Archive for the ‘Debt Consolidation News’ Category
five Private Bankruptcy Filing Tips by avraham glattman
If you’ve completed all you may, however you simply aren’t in a position to pull yourself again up financially and you’re feeling that filing for bankruptcy is your only resort, listed here are some personal bankruptcy submitting suggestions which will show you how to make the process rather less stressful.
Once you file for bankruptcy protection you’re immediately protected from creditors calls and repossessions. A creditor cannot legally contact you whereas your bankruptcy has been filed and after it’s been discharged they will not have a purpose to contact you since all of your debt could have either been worn out, Chapter 7, or you’ve a reimbursement plan in place, Chapter 13.
Here are the steps you will want to take:
1. Decide whether or not or not you will be hiring an attorney. For most individuals it’s advisable since chapter legal guidelines are difficult and totally different from one state to the next. If you happen to resolve to hire an lawyer take the opportunity to satisfy with several. Read more…
Banks write-off £40m a day in personal debts
Banks and building societies were writing off almost £40m per day in family debts in the second quarter of the year, according to new figures.
A report from the Bank of England found that lenders wrote off as much as £3.5bn of debt between April and June, equivalent to £38.5million per day, the largest amount on record for a single quarter.
Credit card debts accounted for the largest proportion of that figure, with lenders writing-off £2.1bn of debt that they do not expect to see repaid. £1.2bn of the figure was attributed to overdrafts, personal loans and hire purchases whilst just £184m were written-off mortgage debts.
“In a recession, it is inevitable there will be write-offs as a result of people`s financial circumstances changing,” said a spokesman for the British Bankers` Association.
Debts called in by parents
According to research, `the bank of Mum and Dad` is now calling in its debts – as parents ask for larger amounts of money back from their children, The Telegraph reports.
The findings revealed that one in 10 grown-up children either gave or lent, on average, 8,250 to their parents last year. This figure is 1,750 higher than it was in 2008.
More than one third of parents admitted to using the money they received from their children to repay their own debts, while a similar amount used the money to cover their everyday expenses.
A spokesperson for Debt Advisers Direct commented: “We would advise anyone struggling to afford their day-to-day living costs and/or their debt repayments after the recession to seek professional debt advice.
“Borrowing money from family members may provide a temporary solution to the problem, but it is unlikely to solve it unless they start managing their finances more effectively.”
Think Tank Warns On 8% Interest Rates
A think tank has warned that interest rates could rise to as much as 8% if inflation continues to exceed the Bank of England’s 2% target.
Andrew Lilico, chief economist at the Policy Exchange, said the Bank of England may be forced to dramatically hike the base rate due to rapidly rising inflation.
Dr Lilico thinks the UK is likely to suffer from a double dip recession, followed by a boom, driven by huge monetary growth, leading to the strongest economic growth since the 1980s.
“Once the economy gets growing sustainably, there will be a huge expansion in the money supply, which will lead to inflation,” he said in a research note.
The Bank of England has pumped £200 billion into the economy through quantitative easing.
But Dr Lilico warned that this policy had quadrupled the money base, and he claimed that once the economy starts growing again, lending will expand and there will be “too much money chasing too few goods”. This
Teenagers `scared of debt`
Nearly two thirds of teenagers are `scared` of debt, according to a survey for discount website MyVoucherCodes.co.uk.
Fully 64% of 1,482 teenagers (aged 14-17) questioned said that they`re actually scared of debt. 53% said they don`t trust lenders.
21% said that they didn`t plan to take out a loan or have a credit card – ever. Of the people who didn`t want to take out a loan, 89% added that a mortgage was the only kind of debt they`d ever consider taking on.
Asked about their attitude to debt, 13% said they didn`t want to end up in the same situation as their parents.
23% were put off by the interest that`s charged on credit card debt and loans, and around 20% were worried that having access to credit would make them lose control of their spending.
And 7% said they`d decided not to go to university because of the amount of debt they`d accumulate while they were studying.
56%, however, did plan to get a credit card or loan later on.
Personal finance expert at MyVoucherCodes, Farhad Farhadi commented that the recession seems to have had an impact on the way young people think about debt. Read more…
1.2million Turn To Payday Loans
More than one million people are talking out so-called “payday” loans to help them make ends meet, to the concern of debt support groups.
The number of people taking out short-term loans has quadrupled since 1996, with more than £1.2bn being borrowed last year.
Payday loans are usually small loans, typically no more than £300-500, that are targeted at those people who need a quick cash loan for a short-term period, usually to cover exceptional expenses close to pay day.
But the loans have been criticised by some groups, with many short-term loans being charged at interest rates in excess of 2,000% APR, making them an extremely expensive form of borrowing as many short-term loans become “rolled over” when the borrower cannot repay on time.
”Payday loans are a valid form of credit and it’s much better for people to take one out rather than go to a loan shark,” said Sarah Brooks, head of financial services at Consumer Focus.
“But we do think there needs to be a limit on the number of loans people take out and how many loans they are able to roll over.”
However, the pay day loan industry says when managed properly, many people find this type of lending easy to understand and less risky.
”There is a reluctance among many consumers to take on long term loans from traditional lenders, because they feel their financial situation could change,” said John Lamidy from the Consumer Finance Association.
“But they find that the short term credit offered by the pay day loans industry does meet their needs.
”We are working with Consumer Focus to find out how serious the problems they identify are and whether they affect lots of people or just a few,” he added.
The UK may be about to see a rise in food price inflation that could put extra pressure on already-stretched household finances, The Independent reports.
Kantar Worldpanel, a market research firm, has forecast a rise from 2% to 4% in grocery-price inflation by the end of the year.
The firm attributes this to growing wholesale prices of things like wheat and barley around the world.
The forecast comes at the same time as similar reports suggesting petrol and clothing prices could rise in the near future, while house prices have started to fall once again.
An expert at Debt Advisers Direct said: “There are a number of things on the horizon that could put pressure on people`s finances, and this will be especially worrying for people who are already struggling with their finances.
“As such, now is the time for people to do what they can to get their finances in order, including taking care of any debts that are likely to be a burden as other costs rise.”
Bankruptcy “an option” for Duchess of York
The Duchess of York is reportedly fighting off the threat of bankruptcy after amassing more than £2million in debts.
Sarah Ferguson is believed to owe around £2m to creditors and, although she claims to have paid off all personal debts, a spokesperson for the Duchess said that bankruptcy “was an option”. It is thought that her debts may relate to her business interests, both in the UK and US.
Sarah Ferguson issued the statement following reports in the Sunday Telegraph claiming that she owed around £5m in both personal and business debt. The paper claimed that the matter had been discussed by David Cameron and the Queen, who had become “deeply concerned” about the state of the Duchess’s finances.
However her spokesman dismissed the figures as “significantly” exaggerated. “There is a number of options open to the Duchess of which bankruptcy is one,” he said. “But it would be premature to say she is going into bankruptcy as the situation is being managed.”
Her debts mounted after the collapse of her American business venture and a lucrative contract with Weight Watchers ended. Fergus
According to a report by actuaries LCP, an entire generation of workers may be left with little money to retire on because companies haven`t reduced their pension debts, lv.com reports.
17.5bn was paid into employee pension pots by large firms during 2009 – which helped slash the top 100 firms` overall pension debt by around 50%, to 51bn.
However, as the Accounting for Pensions report points out, the increase in bosses` contributions could put the brakes on any recovery from the recession and might `discourage investors`.
Bob Scott, LCP partner, said that the growing number of cheaper pension schemes being taken on by companies – which have closed down final salary pension schemes – don`t take into account the fact that many workers will be left with very little to retire on.
A spokesperson for Debt Advisers Direct commented: “We would advise anyone who thinks they won`t have enough money to retire on to seek professional advice as soon as possible.”