Thomas Cook experiences debt crisis

One of the UK’s leading travel retailers, Thomas Cook, has fallen into debt crisis. This has led to fears that business debt could eventually translate into personal debt for those involved.When businesses experience financial difficulty, such as a fall in share price, this could affect the staff. A period of redundancy could ultimately lead to personal debt.Trading issues have affected the company badly. This has promoted a widespread review of the business and raised awareness over the need for cutbacks.The travel industry has been hit hard by the economic downturn and Thomas Cook’s UK arm has been severely affected.Shares have fallen by 80% in the last year and low profit predictions have only served to put off investors.The company did not ask shareholders for a rights issue to raise...

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Posted in: crisis,experiences,Thomas

UK faces highest unemployment rate for 17 years

Unemployment has risen to its highest level for 17 years, according to official figures.The Office for National Statistics recently published figures showing that 114,000 more people have become economically inactive between June and August this year. The unemployment rate has increased by a staggering 8.1%, according to the new figures.Unemployment levels have not been as bad since 1994 and young people have been hit the hardest.The shocking figures reveal that youth unemployment has hit record highs, almost touching the 1 million mark recently. One in ten young people aged 16-24 are currently out of work. Youth unemployment makes up 21.3% of the total jobless market as a staggering 991,000 young people are out of work.The employment rate was at its highest in the East and South East, and...

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Posted in: faces,highest,unemployment,years

Cost of Christmas causes concern for consumers

The rising cost of living is taking its toll on the British public and, with Christmas looming, it might not be long before the nation spirals into debt.Research from price comparison website, MoneySupermarket , found that 60% of the public is worried about Christmas debt.Over 50% of people had serious concerns about how they would cope financially over the holiday season.“For many families Christmas is always a financially tricky time. Ultimately, Christmas needn’t be a financial headache,” said Kevin Mountford, Head of Banking at MoneySupermaket.Funding the festivities could be particularly difficult for many this year as the rate of inflation is expected to increase to 5% before the end of the year. Higher gas and electricity bills are likely to tighten the purse strings further.“This...

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Posted in: causes,Christmas,concern,consumers

Fourth successive monthly fall in consumer confidence

Friday 21st October 2011 Consumer confidence in the UK has reached a point close to its all-time-low as a fourth successive monthly fall has been recorded by the Nationwide Consumer Confidence Index.Households are struggling to cope with weak economic growth, rising unemployment, and further fears about a double-dip recession; factors which have combined to place consumer confidence a mere four points above its record low back in February.The survey revealed 80 per cent of households are concerned there will be no improvement over the next six months.Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist told This is Money: “The economy has hardly grown in 2011 and pressure has continued to mount on household budgets.”Mr Gardner suggested ‘recent signs...

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Posted in: confidence,Consumer,Fourth,monthly,successive

Top tips to cut down your energy bills.

This winter it is thought that hundreds of thousands of families will struggle with their energy bills after seeing a huge hike in the cost of fuel over the course of the summer. A report by the Citizens Advice Bureau has recently suggested that this year those that are the most vulnerable will have to make a choice between either feeding themselves or keeping warm.This week marks world Energy Saving Week, an initiative that aims to get everyone thinking about their energy usage and look at what they can do to cut down and reduce their bills.Here are a few tips that we would like to share:Leaving your appliances on standby still uses electricity. If you switch them all off at the plug you can save money of your bill.Insulating your home can...

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Posted in: bills,energy

What can Payplan do differently?

I recently spoke to a lady who had previously contacted a debt management company for some advice. They explained to her that she didn?t have enough money to begin a Debt Management Plan and that her only option was bankruptcy or to come to an agreement with her creditors where she pays token payments.So after eventually plucking up the courage to call and speak to someone about her debt problems she felt very disheartened and lost hope in trying to find a viable solution. This was when I asked her to call Payplan and speak to one of our debt specialists, to which she replied ?what?s the point??The point is, each and every debt management provider works differently, so one person has said you have limited options, this doesn?t mean that you...

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Posted in: differently,Payplan

Redundancy brings a rollercoaster of emotions

I am new to Payplan and really pleased to be part of the team. It?s not just that this is a great place to work ? and it is ? it?s just that after being made redundant last year I was worried I may be out of work for some time.It led to a rollercoaster of emotions. Well-meaning friends and family told me not to worry and assured me I would soon find another job. I?m sure they believed what they were saying, but kind words don?t pay bills or put food on the table.I soon found out that when you lose a regular income the spectre of debt soon follows. It?s amazing how quickly I felt vulnerable. I can understand why so many in a similar situation don?t bother to shop around for the best solutions when it comes to coping with debt.Those adverts offering instant cash or debt solutions can seem like...

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Posted in: brings,emotions,Redundancy,rollercoaster

Diary of a Debt Advisor: R for Relationships

After years in the debt management industry I thought it was finally time to lift the lid on some of the most interesting cases of my career. Every week I will reveal an exclusive insight into the people behind the debts and how I managed to help them....This week, I have been thinking a lot about relationships – about the huge impact a bad one can have on an individual’s ability to cope with debt. I am not necessarily just referring to a relationship with a partner (though of course romantic relationships can definitely be tainted by monetary worries) but also familial relationships, with children, parents, siblings....One African lady that I came into contact with had been made physically unwell as a result of struggling with debt. Erika had a highly paid job with the NHS, earning around...

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Posted in: Advisor,Diary,Relationships

Three more debt management companies disciplined by regulator

Three debt management companies have had action taken against them by the OFT as part of the regulator’s ongoing enforcement work.David Fisher, the OFT’s Director of Consumer Credit, said: “We expect commercial debt management businesses to meet the standards that we set out in our guidance. If they do not, we will take action as we have demonstrated here.”The regulator has revoked the licence of Prime Legal and Financial Services (PLFS), which is based in London’s Mile End, after it failed to demonstrate the necessary skills, knowledge or experience to hold a consumer credit licence and advise consumers on debt management matters. According to the supervisory body, the company did not have appropriate business practices and procedures in place.The...

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Posted in: Companies,disciplined,Management,regulator,Three

Schofield Speaks: Regulation and respect

Tuesday 11th October 2011 Where would we be without fee-charging Debt Management companies? As news broke this week that the number of Debt Management companies surrendering their licences to the OFT increased to 61 I thought back to a quote I heard at the DRF Conference last week.“It’s arguable that if it wasn’t for the fee charging commercial sector then the debt charities would have collapsed under the volume of enquiries several years ago.”Back in 2009 the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) announced they were dealing with 9300 new debt problems a day. I think it’s a fair assumption to predict that this number will only have increased since 2009. I travel past my local CAB every morning on the way to work and regularly see queues of people...

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Posted in: regulation,respect,Schofield,speaks

Katie Price victim in credit card fraud

£14,000 was fraudulently taken out of glamour model Katie Price’s bank account after an impostor wearing a blond wig and sunglasses managed to convince staff at an HSBC branch that she was the star. Katie, 33, only found out about the fraud after three of her credit cards were declined during a shopping trip in Brighton.After complaining to her bank, she learnt that all her cards had been reported as lost or stolen the day before and £14,000 had been taken out of an account.The un-named woman had withdrawn £9,000 on one occasion and a further £2,500 in two other instances. According to the Daily Mirror, police believe that a criminal gang had a member dress up as Katie’s alter-ego Jordan in order to carry out the scam.Lancashire police...

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Posted in: Credit,fraud,Katie,price,victim

Payday loan borrowing’s quadruple increase

The number of individuals turning to payday loans to keep them afloat until their next pay-cheque has quadrupled over two years, according to the Citizens Advice Bureau.Payday loans are attractive to some because they are a quick way of gaining short-term credit, however the charity is concerned that is has become too easy to obtain such credit and is calling for tighter regulation.Peter Tutton, of the Citizens Advice Bureau, told the BBC: “The sort of regulatory regime isn’t working to protect people, so there’s work for the government to do.“The government needs to look at consumer credit and get really serious about making it more effective. We need better sorts of messages to firms that it’s not acceptable to treat people badly.”The Consumer Minister Ed Davey said, "In the last government...

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Posted in: borrowings,increase,payday,quadruple

Cameron changes tack on debt speech

The Prime Minister yesterday retreated from his plans to tell the public to pay off their credit card and store card bills after previews of his Conference speech were criticised.David Cameron dropped calls to pay off debt, after members of the public protested that those in the red simply cannot afford to clear their debts.Mr Cameron originally planned to say: “The only way out of a debt crisis is to deal with your debts. That means households – all of us – paying off the credit card and store card bills.After the protests, the Prime Minister changed his speech to, “The only way out of a debt crisis is to deal with your debts. That’s why households are paying down their credit card and store card bills.”According to Downing Street aides, it...

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Posted in: Cameron,Changes,speech

In Profile with Barry Mitchell of Recro Debt Management Services

We sat down with Barry Mitchell, Proprietor and Senior Consultant of Recro Debt Management Services, to find out what Recro actually stands for and what he thinks is the biggest issue in the debt industry at the moment... read moreFacebook campaign targets loan sharksWednesday 7th September 2011 Former Man Utd star sued by bankWednesday 31st August 2011Schofield Speaks: The summer of discontentWednesday 31st August 2011Celebrity Dragon paying £25k a day on debtWednesday 24th August 2011Fraudster flogs phantom luxury cars in broadsheetsWednesday 10th August 2011Send To Friend      Print      RSS Feed      News Archive If you have any queries about this news story...

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Posted in: Barry,Management,Mitchell,Profile,Recro,Services