How to Keep Debt Out of Your life

It’s common knowledge that economies around the world are suffering. It’s no different in the UK and it’s time to turn things around before they get out of hand. People may not be able to turn the economy around in a day or change the way the global finances are dealt with but it is well within one’s reach to look at home first and find a solution to your own personal financial situation. And that starts with tackling personal debt. Here are ten tips on how to get your personal debt under control and conquer the beast that’s been attacking your pocket.

1. Pay off your highest interest debt first. If you have a car loan that has a higher total of money owed to it that your credit cards, throw more of your monthly income at that first. Chances are it is a multi-year loan with a higher interest rate than your credit cards. And if you can pay that off sooner than is scheduled by paying more money towards the principal, you have a good chance of saving a lot of money that would have otherwise gone to paying interest on that loan.
2. Keep your credit card debt at a consistent level. This will require you to use your credit card less than you may be accustomed to, but it is a sound way to handle not building up more debt while eliminating debt in another area of your finances.
3. Use cash instead of credit cards. Budget in a certain amount of cash to be spent per week, and try not to withdraw more cash than that per week. By breaking it down into a weekly budget and only allowing yourself a minimal amount, you’re more likely to stick to your cash budget and not overspend.
4. Cut back on the vices. Whether its cigarettes or coffee, cut down and see how much you’ll save.
5. Put aside your spare change. You’d be surprised at the end of the year at how much that spare change will add up to.
6. Eliminate some of the expenses you already have. It might be a luxury that you enjoy but if you can do without it that money can be reallocated towards something more beneficial.
7. Don’t buy something unless you need it. It’s amazing how much money we spend on frivolous materials that are either hardly used or that we don’t even use at all.
8. Watch your energy bills. Using less electricity and gas can add up to a large amount of money saved over the course of the year.
9. Set up a weekly budget, a monthly budget and an annual budget. Be certain to check it often and see if you are staying on course. This is a way to hold yourself accountable and is likely to help you stick to your financial plan.
10. Be smart, control your impulses and make wise financial choices.

They will pay off.

Financial Agreement Claims – Help for Families During the Credit Crunch

Are you feeling the pinch during the credit crunch? Help may be at hand in the form of a new finance claim. This new and fast growing financial claims allows customers to audit any finance agreement taken out since April 2007 to assess whether it has issues which could make it unenforceable. All agreement must follow the rules laid down in the 1974 Consumer Credit Act. Many agreements fail to do this. This means you may be able to wipe out your credit card and loan balances. It doesn’t matter if you are in arrears or following a debt management plan or IVA. You can still claim.

The types of agreements which are potentially unenforceable are;-

• credit card agreements
• store card agreements
• car finance agreements
• higher purchase agreements
• unsecured loans
• consolidation loans

You need to find a reputable financial claims management company to act on your behalf. How do you find one from the ever increasing number? And what do you look for?

Up front fees

This is a sore point for some people who wonder why ‘upfront fees’ are charged at all. The vast majority of financial claims managers charge fees in order to carry out a full and detailed audit. These range from around £195 to £495. Basically this is to look at your agreement in detail and assess it for breaches. There is a great deal of work involved. The process takes up to a year at the moment. The rational behind this is that the companies need some form of liquidity as every business does. The fees are refunded if your agreement is found not to be unenforceable. Some companies take a small administration fee.

BUT NOW YOU CAN CLAIM FREE! YES NO FEES AT ALL! Call 0845 475 5435

Auditing – Don’t be mislead

Your agreement must be obtained from your lender before you have a definitive answer as to whether you have an unenforceable contract or not and this will cost you £10 usually. Some companies offer this free and some request £1.00 which is the minimum fee stipulated under the data protection act. It is only after a full audit that you will know if you have a claim or not. Some companies mislead clients by saying they offer a free audit when in reality they ask the same preliminary telephone questions that all companies ask to establish if it is worth considering a full audit or not. For example was the agreement taken out prior to April 2007? What is the balance? Different companies claim for different balance amounts. Who is the lender? Some have more of a reputation for writing unenforceable agreements than others. This is not a full audit. As far as I know there is no company out there yet which offers a solicitors audit – free.

Successful Claims

The majority of companies have been in business for over a year now. Some will be ‘introducers’ for other main companies. They should be able to tell you how many successful claims they have achieved and the length of time it took to achieve the results.

Back end fees

Some companies charge fees at the completion stage of your claim. Be sure to ask if this is the case for you. Some charge 30% while some charge a fix amount of £1000. Most companies don’t charge any fees.

Other fee structures

I have come across some peculiar fee structure whereby some companies offer to handle your claim for you paying them six months credit card repayments. Others offer to take over your debt for you and leave you debt free in six weeks. I would not take these seriously. There are plenty of straightforward ways to clear your cards for a reasonable fee, no misleading promises of a free audit and certainly no back end fees.

Time scales

The process is a long one relying on the co-operation of your lender which of course is not likely to be forthcoming. The legal to and fro-ing will take up to a year. There is no way to avoid this so claims of speedy conclusions, at the moment, are false. The lenders use all sorts of tactics to delay matter for example refusing to send the copy of the agreement to your claims manager but only dealing with you and completely ignoring the requests made by your solicitor.

Be patient, persist and it will pay off in the end.

Mortgages and secured loans can also audit.

Your claims management company and ‘audit’ any mortgage offer, current or redeemed going back 12 years.

Your solicitors will look extensively at all the different aspects of the agreement

• Mortgage Indemnity Guarantees
• Unfair early redemption penalties
• Sub Prime mortgage agreements
• Payment Protection Insurance Policies
• Secret commissions
• Miscalculated APR’s
• Unfair charges
• Unfair Terms and Conditions
• Any form of ‘unjust enrichment’ by the lender
• Overpayments

Where your agreement is deemed as ‘unfair’ in any way you may be entitled to compensation. Levels of compensation will be assessed by the level of unfair treatment you may have received. In all cases the solicitors will seek to recover monies that may have been over paid or charges that have been unfairly levied whilst also seeking damages from the mortgage provider for wrong doing.

Bankruptcy? No!

Because of the manner in which the banks and lenders solicitors drew up the finance agreements we signed, I.e ignoring the law as laid down by the Consumer Credit Act 1974, it is possible to take your lenders to court and apply to wipe out the entire balance. The fact is that the banks and lenders did not adhere to the very strict and complex terms which were required to be written into the contract by the 1974 Act.

This law was designed to protect us, the consumer from the whims of the lenders with regard to interest rates rises etc. It has been found that 80% of credit finance agreements are not valid contracts because they don’t comply with the very strict terms and conditions of the act and this actually makes them unenforceable contracts which is why you can apply for a wipe out of the debt.

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