A reader asked this in a comment, but it needs a whole article to tell the story properly: "We are currently 4.5 years into an IVA, we have got to raise £15,000 through remortgage. We have been told from the start to not worry as there is little to no chance of us being offered it, however we have been offered a £15,000 loan over 15 years and paying back £45,000. I can’t believe this is an … [Read more...]
Swift Sterling & Pounds Till Payday – refunds and complaints
Before December 2015 Swift Sterling, Pounds Till Payday and My Money Partner were trading names of Northway Financial Corporation Limited, a Maltese company. In 2016 these brand names were bought by a UK company called MMP which went into administration in December 2019. When were your loans? This affects who to complain to If your loans were before December 2015 Then you need to complain to … [Read more...]
Must I tell Official Receiver what I spent money on
A reader asked if he has to give the Official Receiver details of his expenditure. If the expenditure is before he went bankrupt, the answer is "Yes, definitely - but this probably won't be in a huge amount of detail". But if he is worried about whether he has to report to the Official Receiver about his spending while he is bankrupt, the answer is "No, not normally". Expenditure before you … [Read more...]
One of the early payday loan affordability complaints in 2015
This is the story of one of the very early payday loan affordability complaints, made in September 2015. Since then there have been literally tens of thousands of affordability complaints made. All the UK payday lenders have been receiving them. four years later, in October 2019, the cost of paying refunds on these affordability complaints had forced the "Big Three" lenders tp go out of … [Read more...]
Telling my partner about my payday loans
A reader left a couple of long comments on the main Payday Loans - How to ask for a refund page. Many people may be interested in what she wrote, so I've put them together into this article. Here is TL's story: After having seen the Debt Camel article I gained the confidence to look into the case I have for a refund. Going through four years of bank statements I realised that I had … [Read more...]
Unknown debts on your credit file
A reader asked: I have recently signed up to Experian and Equifax. Experian's is what I was expecting to see but Equifax's has debts that I have no recollection of. I have taken this up with Equifax and all but two of the companies have responded by saying that the debt stands, please get in touch to discuss. Equifax say that they can’t remove anything from my report unless these companies give … [Read more...]
Can I add a debt to my IVA?
An IVA is binding on all the creditors for the debts included in the IVA - but what happens if a debt is accidentally forgotten at the time, or only later emerges? If this has happened to you, you are going to need to talk to your IVA firm about your situation because IVAs can be very "individual", but this article looks at what commonly can be done. First I'll look at the usual case where a … [Read more...]
Pay debts with pension? Avoid this tax trap!
If you are over 55 and thinking of taking money out of a personal pension so you can clear some debts, one of the things you need to be especially careful about is "pensions recycling". If you accidentally get caught up in these tax rules, HMRC can impose an additional tax charge of up to 70% of your tax-free cash - ouch! Use a pension to pay off debt - then rebuild pension There many other good … [Read more...]
Bankruptcy, IVA, DRO & your credit rating
If your debts are so bad that you are going to have to choose one of the three types of insolvency, you know this will wreck your credit rating, but how long will this continue? This article answers this and other you may have about the effect of insolvency on your credit record such as Will you ever be able to get credit again? What about a mortgage? Is bankruptcy worse than an IVA or a DRO for … [Read more...]
Frugal Finances or Increasing Income?
If you have a pile of debt you need to clear, is it better to increase your income or cut your expenses? Obviously either can be a big help, which is why they are both included in Debt Camel's Toolkit for Improving Your Finances. But I asked two of my favourite personal finance bloggers in Britain to write about which approach feels more important to them. Jane Clark is the blogger … [Read more...]
Using bankruptcy to collect council tax arrears
More councils are using bankruptcy and charging orders as a method for collecting council tax arrears according to research by accountancy firm Moore Stephens. In 2013/14, 32% of councils used bankruptcy for some council tax debts - a sharp increase from 20% in 2009/10. It is estimated that councils petitioned to make 1,100 people bankrupt in 2013/14 because of council tax debts. But is … [Read more...]
Creditfix’s proposed PJG IVA variation (2014)
In October 2014, some people who had IVAs with PJG Recovery had their cases transferred to Creditfix. The people who have been transferred were told that nothing else would change in their IVA. Two months on in December 2014 however, they are being asked to agree to a variation in the terms of their IVA, including increasing the fees that Creditfix charge. Some people have expressed unhappiness … [Read more...]
FAQs about how your DMP may affect your partner
Debt problems come in all shapes and sizes. So do personal relationships. And debt management plans (DMPs) are very flexible arrangements. The combination of all of these means there isn't a simple answer to the question about how your DMP will affect your partner, but here I look at the most common questions people have. Will my partner's income be taken into account? In debt management, you … [Read more...]
Is your pension safe in a DRO?
You may be worried about whether your pension will be safe if you are already in, or have finished, a Debt Relief order (DRO), or if you are thinking about applying for a DRO. The 2015 pension changes mean that many people over 55 can now withdraw some or all of their pension. so what happens if you take money out? Can you lose your pension? Can you get a DRO if you have a good pension? I … [Read more...]
Helping your son or daughter with debt or a house deposit
It's natural to want to help your children if they are in difficulty. But if your son or daughter has debts, can you afford to help them? And is paying their debts or giving them a loan the best thing to do, or are there better alternatives? I've written before about whether someone should help their parents with a debt problem - but helping your children has different implications, both … [Read more...]