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Getting out of debt

Practical articles about the different debt options, which might work for you and different ways of dealing with creditors

How much should I offer to settle my IVA early?

An Individual Voluntary Agreement (IVA) is a formal, legal contract for a set period, usually five or six years. To finish your IVA sooner and have the remainder of your debts written off, you need to talk to your IVA firm, say how much you are offering and where the money is coming from. Your creditors will need to approve this offer. How much you should offer as a Full and Final (F&F) … [Read more...]

November 10, 2023 Author: Sara Williams Tagged With: IVA

Statute barred debt – common questions

If you have an old debt, you may wonder if you still have to pay it? Can your creditors really take you to court after this long? English law says a creditor only has a limited amount of time - typically six years - to take you to court. The term for a debt that is so old that it can't be enforced in court is "statute barred". (You may have heard the phrase being time-barred, that means the … [Read more...]

November 1, 2023 Author: Sara Williams Tagged With: debt collector, old debts

IVA scammers pretending to be bailiffs or the FCA

scam email

If you get an email entitled LEGAL NOTICE OF ATTACHMENT OF EARNINGS that sounds very alarming... But this may be the start of a scam and the sender wants you to panic so you will make a bad decision. An example of a scam email Here is one such email: This is xxxxxx from CBL ( Collection Bailiffs Limited ). Hope you are doing well. I just would like to tell you that we have got a legal … [Read more...]

October 20, 2023 Author: Sara Williams Tagged With: IVA

Can I get a new mortgage fix with poor credit?

A couple of readers have asked about mortgage fixes when they have a poor credit record or simply a lot of other debt: Ms A: We are in a DMP and we were told it would make it very hard to remortgage. So we are now on Santander’s  SVR and it’s over 7%. Can we really just ask them for a new fix and they won’t say no? Mr B: I'm worried about talking to Nationwide when our current mortgage fix ends. … [Read more...]

October 1, 2023 Author: Sara Williams Tagged With: Credit ratings, DMP, Mortgages

How does a DMP or a payment arrangement affect your credit rating?

A debt management plan (DMP) is a good debt solution for many people who can manage to repay their debts if interest stops being added. If you are trying to decide whether you need one, you may want to know how bad the effect will be on your credit file, and how long it will be before your credit rating recovers. There isn't a simple answer: DMPs are used in a lot of different … [Read more...]

September 2, 2023 Author: Sara Williams Tagged With: Credit ratings, DMP

Options if you have an interest-only mortgage

When an interest-only mortgage ends, you have to repay all the amount you borrowed. You can't just carry on paying the interest. The money to repay it can come from three sources: savings or investments; by getting a new mortgage; or by selling your house. How many interest-only mortgages are there? FCA research found that at the end of 2022: There are now fewer than 1 million … [Read more...]

August 14, 2023 Author: Sara Williams Tagged With: Mortgages

Car finance – what happens in an IVA?

Cars on finance can be a big problem with an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA). Sometimes they can cause difficulty getting the IVA approved. Sometimes you face a major problem when the car finance end. With more than a million cars a year in the UK being bought on finance, this is an increasingly common situation. And one that is being made worse in 2023 by the cost of getting a … [Read more...]

August 8, 2023 Author: Sara Williams Tagged With: cars, IVA

Can you get a mortgage with debts?

People often think that a mortgage lender will look at how good your credit score is. That isn't right - sometimes you can get a mortgage with a not good credit score or you may be rejected with a great credit score. Three key factors in getting a mortgage are: your deposit the affordability calculation - this is affected by current debts that you are repaying; your credit history - … [Read more...]

August 5, 2023 Author: Sara Williams Tagged With: Mortgages

Making a claim to the Morses Scheme [old article]

UPDATE - Morses Club went into administration on 17 November 2023. This scheme has now been terminated. See Morses Club goes under – in administration – Scheme fails for details and what customers should do. Morses sent out a batch of decisions on 6 July 2023. Many people have found these confusing - see the comments below this article. At one point the email says in a grey box: "Morses … [Read more...]

July 7, 2023 Author: Sara Williams Tagged With: Administrations & Schemes

Are you still paying fees on an old Gregory Pennington DMP?

For many years Gregory Pennington (GP), part of the Financial Wellness Group (FWG), has charged its clients monthly fees for running Debt Management Plans (DMPs) But MaPS awarded Gregory Pennington a contract that began on 1 February 2023. And it can't charge fees for DMPs under this contract. StepChange, Payplan and CAP have always provided "fee-free" DMPs, where all a client's payments go … [Read more...]

June 13, 2023 Author: Sara Williams Tagged With: DMP, General news & policy

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