Personal Debt can Have a Harming Effect on Families
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 come close to telling the full story or identifying the real casualties of debt.
All the latest research shows that debt dramatically affects family life. On average, 78% of people surveyed about debt worries say that being in debt affects relationships within their family and 75% say that being in debt has had a serious effect on their health. As many as 88% say that debt worries are keeping them awake at night. That situation is made worse as the same surveys find that serious debt issues are often 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 most people’s experience of dealing with a serious debt problem is virtually non-existent, when they do decide to go for help, most simply don’t know where to turn. Many look to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, but this government funded, volunteer-staffed, organisation is overloaded given the depth of the current credit crisis. Its advisers are faced with more than 7,000 new debt problems each day. So, who can you 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 their own commercial gain uppermost in their minds. Guardian Financial Group and it’s sister company Credit issues have been in the vanguard 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 relatively straightforward solutions to many serious debt problems. If the debt that’s causing concern is on credit cards or unsecured loans dating from before 6th April 2007, it may even be possible to have the amount completely written off! Credit Issues recently challenged a client’s credit card balance of over £16,000 due to some inaccuracies in the administration procedure of the lending institution. The debt had been sold off 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 debt and was able to clear the entire balance of £16,029.50. In the first three months of 2009, Credit Issues has challenged well over a £1 million of consumer debt and is experiencing unparalleled demand for its full on-site specialist legal team.
Other solutions can 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 return family life back to normal. Putting unsecured debts into a debt management programme for example can free up income and let 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 solution, called a Protected Trust Deed, is available if you live in Scotland.
You just need to work out 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 worries sooner rather than later. With a comprehensive plan in place and the possibility that there could be light at the end of the tunnel you’ll be able to get back to normal family life, free from worry and stress.
