Diary of a Debt Advisor: C for Care

one older gentleman ended up needing my debt advice in order to enable him to still be able to afford his carer. Mr Smith was around 85 years old, and, whilst he still lived at home, he hired a regular carer who travelled over from the local care home every day to feed him and make sure he was coping alone. He lived in a one-room bedsit and struggled to look after himself. Unfortunately the amount Mr Smith was receiving from his pension just wasn’t enough to allow him to continue paying the care home from whom he’ d hired the carer and he began to fall behind on his payments when they fell due. The reason Mr Smith was finding it so difficult to pay his outgoings stemmed back to credit card payments from years ago. Rather than paying off all...

Read more »

Posted in: Advisor,Diary

Shapps initiative: £20m roof over our heads?

Wednesday 22nd February 2012 Homeowners facing financial difficulty may have been cheered by the recent announcement from Housing Minister Grant Shapps about the introduction of the Preventing Repossessions Fund.This new £20 million safety net to help homeowners who are struggling with mortgage arrears allows councils to offer small interest-free loans and ensure that court desks can offer on-the-day advice for those facing the prospect of repossession.The Housing Minister said: “Repossession should only ever be the last resort. No one in financial difficulty should be embarrassed to seek help if they need it. Today’s cash ensures that no matter where you are in the country the advice and the financial support is on hand to help people get...

Read more »

Posted in: heads,initiative,Shapps

In Profile: The Round Up

Throughout 2011 and into 2012 Debt Management Today has conducted a number of In Profile interviews with various figures in the debt industry in an effort to get their views on some of the biggest issues of the day. We thought we’d take this opportunity to take a look through our archive in order to determine some of the overriding issues in the sector and what people in the know really think needs to be done to continue raising the standards of debt management...Biggest issuesChanging the public perception of debt management is something that interviewees, including Rehan Ahmed, flagged as a continuing problem. He said: “The media don't necessarily help the image of insolvency practices. Most of the mainstream media will publish articles which show the industry in a bad light where the practice...

Read more »

Posted in: Profile,Round

Mortgage adviser’s £1.6m con foiled by bankruptcy

A respected mortgage adviser who was introduced to ‘cherry-picked gullible clients’ by a partner-in crime-has been given a two-year suspended prison sentence when his £1.6 million fraud was uncovered after his bankruptcy sparked an investigation into his affairs.Wealthy Gott used his mortgage advice company as a cover for the scam. He wore expensive suits and took frequent foreign holidays, boasted that he earned £170,000 a year as Managing Director of Red Brick Mortgage Services, reported the Daily Mail.His small firm provided loans for a string of friends and acquaintances between 2002 and 2007, conning the banks out of £1.6 million in all. Anthony Gott, 46, worked with partner-in-crime David Hood, 47, in a jointly run £1 million mortgage scam. Hood would cherry-pick gullible clients to...

Read more »

Posted in: advisers,Bankruptcy,foiled,mortgage

Zero-credit empowers borrowers digitally

A new era of transparencyWhere would you shop, at “the home of fresh baking”, or where “we never sell a stale cake”?  No prizes for guessing which slogan is Greggs’!  The trouble with debt help is that it is a stale cake - as trapped in stigma as debt victims themselves.  No one wants to talk about it, politicians simplify it and the media exaggerate it to get a good scoop.  This is why personal borrowing has sat at £1.5 trillion since 2008 and the likes of Mumsnet report some 70% of households as struggling.  The market for recoveryIn reality, debtors are no longer an errant minority, but in the mainstream.  Many are the “can’t pays” of a change in circumstances, apparent in the changing profile of debt clients...

Read more »

Posted in: borrowers,digitally,empowers,Zerocredit

Chris Choi’s ITN blog on “Britain’s Growing Debt Burden”

by Andrew_F_Smith on March 8th, 2012 ClearDebt’s Andrew Smith responds to comments made by ITN’s Chris Choi on “Britain’s Growing Debt Burden” and gives his thoughts on why the fee vs free debt advice debate isn’t black and white.There has been a lot of coverage, in the last day or so of a report on payday loans and debt management by a committee of MPs (the House of Commons Select Committee on Business Innovation and Skills). ITN’s Consumer Editor, Chris Choi, was one of the journalists that wrote a blog on this.Possibly unfairly, I’ve singled him out because I think the MPs’ report has already been overtaken by events and because I believe the media’s usual conclusion that free advice on debt is good advice is often not the case – and that the fee-charging debt industry is not as high...

Read more »

Posted in: Britains,Burden,Chois,Chris,Growing

Frugally Delicious – Buy the Book

by Marketing on April 26th, 2012 Frugal = something which costs little, or is inexpensive.Right now most of us are watching the pennies more closely, looking to save money where we can and live a little more frugally. With this cookbook we hope to help people do just that.But ‘frugal’ needn’t equal drudgery. Frugally Delicious is a cook book chock-full of taste bud pleasing recipes made from great ingredients which won’t break the bank.This isn’t a fancy ‘coffee-table’ cookbook. It’s a cookbook for proper cooks, for people who want their food to do the talking.It was created with the generous support of 55 fabulous food bloggers who kindly donated their recipes for inclusion within this book. With recipes for light bites and snacks, soups,...

Read more »

Posted in: Delicious,Frugally

A client’s story – The voice of experience

by Sally Hardiman on May 2nd, 2012 ‘It’s that first step which is the hardest’ our client John explains. When faced with a daunting decision or admitting you are out of your financial depth the first step is the difficult part, the rest is just a case of momentum.John had made the first difficult step and contacted Abacus our sister company when he found his situation overwhelming; we were able to provide the momentum he needed to get his life back and see an end to his debt problems.In his own words John explains how his money worries began simply enough but quickly spiralled out of his control and how, with our help, he is on track to a debt free future.I was going through a divorce at the time and working abroad in Saudi Arabia when my money difficulties first began.I had a medium to large...

Read more »

Posted in: clients,experience,Story,voice

The backlash against discount and deals websites – are you cutting back?

by Nazma Noor on March 21st, 2012 Recent reports have suggested that use of discounts and deal websites such as Groupon are on the decline. Vote in our poll and tell us if you’ve decreased your use of these sites.For some people, shopping on discount and deal websites has become a part of their everyday life. Groupon, one of the most popular discount websites boasts over 414,000 Facebook fans on their US page and over 82,000 Facebook fans on their UK page. However a report released this week by a research group in Australia reported a 34% fall in “group-buying” transactions on websites such as Groupon.Despite its success, Groupon have come under fire since they were founded in 2008 and are currently under investigation from the OFT regarding exaggerating discounts, failing to honour deals...

Read more »

Posted in: against,backlash,cutting,deals,Discount,websites

Are we a nation of mothers who equate childbirth with debt?

by Jacqueline Cohen on April 25th, 2012 This month comparison website uSwitch.com claims one in ten women are forced to cut short maternity stay with their newborn babies due to money worries. The report also confirms the belief that nearly a third of mothers end up £2,500 in debt while preparing for their new arrival.As someone who has been through this very experience, I decided to swallow my pride and share my story with The Sun to try and show people that this can happen to anyone; more often than not, it’s not about overspending or being careless with money, it’s about a change of situation which means that your income decreases and therefore the challenge of covering your monthly costs becomes a constant worry.My story started in the...

Read more »

Posted in: childbirth,equate,Mothers,nation

How do I… budget?

Whether in debt or not, we should all learn to budget. For some of us budgeting will come naturally, but for others it can be more difficult. Therefore we have put together a guide to show you how to prepare a budget:Gather all information together to calculate your income.Gather all information together to calculate your current expenditure.Split your expenditure into two categories – fixed and variable. Fixed will consist of your mortgage or rent, council tax, utility bills and insurances amongst other things. Variable will consist of shopping, fuel, public transport, mobile phones and leisure outings amongst other things.Look at your variable expenditure and see where you can make instant cut backs – change your supermarket, download apps...

Read more »

Posted in: budget

How do I… deal with my creditors?

When you are in debt and beginning to struggle with the repayments, you may find that your creditor(s) increase their communication with you. At Payplan we hear a lot of people say that they are unable to cope with the constant contact from their creditors or they don’t know how they should be dealing with them.This blog is going to look at ways in which you could deal with your creditor(s) to make the repayment process as stress free as possible.When you take out credit, whether a credit card, store card, overdraft or loan, you sign a credit agreement to say that you will maintain contractual payments towards what you borrow until it has been paid in full.Creditors are aware that unforeseen circumstances occur; such as redundancy, illness or additional expense. If something happens and you...

Read more »

Posted in: creditors

Money Saving Apps

With the growing popularity of Smart Phones and Tablet computers, we are seeing more and more ‘apps’ that are aimed at helping people save money and help with budgeting. We have looked through lots and lots of apps and put together a list of our favourites.Quidco The Quidco website offers cash back deals on a number of high street stores and products. They have now made it even easier for us by bringing out a free app for the iPhone and Android which allows you to “check in” to different shops and restaurants as you enter them. You will then be rewarded with access to offers and in-store cash backs in some of the stores.Vouchercloud Vouchercloud is a website offering extensive deals and discounts for all kinds of shops, restaurants and other...

Read more »

Posted in: money,saving

Reducing your outgoings.

In this current climate trying to reduce your outgoings is a constant uphill struggle as it seems on a weekly basis we face rising costs in gas, electricity, water, phone bills, food or fuel. However if you are savvy with your spending and really look at where your money goes you can start looking at areas that can be reduced.Here are some handy tips:Take a packed lunch to work instead of buying lunch out. This could save around £3 a day, over the course of a week that’s £15, over a month that’s £60 and over the year that’s £780!Re-evaluate your gym membership, do you need this? Do you go to the gym on a regular basis? Why not take up something that costs nothing like running? Or something that costs very little, like a workout DVD?If you...

Read more »

Posted in: outgoings,Reducing

How do I…apply for an IVA?

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement, or an IVA, is a legally binding agreement between you and your creditors. It is one of many solutions to help people who are in financial difficulty.An IVA allows you to make regular monthly payments to your creditors with the security of knowing that they are legally bound by the agreement. This means that they cannot apply interest and charges or pursue you with any further legal action, such as a County Court Judgement.An IVA generally lasts for five years, however it can be longer with one of the most common reasons depending on whether you have a property and whether you are able to release equity from it.With many people delaying the chance to get debt advice some may find themselves in a worse situation. We would always advise people to seek debt...

Read more »

Posted in: Iapply

Online Surveys – Are they worth it?

Online surveys seem to becoming more and more popular with posters on forums like Money Saving Expert and IVA.co.uk. Many posters use survey sites to earn points that then turn into vouchers.How do they work?They work by using a simple format: you register with a survey site and enter details about yourself. These details will then allow the sites database to send you relevant surveys. Once a survey is available to you, you will be asked a series of questions to answer; with the survey times varying but it will usually state how long it should take at the beginning.How do you get paid?Each survey site is different, as some give a monetary value for each completed survey, while others give a point’s score. Each site will have a threshold for when you can redeem your completed surveys into...

Read more »

Posted in: online,Surveys,Worth

How do I… declare myself Bankrupt?

For some people, Bankruptcy is the best solution to help deal with their financial problems. For those that fit the Bankruptcy criteria, the process can seem long and, sometimes, confusing.With the correct guidance the process can be a lot less stressful, so here is a brief guide to help you understand the process.The first part to the process is to locate your local County Court and contact them to request an application form. You would also need to confirm with them the court fee. To locate your county court, you can either look up under Courts in the phone book or visit http://hmctscourtfinder.justice.gov.uk/HMCTS/ to find your nearest court. You can also visit http://www.bis.gov.uk/insolvency/About-us/forms/england-and-wales to download the forms, they are forms 6.27 and 6.28Once you...

Read more »

Posted in: bankrupt,declare,myself