hope this helps.
read
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Consumer_Credit_Counselling_Service&diff=134786668&oldid=129475879
They are in the pockets of the creditors.
The CAB are a federal charity, some bureaux are good and some are not so good.
Most advice is free now so speak to some different people and weigh up your options.
Married, not on house deeds/mortgage, husband has racked up debts, need advice (UK)?
Hi all, I'm asking on behalf of my mother (UK/England)
She's married, isn't on the mortgage, nor the deeds, but used the proceeds of her previous house to pay the deposit on their current house.
They've been married for a fair few years and during that time, he's racked up a ton of debt on credit cards/loans without telling her, so the house/mortgage may now be at risk
What would be the best advice I can give her?
I've told her to contact her friend who's husband is a lawyer, which she's going to do, but to put my mind at rest (If possible), any advice would be appreciated
They share their assets and their debts.
Speak to Citizen's Advice Bureau.
UK finance/debt/tax problem - advice much appreciated!?
My Flat, London, Zone 2 Value c £200k, mortgage c 23k. Too small but convenient location.
Late Mother's flat, London, Zone 5 Value c £150k No mortgage. Dated.
3 x Buy to let:-
1. 1 bed Flat - London, Zone 2 Value c £200k, mortgage c 33k Rental income c £800 pcm
2. 3 bed Flat - London, Zone 2 Value c £250k, mortgage c 43k Rental income c £750 pcm (under market rent - damp) Work needed.
3. 2 bed flat - London, zone 3, near Olympic site. Value c £230k, mortgage c 33k Rental income c £800 pcm
All owned over 10 years.
No real savings
Debts:£22k Inland Revenue (3 tax years plus penalties/interest)
£7.5k earlier defaulted loan - at County Court stage
Credit cards on min payment - c £8k
Issues:
1. Need to deal with debts asap
2. Concern about CGT if selling BtL / Mother's flats
3. Concern at 40% Income tax on BTL profits
4. My flat too small - other local BTL flat bigger but unsuitable environment
5. Can't decide way forward with Mother's flat
6. Reluctant to sell BTL flat
This is very complicated and a lot more information is needed to advise on the situation. However, some points about the issues raised which may anable you to take it further.
1. It seems that you are going to have to sell something to clear the debts, particularly the Revenue. They will not accept an extended repayment plan if you have assets available.
2. I don't think your decision should be driven by tax considerations. I'm not suggesting you forget about CGT but just treat it as another cost (like legal fees) and look at the commercial viability of any proposed transaction as a whole.
3. Why is this a concern? Do you mean that you have not been paying tax on these rents (possible in view of the arrears) and that you do not think you can afford to in the future? Interpreting your comment literally would imply that you have a gross income of at least £67,000 a year of which you are only paying tax on £39,000 and that you are still overspending as you are running up credit card debt. Please tell me this is not the case.
4. From a purely financial point of view I think you should sell your present residence and but something larger and more suitable for you. Buy something that you will be able to rent out in the future. After you have lived there a couple of years you can move again but retain this property. This will give you extra reliefs for CGT purposes when you do finally sell it.
If you repeat this procedure in the future the impact of CGT wil be much lower.
5. You are not getting any income from this. How long have you owned it? Don't forget your cost price is taken at probate value if you inherited this from your mother so the gain may not be all that much. Of course, sentimental reasons may complicate any decision.
6. If you do not sell your mother's flat then you may have to sell one of the BTL places. Is the value for no. 2 what you would get for it now or after the work is completed? If it is worth £250k in its present state then it is not paying it's way. To see what I mean lets look at some figures.
Sell it for £250,000.
If it cost £50,000 then you have a gain of £200,000, reduced to £120,000 by taper relief. Even assuming 40% tax this is only £48,000.
So pay the tax and mortgage to leave about £159,000.
Clear the debts (£38,000) to leave £111,000. This could bring you in £500 per month from a reasonable bank deposit. How much do you get at the moment after paying the mortgage?
It would also be available as a deposit for another BTL but aren't you a bit over-exposed to the property market now?
Hope this helps to get you thinking.
In terms of tax planning on the rest (and moving house) - you should pay an accountant!
CGT - Increasing mortgage would avoid the CGT problem now. Remember that at some stage, unless its your home, the IR will get you one way or another either with CGT when you do sell or IHT (inheritance) if you die first. However if you can't increase mortgage then your only option is to sell your house, it sounds like you want to do this anyway as its too small but none of the other current properties would be a suitable replacement, besides you are getting a good return on these investments so you should hang on to these. INCOME TAX - Wherever possible you should have your mortgage debts against the business assets as you can claim interest paid as a deduction against the income, thus reducing the profit that is chargeable to income tax. Therefore you should move your mortgage on your home to one of the businesses.
SUMMARY (based on the limited info I have)
If I was you I would sell your flat, repay the debts as quickly as possible and move into your mothers flat, just for a while. That way your house is expempt from CGT assuming you have always lived in it, whilst you have owned it. The gain on your mothers flat will be calculated gain x period occupied/period owned. I am hoping you have only just inherited this so living in it for a short time only will make a good % so you can sell it, paying minimal CGT tax as you will have occupied it for quite alot of the time you owned it. You will then have the proceeds of both properties, less the 23k mortgage and 37.5 debts to buy the bigger property you want, whilst keeping the BTL.
Remember if you do re-organise or re-mortgage, make sure they are on the BTL to get the interest as an income tax deduction.
It would be worth paying an accountant and getting some proper tax planning for the future so you can minise tax by plan the future disposal of assets in a timely way so as to take full advantage of annual allowances, business taper reliefs (these increase annualy so you want to dispose of in the start of a new year, not the end of the last one to get an extra year) and so on. I would charge you about £50 per hour for this kind of advise, but would need all the facts and figures, my answer is based on very limited information that you have provided.
Has anyone heard of the UK debt company Xit debt?
I'm asking this question for a friend who is in trouble regarding debt. She has been given advice by a debt company called Xit debt who have offered to help her, but she's worried they may be trying to rip her off, has anyone heard of or used the company??
Basically they've asked for £1200 upfront to declare her bankrupt.....
I havent, and i havent heard of anyone mention it. get her to look at this forum http://consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/ its REALLY good, she will find all the advice she needs on this. people have to be carefull with debt companys, you need to know the law first if you don't want to be taken advantage off. i really recomend she takes a good look through that website. there are alot of dodgy companys out there.
Thank you and best wishes :)
I have googgled them and come up with this.
http://www.xitdebt.co.uk/. I have been on Consumeractiongroup for over a year now and cant say i have heard of them but i will check them out before i do anything.
What has rung a alarm bell is they are aking for £1200.00 to declare her bankrupt when to declare your self bankrupt it only costs about £600.
I have just searched Consumer action Group and got nothing tho. You may also want to check this site out. http://myvesta.org.uk is helps with bankruptcy questions it also answers how much it costs to ge bankrupt.
Personally i think she is being ripped off.
Now, here is the deal on making yourself bankrupt and why you don't need to pay £1200 for it.
Bankruptcy is something a person can arrange themselves without too much difficulty. There are two forms to fill in - a Debtor's Petition and a Debtor's Statement of Affairs. They can be obtained from your local county court or downloaded online at www.insolvency.gov.uk (The Insolvency Service). These forms need to be submitted and considered by a judge at your local county court (ring for an appointment). As long as the judge agrees that you are unable to pay your debts when they are due to be paid, you would be declared bankrupt at that point and someone from the Official Receiver's office would take over from there.
There are two fees to pay when the forms are submitted - a fee of £150 which goes to the court and can be waived if you are on means-tested benefits or have a low income (fill in a court form EX160) - and a fee of £345 for the Official Receiver. This can't be waived but there are trust funds and charities that sometimes help out, so that people can get a fresh start.
If filling out the forms proves difficult (it is not always clear what to put) you can get advice for free from the charity National Debtline on 0800 808 4000. The Insolvency Service also has its own helpline.
To go bankrupt, all you need is £345 + court costs of £150 (unless you are exempt).
Go to www.insolvency.gov.uk and start filling out some forms.
i live in spain but have debt in uk which i cant pay.....any advice?
credit card,bank overdraft..etc
leave the debt in the uk, its only secondary debt, you wont face prison if you come back, anyway, no-one will know where you are if you do come back, i wouldnt worry about it, these greedy credit companies etc, let too many people run up large amounts of debt when knowing they cant afford it, stay in spain and chill out. enjoy your life!
Can a UK debt recovery agency issue a court order against me in another country ie Australia?
After a long drawn out issue over a credit card debt I have while I was living in the UK, the bank has now passed it on to a debt recovery agency (I'm an Australian citizen). I've just received a letter from the agency explaining that if I dont pay the full outstanding amount (which is well under $10,000) it may result in legal proceedings being issued in the country of which I reside, which is Australia. Can a UK debt collections company actually do this...I mean summon me to court in Australia even though the debt was with a UK bank?
Please spare me any preaching about having to pay for my own debt etc, I have tried to on more than a few occasions to make payment arrangements with the bank, however due to their inconpetence they either gave me the wrong bank account details so I could use telegraphic transfer, or they lost a large payment amount I made to them (eventually they found it). I gave up trusting their advice on the bank details I needed to give my Australian bank to transfer the money after numerous phone calls from Australia to the UK and misinformation from their customer service, so I decided not to pay them.
Hi
I don't belive they can - even so the worst they can do is list you. It will only last 5 yrs - if you can hang on I would try and dodge it. F*k em! They make a lot of money - don't worry about it and just hide. The only way they can find you is via white pages and electorial roll. Just stay off those and you should not hear from them.
I have done something similar recently - the phone calls lasted about 3 months - then all of a sudden - STOP.... I will strike problems if I apply for credit - so I don't do that :)
Good luck - and from now on - just pay cash.... It's what we should have done in the first place - right?
What book would a UK citizen/ EU citizen read for debt elimination advice?
Hi, I live in the states and I'm doing a marketing research report on debt and I need to find an English author who has written a book on the subject of personal debt elimination. It could also be simply a EU author as well.
In the US we have Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey two American authors who may or may not be popular in your country. I need to find a competitor in your country.
If anyone would be willing to shed some light on this, I would really appreciate it.
Thank you in advance.
That is along the lines of what I'm looking for.
Thanks, this has helped me out a great deal.
Martin Lewis provides a completely free and well respected online web site for UK-based advice on a wide range of financial matters. The site is http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/
.. I appreciate that this is not a 'book' but I would argue that he is as much an author as the person who writes a book!
Even if this is not what you are looking for, it's worth checking out.
where can i get debt advice?
I've got about £10,000 of Unsecured debt and just entered into a DMP with a company called LA Debt (www.ladebt.co.uk). Seem really good so far and they have dropped my payments. Ha anyone else used this company or other companies like them?
your best bet is to go to your local Citizens Advice Bureau. they give FREE debt advice and explore all the options open to you.
debt advice companies dont do it for free and often cant stop court action being taken against you i.e. wages arrestments, bank arrestments, sale of assets, bankruptcy, etc.
we can offer you advice about negotiating with the company at lower levels without charging you. there are other avenues such as Trust Deeds (Scotland) where it is a voluntary arrangement that lasts for about three years, you pay a certain sum each month (at least £150) each month and at the end of it your debt is cleared.
if you have no assets bankruptcy is an option depending on what you want to do in your life. if you are in England this lasts a year but in Scotland it is still 3 years.
debt companies tend to be a rip off, go to your CAB or local councils Money Advice team.
Debt Management. Which is better - Citizens Advice Bureau or CCCS? UK?
I know someone who has used cccs and they rate them highly. Although citizens advice is good cccs specialise in debt problems.
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