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 tell 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 say that being in debt affects relationships within their family and 75% say that debt has had a serious effect on their health. As many as 88% say that they are kept awake at night by debt worries. That situation is made worse as the same surveys find that serious debt issues are typically ignored for as long as nine months before something happens which finally triggers action. The cause of these epiphanies can include divorce, the threat of repossession or a visit from a bailiff, job loss or redundancy, or a serious health problem.
Because a lot of people’s experience of dealing with a serious debt problem is virtually non-existent, when they do decide to go for help, many simply don’t know where to turn. Many look to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, but this government funded, volunteer-staffed, organisation is overloaded with work given the depth of the current credit crisis. Its advisers are dealing with more than 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 shall we say less than reputable companies in the market offering questionable advice with nothing but heir own commercial gain uppermost in their minds. Guardian Financial Group and it’s sister company Credit issues have been at the forefront of preaching and practicing the very highest professional standards – they are regulated by the Ministry of Justice and making use of their own highly qualified, in-house legal team to ensure success.
In most cases there are usually straightforward solutions to many serious debt problems. If the debt is on credit cards or unsecured loans dating from before 6th April 2007, it may even be possible to have the amount totally written off! Credit Issues recently challenged a client’s credit card debt of over £16,000 due to inaccuracies in the lending institution’s administration procedure. The debt had been sold to a debt recovery agency after the client fell behind with his credit card 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 of £16,029.50. In the first three months of 2009, Credit Issues has contested well over a £1 million 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 get your family life back to the way it should be. Putting unsecured debts into a debt management programme for example can free up more income and allow you start regaining control of your debts. The increasingly popular IVA route will leave you ‘debt free’ at the end of 60 months and a similar arrangement, 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 assured that the advice you are getting is correct, professional and effective. So don’t bury your head in the sand and choose to confront 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 normal family life, free from worry and stress.