If you are worried about your IVA because Coronavirus has affected your household finances, this article looks at the extra flexibility to help people in IVAs. This help has been extended to April 2021; and how things may change in the next few months, with furlough and payments breaks likely to end. Your IVA firm and your creditors will not want your IVA to fail because of a temporary … [Read more...]
“On furlough, now redundant – what about my mortgage & IVA?”
A reader, Mr D, asked: I am being made redundant, no redundancy pay as I didn't work there long enough. We have managed my IVA payments when I was on furlough by taking a mortgage holiday but that is ending and now our household income will be halving. We will struggle to pay the mortgage let alone the IVA. My partner earns too much for me to get any benefits. I know I have to tell my IVA, but … [Read more...]
Now is the time to reform SMI – before mortgage breaks end
Support for mortgage interest (SMI) provides help to people on benefits with part of the cost of paying a mortgage. Most homeowners whose household finances have been affected by Coronavirus have taken mortgage payment breaks. This has avoided problems with mortgage arrears and people haven't had to think about how they could get help with their mortgage costs. But mortgage payment breaks … [Read more...]
Coronavirus – what to do if you can’t pay bills & debts
This article looks at what you can do if you think your bills and debt repayments are becoming unmanageable because of coronavirus. If your income has fallen, or someone else in your house has been affected so you are having to pay more of the bills they used to help with, there are practical steps you can take. Why your income may fall You may be affected directly by the virus if you get … [Read more...]
“What should I do when my 3 month credit card payment break ends?”
Ms D asked about her options now the three credit card payment break has ended: I’ve come to the end of my 3 month payment freeze and as the card lender has kept adding on interest I have gone over my credit limit, so the first payment due was nearly £400. I contacted them as I couldn’t afford that amount -my partner is self-employed and not receiving any income due to coronavirus. They agreed … [Read more...]
Covid-19 – credit score protection, but will it be harder to get credit?
In March 2020 Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, the three big UK credit reference agencies, agreed that having a temporary "payment holiday" with a lender because of Coronavirus problems won't harm your credit score. The FCA, who regulates lenders in the UK, then set out detailed rules about payment breaks for most kinds of debt, including mortgages, unsecured loans, credit cards, catalogues, … [Read more...]
Coronavirus – help with loans, credit cards and other debts
Lenders have to offer you help if your household finances have problems because of Coronavirus. This article looks at the help you can get for loans, credit cards, car finance, overdrafts and mortgages. They are all regulated by the FCA. It gives an overview and has links to more detailed articles. It doesn't cover government debts, utilities or rent - see Coronovirus - can't pay bills for … [Read more...]
Covid-19 – you can now get a second 3 month mortgage payment break
All mortgage lenders will provide a three-month mortgage payment holiday for borrowers whose household finances are affected by coronavirus. By May 2020, 1.8 million people had taken a mortgage payment holiday. If you have already had one and your finances are still affected, you can now ask for a further three months. Ask your lender for a payment holiday You have to ask your lender for … [Read more...]
MaPS to give £38 million more for debt advice – it’s badly needed!
The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) has announced an increase in its budget for debt support in England in 2020/21 by £38million. And an additional £5.9 million is being allocated to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This new money is in addition to the existing MaPS budget for debt advice of £64 million. It will come from a combination of government funds, reallocated MaPS budget and … [Read more...]
Coronavirus & the reform of Personal Insolvency in England
This article builds on the arguments I put forward in Coronavirus – how the debt advice sector should be planning, looking at one area that needs to be tackled urgently - personal insolvency. Coronavirus will cause a large increase in the numbers of people who should choose insolvency over the next couple of years. I am not trying to predict how many, but it is likely to be large enough to … [Read more...]