Posts Tagged debt

Combating Debt In Sickness

Posted on Monday, September 21st, 2009 at 10:52 am

Mounting costs from ill health is one of the most common reasons for people seeking debt advice.
As during illness people are unable to work or are reliant on social security, money deficits can exacerbate create debt issues in several ways. Stress caused by financial issues is a leading contributing factor to health issues.

The sort of advice consumers are asking for includes: Free Debt Management Plans , Protected Trust Deeds, Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA’s), bankruptcy advice, administration orders, general money management and  Bankruptcy advice, Protected Trust Deeds, Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA’s), administration orders, general money management and budgeting, Free Debt Management Schemes

Debt advisers generally spend more time with people burdened with debt from poor health because they acknowledge the particularly taxing times they are experiencing. They do not like to see clients wrestling with serious debt issues created by ill health.

The reasons for financial issues during illness are many and varied. The most common factors that lead to finance issues for those burdened by poor health are listed below:-

• The speed at which their income has dropped.
• When you are ill people tend to neglect finance issues.
• It can be increasingly difficult to sort out debt problems with clients whose health is deteriorating.
• Some clients get into financial problems because they have increased costs due to to their poor health.
• Respite care can be very expensive
• Debts can be racked up by the additional cost of transport for treatment.
• Repaying debts can drastically reduce the family’s disposable income and the reduction in profits due to poor health, makes the circumstances even worse.
• The illness may mean that carers have to be hired.
• The situation can be made all the worse if the bread winner job is physical. It makes returning to work slower.
• Similarly, problems related to mental health may force people to be off work for particularly long periods.

f you have to get a new employer even more problems develop. Although there are strict employment laws in the United Kingdom, some people with poor health often have debt problems because they’re unable work normal hours. For those with chronic term health issues, dependency on benifits will make their financial issues far more difficult to resolve. The problem is that many people suffering from health problems do not qualify for any Disability Living Allowance.

So what can be done? If you’ve already gotten behind on your payments, your creditor will usually suggest methods to pay off your arrears gradually, alongside your usual payments. And if you’re unable to meet these extra payments, you may be able to append them to your loan or postpone them for a time. It will mostly depend on your credit history. So pay as much as feasible monthly. Keep up regular payments even if you have to vary them as this shows that you are dependable then your creditors are more likely to treat you sympathetically and you could possibly reduce the arrears charges as well.

Lenders new strategy to combat repossessions

Posted on Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 9:31 am

Summary
The UK Government have put pressure on mortgage lenders to minimise the levels of repossessions due to payment defaults and high mortgage debt. This article discusses how the lenders are replying.

As they steady themselves for a rise in mortgage debt, mortgage lenders have published plans to minimise the number of households who have their homes repossessed. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said that while mortgage repossessions and arrears were expected to stay depressed, the UK’s deteriorating economic future would cause more households finding themselves in difficulties.

The The Council of Mortgage Lender’s strategy aims to make sure that homeowners who can not maintain their mortgage repayments will only lose their home after all other options have failed. Mortgage lenders are already required by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to have plans for arrears management which aim to reduce repossessions, except where there is no alternative. But there is no standard method, and repossession policies vary between suppliers.

In a brief to Alistair Darling the Chancellor, the CML’s said its members had signed up to four measures to help keep repossessions minimal.

Lenders have agreed to reassess their current arrears administration strategy’s and polish them to bring them in parallel with modern industry guidance that have been issued by the CML’s. Borrowers who are late with repayments will also be provided with council explaining their lenders’ arrears administration process, so that they can understand what to anticipate and how they should be treated.

Lenders will also adopt what is referred to as the “pre-action protocol” which lays out the various points the lender must go through prior to taking an arrears case to court inorder to ensure court action is a last resort.

Finally, banks and building societies also have to be enterprising in assisting people to plan for potentially higher mortgage repayments when their present deal terminates. The Council wants lenders to communicate with borrowers nearing the end of their discounted deal or fixed rate in good time and persuade them to get in contact with the lender if they believe they may have difficulty making the higher repayments.

The Director General at the The Council of Mortgage Lenders said: ‘We continue to work closely with Government Ministers we look forward to a clear statement of the Government’s own position on a safety net for borrowers.’ He also added that the The Council of Mortgage Lenders also felt that the Government should urgently improve the support for homeowners who suffer a short-term loss of income.

Safeguard Against Sickness Debts

Posted on Thursday, September 10th, 2009 at 2:14 pm

Mounting costs from ill health is one of the most commonplace causes of people pursuing debt advice.
As in times of chronic illness people are incapable to work or are dependant on social security, income shortfalls can exacerbate create debt issues in multiple ways. Strain caused by financial issues is in itself a major contributing factor to health problems.

The sort of help topics consumers are asking for includes: Free Debt Management Schemes , Protected Trust Deeds, Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA’s), bankruptcy advice, administration orders, general money management and budgeting advice, Protected Trust Deeds, Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA’s), administration orders, general money advice and budgeting, Free Debt Management Plans.

Debt councillors tend to spend more time with clients burdened with debt from ill health because they acknowledge the particularly strenuous times they are experiencing. They do not want to see people struggling with serious debt issues created by ill health.

The reasons for financial issues in sickness are many and varied. The most common factors that lead to finance issues for those suffering from poor health are as follows:-

• The rate at which their income has dropped.

• When you are ill people tend to neglect finances.

• It can be increasingly tricky to resolve financial problems with clients whose health is deteriorating.

• Some people get into money difficulties because they have increased expenditure connected to their poor health.

• Respite care can be costly

• Debts can be racked up by the extra cost of transport for treatment. 

• Repaying debts can drastically lower the households disposable income and the reduction in income due to sickness, makes the circumstances even worse.

• The illness can mean that carers have to be hired.

• The situation can be exacerbated if the primary earner job is physically orientated. It makes getting back to work take that bit longer.

• Similarly, problems related to mental health may force people to be off work for particularly long periods.

If you have to get a new job even more difficulties develop. Although there are strict employment laws in the UK, some people with ill health often have debt problems because they’re unable work normal hours. For those with chronic term health difficulties, dependency on benifits will make their debt far more difficult to resolve. The problem is that many people suffering from ill health do not qualify for any benifits.

So what can be done? If you’ve already gotten behind on your bills, your lender will normally suggest methods to pay off your arrears gradually, together with your normal payments. And if you’re unable to pay these extra payments, you could possibly append them to your loan or postpone them for a time. It will generally depend on your track record. So pay as much as you can each month. Make regular payments even if you have to stagger them as this shows that you are reliable then your lenders are more likely to treat you sympathetically and you could might reduce the arrears charges as well.