Uk debt numbers, Tax credit renewals date, Credit reforms, Major changes in bankruptcy procedure & Moneywise most trusted awards
UK debt numbers
These figures just illustrate how bad it is for consumers with on average 7,423 individuals going to the Citizens Advice Bureau, CAB, every working day and these are new cases!
More on these debt stats can be found here
Tax credit renewals date
It’s simple, you have until 31st July 2009 to get your claim in, I have detailed the government’s very helpful website direct.gov.uk no excuses if you fail to claim what is being offered. Just remind your friends and family if you feel they may be able to qualify.
Credit reforms
For too long credit card companies have been ripping people off and using every underhand trick in the book to squeeze more cash out of their customers. So these new rules are good news for Britain’s hard pressed public. The thing to remember is that if you do get into financial trouble, the credit card companies are the very last people you should be paying off. They may be the most aggressive at chasing their debts, but paying your mortgage or rent is much more important.
With every plus there is a minus, these new regulations could mean consumers facing higher bills. The credit market could shrink which means many consumers may find it even more difficult getting credit; this could then lead to more individuals having to approach other forms of borrowing such as loan sharks or door step lending.
Click here for more on this article
Major changes in bankruptcy procedure
The stigma surrounding bankruptcy is mainly due to the need to attend at court and the advertisement of the bankruptcy order.
The bottom line seems to be that changes to the current system for petitioning for bankruptcy will come about sooner or later with debtors being able to choose either to electronically submit their petitions via an online service or to submit their petitions via post, therefore removing the requirement of attendance at court and the access and costs issues associated with travel to court. However the advertisement of the bankruptcy is likely to continue.
It also seems clear that whilst these changes may go some way to creating a more effective process and help in removing some of the stigma attached to going bankrupt there doesn’t seem to be much hope of the process being made any easier by reducing the current level of fee required.
I have asked the PM to take decisive action in helping consumers that cannot afford the bankruptcy fee because as from 6th April 2009 the Government increased the cost to self petition for bankruptcy to £510 per person, so it’s over £1,000 for a couple to go bankrupt!
Click here to view letters to and from Debtwizard, the Prime Minister and the Insolvency Service
Click here for more information on the current procedure with useful questions and answers
Click here for more on the proposed changes in petitioning for bankruptcy
Moneywise most trusted awards
This has got to be the largest UK customer survey with around 10,000 responses and congratulations to Nationwide for taking top spot as the ‘most trusted brand’ for consumers.
Full list of the winners can be found here
I was a guest at the awards ceremony and am confident this will become a regular event. It was an impressive evening, run both professionally and smoothly, it was a great night, notwithstanding that I did not get home until 4.30 in the morning, Friday started quite slowly.
