• For most of us, buying a home means applying for a mortgage – and success or failure could depend on your financial history.
  

  

Your Credit Report

• Your credit report is your personal financial history. It includes a wide range of information on your credit behaviour, from your credit cards and loans to your repayment record, previous mortgages and details of overdrafts.

The report also confirms whether or not your name is on the electoral roll at your current address and how many times your credit report has been searched.

Credit reference agencies – Experian is the UK’s largest – hold this data on more than 40 million people and 24 million households. So it’s likely that they have information about you.

Click here to view your Experian credit report online for free and see the information mortgage lenders see

Making a decision

When deciding whether or not to give you a mortgage, the mortgage lenders look first at the details on your application form. If you don’t fit their criteria for being offered a loan, they are unlikely to search your credit report. Typical deal-breakers include being too young, insufficient current earnings or too short a self-employment history.

• They may then look at any previous relationship that you may have had with them and how you conducted it.

The next step is to search your credit report. A lender may use this information to help create your credit score, by comparing you to past customers with similar characteristics. The result is a numerical assessment of how good a credit risk you appear to be. Normally, the higher your rating, the more likely the company is to lend you the money you want.

• Getting a copy of your report before you apply for a mortgage will allow you to check that the information it contains is accurate and up-to-date.

For example, if you had a court judgment against you but have paid the debt, you should make sure the record reflects this. Equally, if you paid off the debt within one month, the judgment can be removed from your report. Or perhaps the fact that you registered to vote has been missed and your name has not been confirmed on the electoral roll. In this case, you should let Experian know. They will investigate and amend their records accordingly.

If you believe that some of the information on your credit report needs further explanation, Experian will help you to add a brief statement or Notice of Correction to your report. This will be seen and may be taken into account by any lender using the information to which it relates.

Click here to view your Experian credit report online for free and see the information mortgage lenders see

If at first you don’t succeed

Lenders turn down roughly one-third of all mortgage applicants. If you are one of the unlucky ones, you should be given an explanation. If not, ask for some guidance.

• For example, you may not be offering enough deposit or appear to be carrying too much debt from other sources. It may be that your credit report rang alarm bells, perhaps because you had missed some payments on a previous loan.

You can always appeal against the decision and ask the lender to look at your application again. This may give you chance to provide further information. For example, your poor credit record may stem from a one-off event that no longer applies, such as a serious illness or enforced redundancy.

• Finally, there’s nothing to prevent you applying for a mortgage from another company. Different lenders may take a different view. But be careful how many applications for credit you make in the short term.

If you allow a significant number of companies to search your credit report, this could damage your credit rating as it could be interpreted to mean that you are desperate for money or possibly that someone is trying to commit fraud. If you know that you have been refused credit because of your credit report, it is always sensible to check it before making any further applications.

Click here to view your Experian credit report online for free and see the information mortgage lenders see

No nasty surprises

To help avoid any nasty surprises, you can keep tabs on your credit report by signing up for a free, 30-day trial of CreditExpert, an online credit monitoring service from Experian. It means that you can check your credit report at any time – invaluable when you are applying for a mortgage, when you often need to move fast. You will also be warned by a weekly email or text message when a significant change, such as a new search, is registered.

• Joining CreditExpert also allows you to order a copy of your Experian Credit Score at the special offer price of £5.95. It only uses the information in your credit report but it will give you a good idea of how lenders will rate you.

And if you need to improve your credit report, the CreditExpert site contains plenty of advice, hints and tips that will help you to turn your dream home into reality.

Click here to view your Experian credit report online for free and see the information mortgage lenders see

• It is expected that 1 in 3 UK residents will enter the cycle of personal debt this year just to fund Christmas purchases and gifts.
• A recent YouGov study shows that nearly 31% of us will borrow from friends or family and also financial institutions in the form of loans from banks including other credit facilities.

Nearly 60% of this third will be spending more than they usually do on credit cards and nearly 40% will end up with an overdrawn personal bank account due to gift purchasing and social spending.

• It is believed that approximately 65% of 24-34 year olds are struggling most with financial arrears, this does not include mortgages.

When looking towards Christmas spending it would be wise to formulate a budget of what to spend and by what date, this allows you to plan for other normal monthly expenditures that you will face be it December or not.  People throw caution to the wind and worry about the overspending in the early months of the following New Year.  This is where the misery sets in for those who may have lending costs increase on them.

Changes in circumstance are the most common events that create the final need for an individual to seek help with personal debt problems.

Not all people will need the help as long as the income they have remains.  It is when the income itself is affected that the individual is left with no means to pay living costs let alone regular monthly finance repayments.

The costs of Christmas borrowing remains at a record high, please do not struggle alone should you find yourself in a position that you are unable to get out of or understand, pick up the phone and take confidential debt advice regarding your situation and you may be relieved afterwards to know that there is a route out of the difficulty you may find yourself in.

• For a confidential chat with a personal debt consultant from Lewis Alexander Financial Management, please contact 0800 018 6868, lines are open 24 hours and your call is FREE from most UK land lines. Mobile call costs may vary, please check with your service provider before calling.
• Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all at Lewis Alexander.

• Do you need debt management help or advice in the UK?
• With the right debt management advice and well thought out debt management plan, you too can get back to being clear of personal debt!

Getting sound debt advice is crucial when trying to figure out the best way to clear debt properly. Sadly, good reliable advice is not always easy to find these days!

At Lewis Alexander, we don’t expect you to pay for the phone call to us because we know that if you are in need of debt help, you may not have money to spare for phone calls.

• Are you struggling with credit card repayments?

• Are you struggling to meet store card commitments?

• Have you missed one or more mortgage repayment?

• Do you have County Court Judgements pending?

If so, all of the above are sure signs that debt is starting to take control of you rather than you controlling your debts. The good news, however, is that your personal debts are often not so bad that you are beyond help…few are!

With careful debt management we could help you get back on the road of being clear of debt for the long term.  We can consider various debt management solutions for you to take back the control you want over these debts.

• We can offer a debt management plan to help you manage your debts
• We can offer debt consolidation help or loans to reduce monthly repayments
• We can guide and advise you through the process of an IVA
• We can help you if you are facing court and legal proceedings
• We can even advise you about bankruptcy alternatives

Facing debt alone can be very scary

Whether you are a single parent, a divorcee, a widower or simply single, debt can make you feel very isolated and the stress of it all could actually start to impact on your health. The last thing you need if you are living on one income is to become ill as this will directly affect your finances and will probably make the situation worse.

• Coping with debt as a single parent
• Living with debt after divorce
• Trying to cope with debt after a death
• Debt advice in retirement

alternatively,

• read how debt can effect your job
• read how debt can affect your dependants

Make the decision to get help right now!

Call us free today from a land line using 0800 018 6868 and one of our trained consultants will discuss your situation and they will give you the help and advice you may need in confidence.

• In debt after retirement?
• Coping with or trying to consolidate debts as a pensioner or retired widower?

The amount of money owed by retired people in the Britain today is huge, almost £10 billion by some estimates and it is growing by the day. Debt help UK for the retired has never been more important as daily living expenses become ever more expensive and pensions don’t keep up.

Many more retired people have outstanding balances on their mortgages without the income to support them than was the case in the past. We all hope and expect that once we retire we should be enjoying life after a lifetime of work, rather than worrying about how we are going to pay the bills or even heat our homes in the winter.

Many pensioners in debt and widowers are struggling by on meagre incomes yet still have credit cards and store cards which they use to help out each month. These debts just keep growing for some and they never get out of the cycle of debt that follows.

Because retired people have a pretty fixed income level, they do not have the surplus money needed to clear debt when unexpected expenses occur. Many people get disappointed and virtually give up believing that no one cares.

There are things that can be done to help a little bit at a time. Small savings can add up to important savings that can make enough difference to solve the problem.

1. Changing British utility supplier for example can save hundreds of pounds a year.
2. Choosing a British credit card with a lower interest rate can save hundreds of pounds.
3. Ensure you are claiming every British benefit you are entitled to. Many British people don’t even know what they are entitled to.

Often older people live in homes that are worth substantial amounts while they live in relative poverty. In really difficult situations it may be advisable to release some of the equity in your home or even consider moving into a smaller property to free up some cash to ease your financial predicament.

If you would like some reliable British debt advice about what might work best for you in your retirement, get in touch and have an informal chat to one of our trained advisors.

• Call our personal debt helpline on 0800 018 6868 in confidence.

Do you have the Right to Buy your Council Property?

There are said to be 2 million council owned homes in the UK still available for purchase through the Right to Buy scheme.

The Prime Minister is hoping to increase the discounts currently available to council tenants who wish to take advantage of buying the home they live in and that they currently rent from the council.

• The Labour Government recently reduced the discounts available for the Right to Buy scheme which was set up by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Parliament.

The Right to Buy scheme offers council tenants the opportunity (if they have lived in a council home for 12 months to 5 years or more) to purchase the house or dwelling at a discounted rate.  If the house was £50000 in value and the tenant was offered 50%  discount then the purchase price would be approximately £25000 with possible legal costs associated.  You do not have to be a mathematician to work out that you would have instantly made a profit based on current value of the home related to the discount you received.

The Right to Buy Scheme is good if you have a secure income and have been a council tenant for some time, that time being enough to justify a good discount based on the current market value.  You should always check the current market value of your council house or home before entering into the Right to Buy Scheme.

Mortgage brokers and banks can help finance the money for you to buy your council house or dwelling but normal mortgage rules will still apply and if you cannot show affordability to sustain your repayments you may not get a mortgage approved.  You need to check this with a qualified mortgage broker.

• For more detailed information call us on 0800 018 6868 and speak with Lewis Alexander today about our home buyer service or for more information on the Right to Buy Scheme you can visit the governments website by copying the link below and pasting it into your browser address bar.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/HomeAndCommunity/BuyingAndSellingYourHome/HomeBuyingSchemes/DG_4001398

What should I do if I can’t afford to go Bankrupt in the UK?

This is a common problem for a great number of people in the UK who realise that personal bankruptcy is the best solution for them to move ahead financially.

When people have taken enough advice regarding their financial situation, it can be very common for them to be faced with the problem of not being able to afford the personal bankruptcy proceedings that have been suggested as a possible solution to clear their personal debts.

Loans for Bankruptcy

Lewis Alexander is NOT aware of any companies that actually lend money to people who need to go Bankrupt.  Adverts offering people loans for Bankruptcy are often misleading, these companies are praying on the vulnerable consumer who is often looking for something that does not exist, the offer sounds too good to be true.

Think about this for a moment, why would you lend money to someone who cannot afford to repay their existing commitments or outstanding credit accounts, the person requesting the bankruptcy loan is obviously at the end of the borrowing road due to defaulting on previous lending agreements or having been subjected to county court judgements or CCJ’s. These defaults and CCJ’s are not always due to the individual being ignorant towards the repayment of their credit accounts, most of the time they are due to genuine changes in circumstance that have led to a reduced income or loss of income should the change in circumstance be redundancy.  The risk that the individual applying for a Bankruptcy loan presents is massive, why would anyone lend money to a person that cannot repay what they currently owe?

• The only solutions Lewis Alexander recommends to clients who need to find a loan to cover the initial costs to go Bankrupt in the UK are as follows,

Family Assistance – Are you fortunate enough to have a friend, close family member or relative that can lend you the money.  This can be a very good way to borrow money to proceed with a voluntary petition for bankruptcy.  This loan can be repaid at a rate that you will have agreed you can afford and the pressure of repayment can be somewhat eased, this is due mainly to the person lending you the money being in a position to afford to await repayment and also that person would usually accept that you are struggling financially, hence your need to go Bankrupt.

Disposable Income Management – Your disposable income is what you have left when you deduct your monthly living costs from your monthly income.  Sometimes you will find that you have a negative disposable income and in these cases, people should concentrate on increasing income and reducing living costs.  The disposable income you have each month may have been split amongst your current creditors or credit card accounts or personal loans.  This money may not be enough to pay the minimum payments each month, however, if you were to stop paying the minimum payments for approximately 3 months, would that give you enough money in a lump sum to proceed with and pay the Bankruptcy fee? This is something that you should consider and advise your creditors of should you feel that you can save the money in a short enough period of time. Your creditors will understand that this is your only option if you are unable to obtain any family assistance.

When considering personal Bankruptcy in the UK, you will find that there are alternatives to Bankruptcy and if you would like to discuss your options in greater detail, please contact an advisor at Lewis Alexander today in confidence by calling free using 0800 018 6868. Calls from most landlines are free, mobile call charges may vary.

Information on bankruptcy in the UK is available online and a petition for voluntary Bankruptcy can be obtained from most local county courts.

• To speak with a Lewis Alexander financial management advisor about your alternative solutions to bankruptcy, please call 0800 018 6868 in confidence.

• With changing times, come changing practices and the world of money lending is no different.
• Here, the specific practice of placing an Interim Charging Order on a home is becoming increasingly common.

In order to answer whether charging orders are a necessary evil or a little over the top, we first need to explore exactly what a charging order is, when a charging order is applied for and what interim charging orders actually mean for the person impacted by the order.

• So what are charging orders?

Well, put simply an interim charging order comes about when a money lender / creditor has a customer that has defaulted on their debt and in order to ensure that they (the creditor) gets repaid, they apply to the court for a charging order against the customer’s / debtors home, meaning that when and if the home is sold, any spare equity (after the mortgage on the property is repaid in full) is used to pay off the money claimed on the interim charging order.

In fact, charging orders are a way for lenders to protect themselves against customers failing to honour defaulted accounts, instead of simply selling the debt off to debt collection agencies at much reduced rates.  For example, large lenders will often sell debt.  Meaning that if you had a 10p in the £pound sell off, if a customer owed £1000, the lender would receive £100 from the debt collection agency that would now effectively own the debt.

This obviously results in a large loss and more recently has been accompanied by considerable negative publicity, owing to the sometimes ‘law stretching’ techniques that debt collection agencies, creditors and their respective solicitors employ.

• So, the switch to looking to secure a charging order is seen to be both loss-limiting and more ‘customer friendly’.
• Whether this is in fact true is a matter for great debate!

Charging orders should only be applied for when the customer has in effect stopped making repayments, has not contacted the lender to let them know of any change in circumstance and so has become an ‘absentee debtor’ i.e. they are not contactable.  At this point, it is acceptable for a lender to apply to the court to secure a charge over a debtors’ property. If you are not a home owner, a creditor cannot apply to have a charging order placed against a home you may be renting off of another person or authority.

However, in practice there are increasing numbers of cases up and down the country that are seeing charging orders applied for when customers have just started to experience difficulties with making their repayments.  In some cases, customers have made reasonable offers to continue with repayments which are rejected by the lender, who continue with applications for charging orders.

A charging order can only be applied for once a court order or CCJ is in place, one comes after the other and it is the pro active approach to forcing CCJ’s or county court judgements against defaulted clients who are home owners that is a massive concern. If a debtor has NOT failed to contact their lender and has in fact explained their change in circumstance and offered an affordable and reasonable repayment plan, it would not be thought of as treating the customer fairly to push a CCJ through a court to enable them later to apply an interim charging order!

In most cases this can be successfully defended against in court by making a clear case that this is unfair.  Indeed, one of the coalition promises back in May 2010 was that they would seek to prevent unscrupulous lenders from placing charging orders for small outstanding balances.  By making a clear case for why selling your home would cause difficulties for you and would further place your family finances in peril, the original court order/CCJ or county court judgement should not be approved by the court.

• If however, this all seems too much, here at Lewis Alexander we are able to offer a helping hand.
• Call us today on 0800 018 6868 and we can start to work with you to agree a repayment strategy, which may help stave off a creditor placing an interim charging order on your home.

• No one means or plans to be in personal debt!
• It’s just one of those things that kind of creeps up on us most certainly after a change in personal circumstance.

By the time you’ve got that new car on the drive, the top of the range kitchen and the flash summer holiday, it’s no surprise that the UK’s average wage of £22k a year simply isn’t enough!

According to latest figures, the average amount of personal debt each person in the UK owes is approximately £15,000. This means that in many cases £15k would be seen as a walk in the park as debt levels of around £30k-£50k are not uncommon.

At the heart of the issue is the fact that it had become generally accepted that it was possible and indeed accepted to ‘live beyond your means’. The fact remains that even slipping into debt for a short period of time can soon spiral out of control with monthly payments creeping well in excess of monthly take home pay!

• Once you’ve reached this point the focus switches to managing monthly payments rather than reducing the underlying personal debt.

Let’s take Mike and Claire. A young couple with two children a £150k mortgage and combined household income of £35k.  Mike and Claire typify what Nick Clegg refers to as ‘Alarm Clock Britain’.  They take home £2000 a month but with mortgage, household bills and food shopping alone taking £1500 away, it’s not long before clothes for the kids, Pizza Friday and Bob the dog’s pet food account takes up the rest!

So they put the summer holiday on a credit card, spent a bit on the house, bought a new car and before they knew it had racked up £20k in personal unsecured debt.

Easily done, but the net effect is an endless cycle of earning just to make the monthly re-payments.  The spare £500 a month soon becomes insufficient to cover the minimum payments on that £20k and poor old Bob is going a bit hungry!

The easiest and simplest way to reduce your debt is to spend less. This sounds obvious but is easier said than done. Unless you can suddenly find a lump sum to pay debts off, the only way you’re going to decrease the balance is by paying off more than you spend or by marginally increasing your income.

In Mike and Claire’s case reducing their spending is going to be pretty hard as there really isn’t a lot spare but maybe Free view TV instead of popular subscriber options such as Sky or Virgin and other cable TV, shopping around for better utility rates might help?

To increase income they could eBay some of that junk in the loft, see if some overtime is available or maybe try and earn some extra through a small part time job.

• Alongside these approaches it is also useful to shop around to see if there are lower interest deals, or 0% interest offers that they can benefit from.
• Credit card companies are fighting for our business, and if you find the deal that is right for you then even 6 months without interest can make a big difference in helping you turn your finances round.
• It may help to think of this as a part-time job.

As Director of Family Finances you should always be on the lookout for special offers, new deals and trying to coordinate them so you’re always best placed to reduce your family’s debt or increase savings.

By regularly comparing all your credit cards’ interest rates and transferring balances away from the cards with the higher rates can be a great option.  Second, think about simply calling the credit card company who has the higher rate. As credit card companies are under pressure to retain customers you may find that you can get a better deal simply by asking for one, particularly if you can quote a competitor’s deal when you call!

Think of it like the “lowest price guarantee” that most stores offer.  Setting up an automatic payment through your bank is another way of reducing your credit card debt more effectively.

• Maybe repaying debt instead of buying more shoes is the answer after all?

If none of these techniques are doing the job and you are fed up of being in debt then it may be time to get in touch with Lewis Alexander Financial Management. One of our personal debt specialists may be able to help you reduce your personal debt by understanding your individual circumstances.

• Call us FREE today from a land line using 0800 018 6868 and you may be able to start your journey to clear debt that is holding you back.

• Do you and your partner argue about finances or bills in the home?
• Would your home or personal life benefit from an organised financial life?

It could be argued that deciding how to spend one’s income in the modern world is tough enough.  A variety of technologies and gadgets, sporting pursuits, ‘keeping up with the Jones’ or good old fashioned hobbies, all increasingly compete for our disposable income / money.  But when you add your other half in to the mix, decisions and divisions on how to spend the combined income can be a recipe for disaster!

• According to recent research, the male of the species are less concerned about saving money either for emergencies or just a rainy day and prefer to spend what is available, or risk greater returns with riskier investments.

Women on the other hand prefer to use spare cash as a security blanket to insulate any unforeseen circumstances.  It is this trend that means women gravitate toward safer and more traditional savings plans and rather than risk their hard earned cash in a range of lavish purchases or riskier investments.

Then we add into this mixture the ‘ego’ factor of men traditionally adopting the role of breadwinner.  Whilst less important since the turn of the century, many men still feel more comfortable in the role of ‘provider’ for the family.  As a result, any monetary or debt problems are more likely to be hidden from their family by way of protecting them against harm.

This view is supported by a recent study conducted by ITV show ‘Loose Women’ which concluded that most household arguments about money and debt were caused by the husband or boyfriend’s perceived lack of caution. As men and women have very different views on money, these different needs, wants and views can cause disagreements, where the couples were previously happy.

Whilst different views can cause arguments, the real ignition of rows about money tend to stem from the failure to address and deal with financial problems.  Kim Stephenson, an expert on the subject of debt-related depression, psychologist and creator of money website ‘Taming the Pound’, has conducted a considerable research proving that debt and money troubles act as a major trigger of depression.

• “Debt or money worries are the biggest reason for couples to consult [couples therapy]. Debt or money worries usually rank third or higher in any ranking of reasons for people seeking treatment for depression or anxiety,”

Kim Stephenson’s comments are also reflected in figures obtained by the BBC, which reveal prescriptions for anti-depressants have risen by more than 40 per cent over the last four years.  Doctors and charities have also said they are being contacted more and more by people struggling with money worries and personal debt problems.

• “Given that millions of days are lost each year to illness, depression is a major illness and money worries are a major cause of general distress, which may contribute to depression.”

In summary, the worst thing to do about money problems or financial problems is to bury your head in the sand.  Talking to your partner should be the starting point in sorting these issues and worries out and after that if you want to discuss your personal circumstances further why not get in touch with our personal debt specialists.

• Our free phone helpline is free to call from UK land lines.
• One call to 0800 018 6868 could be the best call you make to find a solution to clear debts!

• “It was all going swimmingly.

My main job as the school secretary was bringing in about £1000 a month.  The pub shift on a Friday night gave me a further £150 a month and the tax credits contributed that final few hundred quid extra that was making the difference between being able to get around Tesco & funding the kids lunch monies versus being permanently squeezed between spending on food, household essentials, and utilities.

Now, with my tax credit recalculated and for some reason reduced, its forced me to apply for a better paid job / income, which I am frightened is going to take me away from spending as much time with the kids!  The world these days just seems to be one giant bill, and I can’t find any way to reduce mine, without impacting the kids and the time spent with them!

I had already started to feel the pinch as every time I went round the supermarket, the same food seemed to cost more!  So, I made sacrifices; the food budget was stretched, treats like chocolate and fizzy pop became ‘persona non grata’ as far as the shopping list was concerned! Big name brands were quickly ditched for the ‘Value’ range!  Cue a child revolt, as the value beans didn’t go down too well, but I found that with thought and careful planning I could keep their lunch boxes fun and healthy even on the tightest of reduced income or budgets.

Then there is the small matter of the ever increasing cost of paying the gas and electric bills!  First our summer holiday at mum’s caravan was cut out, but now I am struggling to even pay for the school trips to the Science Museum! It’s starting to make a massive difference to our lives!

Well, I could not deny the £25 for the Science museum, so I borrowed it from one of those new internet lending sites.  What a mistake that was! As I now need to find money that I simply don’t have from next week’s budget otherwise I won’t make the payment and that telephone number interest rate is going to bite back at me!  It just feels like I am being sucked into a cycle of debt.”

• Sound familiar?

Across the UK, thousands of families are feeling the pinch following the latest round of decisions on tax credits.  Despite increasing from £18bn in 2003 to £30bn in 2010, this latest decisions have really hit the pockets of some of those up against it financially.  To some this has meant they have lost a small amount of secondary income that some basic re-budgeting can sort out.  However some families depend on those extra monies to pay for life’s essentials, such as to clear debts.

As we heard in the story above, the price of food and utilities has rocketed in the past 2-3 years since the financial crash or credit crunch.  Utility bills alone have risen to £560million in the last year according to u-switch.   Some 24.9 million households have been affected. When we couple this with the soaring price of petrol and the effect this has on food prices then the pressure is really on for those families already on a reduced income or budget.

In the post credit crunch lending markets, it is no longer easy to borrow that little bit extra to tide you over.  That with the static figures that are being returned on UK Salary Price Rises and for some, the only means of borrowing left is the new ‘quick cash’ lender.  These loans typically range between a week and 30 days, with hefty arrangement fees (in comparison to loan amounts) and a real sting in the tail, if the borrower misses a payment once the loan is repayable.

• If these issues ring a bell in your home and you feel like you are swimming against the tide financially, then maybe we can help.
• Our trained specialists are vastly experienced in dealing with a range of personal debt circumstances and people suffering from a reduced income, you can call us in confidence 24 hours, 7 days a week, on 0800 018 6868.
• No matter how complex or tough you think your debt problem is, get in touch to see if we can start making a change to your financial life today!

Are you looking for help and advice that enables you to put and end to your personal debt problems?

All secured loan companies require you to secure your new secured loan against your home. If you fail to pay them or default on your agreements with secured loan companies you can lose your home. You MUST keep up repayments on loans and other debts secured against your home or your home could be at risk of repossession.

REMEMBER, YOU CAN START TO END YOUR DEBT TODAY!

An IVA may not be the best route to take. Even though companies offer quick fast solutions, you must be careful not to rush into advice that is best for the advisor or company offering it, NOT yourself!  An IVA can stop a court order and will prevent a petition for bankruptcy against you. After 60 months (5 years) an IVA usually ends, the remainder of your unpaid debt is usually written off by your creditors, restrictions do apply and you would be expected to release any available equity from your home in the final years of the IVA to increase the total contribution back to your creditors. A Protected Trust Deed is an IVA in Scotland.

Bankruptcy information and advice to end debt – this is the final way to end your debt. If bankrupt, your debt will have been cleared by a court. If you have filed for bankruptcy, you have a new start but your credit rating will show a record of bankruptcy. Again, restrictions apply so be aware to make an informed decision about how to end your debt.

• Our advisors are trained to offer instant help with debt problems.
• A debt problem is rarely unique.

• Apply online or call 0800 018 6868 now, your call is FREE from land line!

• Debt management help and advice service for the UK consumer suffering with personal debt problems.
• The UK consumer has generated more personal debt than in any any other European country in recent years and it is set to continue.
• If you feel you could benefit from personal debt management advice and other debt help, now is the time to get in touch.

Are you one of the growing number of consumers in the UK who thinks they need some kind of debt help or do you need guidance in how to manage your finances in general and personal debt in particular?

If so, you are certainly not alone. Modern life seems to be conducive to consumers finances being more and more difficult to control effectively manage.

For a lot of consumers struggling with their finances and trying to clear debts, it’s the constant juggling that wears them down. Trying to make sure every bill gets paid on time whilst still being able to afford clothes and feed themselves and their families is not always an easy task.

• Are you always broke almost as soon as you’ve been paid each month?
• Does your income fall short of the total you must pay on bills every month?
• Do you feel like everyone is chasing you for money?

These are very good indicators of a need for professional debt management help and advice.  We can give exactly that! Our trained credit advisors are ready to help you. You should remember that often money problems are not always as bad as you may think when you are stuck right in the middle of it all. Our advisors will assess your situation and make constructive recommendations and offer the personal debt help you may need.

After we have made recommendations based on what you tell us you can decide on a plan of action to clear your debts. Our personal debt management plan does assist many consumers to clear their debt. Whilst debt management is not the only way we can help, it does form the basis of most of the personal debt solutions we offer consumers as help to clear debt problems.

Because we deal with consumer debt problems every day, we can offer the benefit of our experience to the particular consumer may need it. There are things that are incidental to having debts that are difficult to cope with if you don’t know how to deal with them.

• For further consumer debt help and debt advice, call our debt helpline, it is FREE from a land line using 0800 018 6868. (mobile charges may vary)

Information about how to find ways to clear personal debts through debt help and advice?

• Are you unable to meet your credit card or loan repayments?
• Are you ignoring your mail and telephone calls?

Find debt help and advice that you may need to clear your personal debt online. There are a number of ways to clear your debts which we have provided links below to explain in greater detail.

• Debt Management Plans
• IVA
• Debt Consolidation Loans
• Bankruptcy

• Contact a debt advisor today by calling a recognised company using a free phone number!
• Ask people you can trust for advice, you may be surprised who is struggling!

Help is available as we state above to find personal debt solutions that can assist you to clear your debts. A personal debt problem is often not unique, at Lewis Alexander we can offer you help with debt problems and the debt support you may need today.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the IVA or Individual Voluntary Arrangement is a very useful debt management tool which helps many people through difficult personal debt problems. An IVA, however, does not apply in Scotland. In Scotland there is the Protected Trust Deed which does essentially the same job although it does have some differences. The main difference between a ‘Trust Deed’ and an ‘IVA’ is the length of time one stays in force. An IVA usually lasts for 5 years whilst a Trust Deed usually lasts for just 3 years. Most of the other aspects of the Trust Deed are the same as an IVA.

• Interest and Charges are usually stopped with an IVA and Trust Deed.
• You only make one monthly repayment with a Trust Deed and IVA.
• Creditors letters and telephone calls usually stop with an IVA and Protected Trust Deed.
• Court proceedings and bankruptcy can be prevented with an IVA or Trust Deed.
• Once you finish the term of the agreement you will usually be deemed clear of debt.

An IVA or Trust Deed is a legally binding agreement and there may be consequences if you fail to adhere to terms set out in the agreement. If a Trust Deed is either not suitable or is not possible, then in Scotland you may apply for the Scottish equivalent of Bankruptcy known as Sequestration or enter into a Debt Management Plan if suitable.

Find debt advice to help you get out of a debt problem

Finding reliable debt advice is not the easiest thing to do sometimes because you trawl a pile of websites and then you still need to talk to someone to see if that company is going to be able to help.

If you have personal debts and are trying to find help or advice about how to deal with them, we can help. We have helped many people to re-organise or clear debts completely.  These people all chose us because they got reliable and straight forward debt advice in the first instance from us.

• Are you feeling overwhelmed by credit card bills?
• Do your catalogue bills just seem to get bigger?
• Are your store cards a burden?

These are common thoughts for people starting to struggle with their debts. It can then lead on to bills not being paid, then the creditors start chasing for payment and interest and charges start to accumulate on each account not being paid. This description is over simplified perhaps but it happens every day in the UK.

• We can help you find personal debt solutions available to assist you in getting back on track.

If you have debt problems you will know that life events are often the cause or the catalyst. Many people go through something in their life like an illness or a divorce perhaps, then suddenly find themselves sliding into debt. If you fit any of those types of groups, we could find tailored debt help to suit you.

Debts can be sorted out!  The longer you take to face your debts, the longer they take to sort out. Act today, you could be one day closer to being clear of debt.  The Internet, television and press are full of adverts and articles about how to find debt advice as personal debt has become an enormous problem in the UK.

If you have found yourself in a position recently where you’ve felt that money is the only thing you seem to think about and about how on earth you are going to pay those bills. Well, take five minutes out of your day, give us a call and then see if we can give you a debt management solution to get you through your debt problems for the long term.

Further down the line of personal debt trouble, there are things that may start to be a threat or may even take place that indicate how serious your situation has become. Please do not fall into the age old trap of ignoring your debt problems, they will not go away by burying your head in the sand.

• There is NO SHAME in getting yourself into DEBT
• Don’t be the person who ignores it and makes the problem worse making it harder to get out of.

There are lots of things that can be discussed and implemented confidentially with you before you get anywhere close to having to go through any of the above outcomes. Your situation is likely to be one that we have come across before which means we won’t be shocked. There is personal debt help available and you will not be judged.

• To find out how or if we can help you start to clear your debts, call free from a land line today using 0800 018 6868.

• Are your personal debts keeping you up at night?
• Have you gone passed the stage of being able to manage your debt?
• Do you worry about your personal finances 24 hours a day?

24hr debt advice and help is available online throughout the UK.

Getting personal debt help is one thing, but getting the right help when you need it is something completely different. Our lines are open 24 hours a day to call and subsequently enquire about different debt solutions, so if you need debt advice we will be there. Our advice is available during normal office hours but our lines are open and operators are available to answer your call live 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Once people decide to get help they are often stressed with personal debt and sometimes upset about their predicament, having someone listen with a sympathetic ear is exactly what they are looking for. People are usually embarrassed about getting themselves into the debt in the first place so we do not judge at all.

Talking to our professional debt advisors will allow you the benefit of our extensive expertise. We may have a debt solution you haven’t even thought of and will give you a full appraisal of your situation offering several possible options to explore to get out of debt at the end of it, such as a debt management plan or an IVA.

It is common to find that some individuals debts are not as bad as they thought they were and that they just needed to get some proper advice from a 24 hour personal debt service and then learn how to better manage debt in the future. This approach often saves people in a lot of money in the long term regarding their total debt repaid.

What kind of debts cause people the most problems?

Household bills are not normally the cause of personal debt because people pay them as a matter of course anyway and tend to be used to paying for them. The bills that more often than not cause the trouble are things like;

• credit card debts
• store card debts
• unsecured loans
• catalogue debts
• other unsecured borrowings

Because these debts often have high interest rates, the debt becomes bigger when only minimum repayments are being met resulting in the debt taking much longer to repay.

• We specialise in helping vulnerable people 24 hours a day

Some groups of people are more vulnerable to personal debt than others. These groups of people are often living on low incomes and are usually part of single income families or living alone. They may also be limited to what they can do to earn a living. We have clients from all the following groups although there are others.

• 24 hour debt help for single parents in debt
• 24 hour debt advice if recently divorced
• 24 hour debt help for people made redundant
• 24 hour debt advice for people disabled in debt
• 24 hour debt help and advice for retired people with personal debt

A 24 hour debt helpline service for all UK residents!

By talking with a trained debt councillor ( not always available 24 hours) you will be able to understand relatively quickly what options are actually available to you when trying to clear debts in the UK.  The simple bit is actually the hardest, picking up the phone and dialling a debt service that wishes not to charge you for the call but offer you a free from a landline debt helpline.  UK Loan information should also be free of cost online!

• Financial peace of mind is easy to obtain if you take the good advice!
• Not ALL personal debt problems are easy to solve, do NOT be tricked!

Debt advice is available 24 hours everywhere it seems. Getting the right debt advice is very important if you want the best chance of getting out of debt quickly. Debt help is not purely about just being told what you need, sign a piece of paper to tie you into yet another contract and then reap the rewards of poor debt management plans. To really get to the bottom of an individuals personal debt situation takes care, attention and tact because people often feel embarrassed and vulnerable when it comes to talking about debt on our 24 hour debt helpline.

It is a possibility to clear debts for good through effective debt management and building a personal debt help plan that will address your specific situation. Once that has been established we can recommend what personal debt management solutions we think would suit you best meaning you will be better placed to make an informed choice about your financial future.

There are other ideas we may have that could involve less formal propositions but these tend to only be applicable when the debt problem is not that severe. The larger the debt problem, the more formal the personal debt solution tends to be.  You will have an idea of how serious things have become by how much stress you feel under to pay bills each month. Obviously, if things are so bad that you are not paying your mortgage or arrears each month, you could be about to lose your home so something has to be done quickly.  Other lesser bills can be dealt with equally efficiently and this will keep creditors away from your door and off the phone.

• Some of the more formal options, such as the IVA or Individual Voluntary Arrangement, actually guarantee the end of creditors writing, calling or visiting you to try and get cash from you.

You may be struggling 24 hours a day to get credit because of a rocky patch in your past. Find out what can be done to repair your credit rating by examining your credit reference files and ensuring everything is correct.  Find information about how to repair your credit rating.

Our debt advisors won’t just try to convince you to take out this, that or the other miracle debt cure like other companies, they will want a proper discussion to carefully work out what would be the most beneficial debt management solution for you as an individual.

• Debt help in the UK is readily available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• Allow our experienced debt advisors help you solve your debt problems.

Debt advice should not cost you anything but your time!

Most debt companies will charge you for dealing with your debts before they actually do any work and you should take extra care when selecting the debt service you wish to use. Some of the debt help organisations do not actually deal with your creditors for you and they just sell your enquiry to other debt management or IVA services. This means your financial details are passed around the industry until some individual manages to sell you the best advice for themselves or the debt company they work for.

Try speaking with us at Lewis Alexander.  They are well educated regarding the current personal debt situation in the UK  and are very helpful from the point of taking your initial enquiry to clearing your last penny of debt, it is all taken care of in house and you will NOT be passed about from company to company!

Obviously anyone can find themselves in debt, even the rich can get into problems! Don’t wait, get 24 hour UK Debt Help and Advice today! We offer help with debt to people from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

• For 24 hour debt help and advice call our free from a landline debt helpline using 0800 018 6868, calls are usually free from a land line but call costs may vary from a mobile, please check with your service provider before calling.

• Do you live in England and need some sort of debt help or advice to clear personal debts?
• Are you struggling to clarify what type of debt solution would suit you best?
• Would you benefit from a confidential conversation with a trained advisor?

Here at Lewis Alexander, we make no secrets of the fact that we do charge for our ongoing debt management services but the initial advice we offer is free. Find debt help in Birmingham, Manchester, London, Bristol, Leeds, Glasgow or Edinburgh online.  A trained advisor can help you if you call our free phone helpline using 0800 018 6868!

Find information about the debt help you may need to clear debts. It is no different in Birmingham or Manchester than to any other area or residential location in England, the following are the ways that most people explore to clear their debts in the UK.

• Debt Management
• IVA
• Trust Deed in Scotland
• Debt Consolidation Loan
• Debt Relief Order
• Bankruptcy
• Do NOT call high rate phone numbers to  get advice on debt in the UK!

The difference in Glasgow, Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland than to any other place in the UK is that the IVA is actually known as a Trust Deed with slight varying factors.

• Debt help and advice around Scotland

We help people with personal debt living in areas around Scotland such as Paisley, Hamilton, Cumbernauld, Perth, Sterling, Scone, Tayside, Greenock, Irvine, Ayr, Livingston, Kilmarnock, East Kilbride, Larkhall, Troon, Kirkintilloch, Falkirk, Grangemouth, Dundee, Buckhaven, Edinburgh, St Andrews, Montrose, Aberdeen, Arbroath, Stonehaven, Banchory, Westhill, Inverness, Halkirk, Wick, Ullapool, Portree, Tarbert, Bowmore, Banff, Peterhead, Thurso, Huntly, Rosyth, Whitburn, Johnstone, Erskine, Clydebank, Bonhill, Kilbirnie, Saltcoats, Largs, Helensburgh, Aviemore, Isle Of Skye, Fort Augustus, Giffnock, Motherwell, Wishaw, Renfrew, Strathaven, Bishopbriggs, Stewarton, Dumbarton and other surrounding towns and cities around Glasgow and Scotland can all call Lewis Alexander Financial Management free from a land line!

• Debt help and advice around the Midlands

We also help people in personal debt living around Birmingham in areas such as Oldbury, West Bromwich, Dudley, Smethwick, LadyWood, Perry Barr, Wolverhampton, Erdington, Kingstanding, Walsall, Sutton Coldfield, Wednesbury, Halesowen, Digbeth, Aston, Hockley, Balsall Heath, Kings Norton and other surrounding areas of Birmingham!

• Debt help and advice around Manchester

Lewis Alexander is a well recognised national debt help services based in Manchester UK, offering services to people living in and around the Manchester area including Trafford Park, Bolton, Wythenshawe, Drolysden, Ashton, Wigan, Warrington, Ancoats, Swinton, Pendlebury, Salford, Altrincham, Stretford, Sale, Prestwich, Longsight, Whalley Range, Stalybridge, Stockport, Eccles, Irlam, Failsworth, Denton, Hyde, Duckinfield, Cheadle, Partington, Farmworth,  Crumpsall, Cheetham Hill, Oldham, Chadderton, Middleton, Shaw, Worsley, Fallowfield, Urmston, Reddish, Withington, Kearsley, Heaton Park, Moston, Timperley, Hale, Bury,  Blackley, Rochdale, Middleton and other areas around the North West!

• Debt help and advice around London

We also help UK residents struggling with debt living in and around London in places such as Slough, High Wycombe, Berkshire, Reading, Newbury, Luton, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Elstree, Fulham, Epsom, Dartford, Brentford, Watford, Gillingham, Staines, Cheshunt, Sunbury, Bracknell, South Ockendon, Borehamwood, Camberley, Woking, Leatherdhead, New Addington, Swanley, Chatham, Loughton, Basildon, Potters Bar, Hackney, Wembley, Harrow, Lambeth, Deptford, Bethnal Green, Stepney, Willesden, Highbury and other surrounding towns and cities around London!

• Debt help and advice around Yorkshire

Help is available from Lewis Alexander Financial Management for people residing in Yorkshire locations such as Morley, Pudsey, Farsley, Rodley, Kirkstall, Holbeck, Meanwood, Headingley, Horsforth, Moortown, Roundhay, Seacroft, Hunslet, Middleton, Thorpe, Garforth, Swillington, Cross Green, Churwell, West Park, Bramley, Armley, Beeston, Wakefield, Chapel Allerton, Weetwood, Coockridge, Eccup, Shadwell and other surrounding places in and around the Leeds and West Yorkshire areas!

• So if you need national debt help or advice in the UK, call Lewis Alexander today in confidence using 0800 018 6868

You can consolidate personal debts without another loan if you have previously been refused credit!

• Does your present situation ever give you the impression that your personal debts have become so unmanageable that you feel as though you are drowning?
• Are you only making minimum payments on credit cards?
• Do all these payments together use up all your available cash each month?
• Do your monthly outgoings outweigh your monthly income?

If you answered YES to any of these questions then perhaps personal debt consolidation is something that could help you make your life easier.

Personal debt consolidation help is available throughout the UK, therefore if you are being charged for personal debt consolidation advice on expensive phone lines stop and think for a moment!

• Are these companies helping you?

At Lewis Alexander we could be able to help you pay off your debts through one affordable monthly repayment and will also attempt to help you consolidate personal debts through an IVA or debt management plan that can assist in clearing your store cards, credit cards, cash or payday loans and other personal unsecured debts such as overdrafts.

Once we talk to you, we can discuss your options, give you personal advice and recommend a solution to help with debt which we both agree will be in your best interests. With our personal debt consolidation advice you could be able to stop yourself sinking further and further into debt trouble.

• At Lewis Alexander we help people get out of debt, we can do it without having to take out more loans and we can even try if you have been refused loans or credit!
• First and foremost, we will deal with you in a confidential manner.

We want you to be honest about your debts without feeling awkward. We want this to be the fresh start and the beginning of a healthy financial future for you and your family. We will not expect you to fill in any loan applications and there will be no credit checks if using our debt management service.

• If you want to improve your financial situation and sort out or clear personal debt and improve your financial life for the long term, call our debt helpline free from a land line today using 0800 018 6868.
• Find debt consolidation help online about how to consolidate all your unsecured debts into ONE affordable monthly repayment!
• Do not struggle after a change in circumstance with different debts each month, get the help available to consolidate and clear your debts!
• Debt consolidation can offer debt relief quicker than a lot of other methods.
• A debt management plan could also help you to consolidate your debts.

START TO CONSOLIDATE OR CLEAR YOUR PERSONAL DEBT PROBLEMS TODAY

When you look at what you pay out each month on personal loans, credit cards, store cards and any other kind of credit or hire purchase agreement, you will be very aware how different interest rates can vary on all these different types of credit agreements.

When you work out what you have to pay on each of these separate bills each month, you will probably be surprised how much of your payment for each is actually towards paying interest charges. You will be aware that some of your debts hardly ever seem to get any smaller.

Debt consolidation help can be costly, so don’t use premium rate phone lines for advice because they are not helping you straight from the start. Think about it. If they are charging you premium rates for advice, what will they charge you for actually doing the work?

When we set up a Lewis Alexander  debt management plan for our clients, we not only give personal advice, we try to organise your finances so you can manage. Our initial advice is FREE but our ongoing services are chargeable!

When you are looking for advice about any aspect of and an IVA or debt management plan, getting the wrong advice can be very expensive. Not only will we give you debt consolidation advice but we will give you advice about the aspects of debt management we believe suit you.

Unsecured personal debt will create stress and pressure in your daily life and it must be dealt with as soon as you realise you are encountering problems. If you leave a debt problem to mount up it will only become greater and the possibility of an advisor being able to assist you is far less.

• At Lewis Alexander we have a proven track record of helping people clear debts from the point of their first contact with our debt helpline to the last penny being paid off.
• Most people are not aware of the help and assistance available online and the debt consolidation and management information out there is quite amazing.

For personal debt consolidation advice in confidence, call FREE from a land line using 0800 018 6868 today!

• Have you been advised to or considered clearing your personal debt with an IVA?
• An IVA could be the solution you have been looking for to help you become clear of debt.
• It has a fixed term of repayment, so you know exactly when it will end, however, conditions do apply!

Could an IVA be what you need to clear your debt?

When an individuals personal debts have become such a problem that they feel they can no longer manage the monthly repayments, there is a debt settlement solution called an Individual Voluntary Arrangement or IVA which can give people in debt the help to clear debt that they require.

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement or IVA is a formal procedure set up by a licensed professional, where an arrangement is made between you and all of your creditors to make reduced payments towards the total amount of your debt, in an effort to pay off part of what you owe then normally after five years of making these payments your debts are classed as settled.

• PLEASE REMEMBER AN IVA IS A LEGALLY BINDING AGREEMENT!
• An IVA usually lasts for 5 years or 60 months, creditor contact usually stops and interest and charges are usually frozen.
• You may be required to release equity from any home you may own towards the end of an IVA in order to increase the total contribution your creditors would receive.

After it has been agreed that an IVA is the best option for you, you will be asked some questions about your current financial situation to try and work out an amount that you will be able to repay each month for the term of the IVA.

Once this figure has been agreed by you, an application will then be made to the court for an ‘Interim Order’ and once  this is in place no creditors can instigate legal proceedings against you. There will then be a meeting of all your creditors which you would be wise to attend. Once the majority of the creditors agree that an IVA should be put in place, that’s it.

• Your financial situation will be reviewed during the course  of your IVA!

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement or IVA should not be confused with other informal debt management procedures as it is legally binding and you are tied into to it for five years normally.

If you are not sure that an Individual Voluntary Arrangement or IVA is the answer for you to clear your debts you contact a trained consultant for further IVA help or advice to help you decide if an Individual Voluntary Arrangement or IVA is for you.

Trust Deed in Scotland

• In Scotland there is no such thing as an Individual Voluntary Arrangement or IVA.
• In Scotland it is known as a Protected Trust Deed and does effectively the same job.
• With a Trust Deed you can;

1. Stop and prevent interest and charges
2. Make one simple monthly payment
3. Put a halt to creditors calls and letters
4. Stop court proceedings or Bankruptcy

If you think your personal debt situation warrants considering an IVA or Trust Deed, call us to get detailed IVA or Trust Deed facts and figures based on your current situation and obtain further information about debt help in general.

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement or IVA is not the solution for everyone and it should be carefully considered before proceeding. Your credit rating will be affected due to the formal nature of the IVA.

• You can obtain further information about an IVA if you call us free on from a land line using 0800 018 6868 and we will gladly discuss your situation and give you the very best help with debt problems and IVA advice we can in the strictest of confidence.

• Personal debt can have a habit of seeming a lot worse than it actually is when you are the one in debt.
• Learn how to manage debt properly and take control of the problem once and for all!

Need help to manage and control personal debts?

Every day in the UK, more people seek personal debt help due to finding themselves struggling to manage debt for one reason or another. There are many reasons why people get stuck in the debt trap, not all of which are the individuals fault.

• Does it feel like you are working for nothing?
• Do your monthly debt payments or outgoings add up to more than your income each month?
• Does it feel as though you are short of money as soon as you have been paid?

Debts can seem to be out of control but often they are not as out of control as people may think. Often people just  need proper management and debt help after careful analysis and discussion. Frequently it can be one debt that is causing all of the problems and this can then impact your ability to repay your other personal unsecured or secured debts.

What happens with Debt Management?

At Lewis Alexander, professional debt management doesn’t just mean managing your debts, we believe it should also mean reducing your debts at the same time.

We will endeavour to freeze any future interest and charges (there are no guarantees that this can be done) whilst working with your creditors to ensure the debts are paid back more efficiently.

Beware of some of the debt services available as it is a fact that some of the debt services are not operating above board. This means that the debt management company could be working in their own interests and not yours to clear your debt.

What if my debts are more serious?

There are more ways than one to deal with debt and the more serious the problem, the more formal the solution. In Scotland there is the trust deed which is effectively the IVA or individual voluntary arrangement as used in the rest of the UK.

It is a formal agreement between you and your creditors, which once agreed, is legally binding for all parties. Agreed payments are then made towards paying off your debts over a specific term (usually 60 months except in Scotland which is usually 36 months), after which you are officially clear of debt. Restrictions do apply.

The benefits of this solution is that all direct contact between you and your creditors ceases!  No more letters or phone calls demanding payments from your creditors and all further interest and charges are stopped.

It can also prevent bankruptcy or other court proceedings from happening.

NOTE: Whilst an IVA is in place, you cannot take on any further debt and you may find that you have difficulty getting credit until your credit rating has chance to start to repair once the IVA is over.  An IVA is recorded on your personal credit file.

If you feel that any of our debt management solutions could be what you need to manage your debt problems, then call us free today from a land line using 0800 018 6868 and let a Lewis Alexander advisor help you start to get out of debt.

• Our lines are open 24hrs a day 7 days a week, call today using 0800 018 6868

• Get the help and advice you need to start to clear your personal debt!
• Confidential UK advice at your convenience!

What options are available to clear my debts?

When deciding which way is the most economical to clear your personal debt, it is imperative that you investigate the period of time it will take based on the solutions available to you.

• The following are the 4 main options that will assist you as a starting point to guide you through the personal debt help market place online.

Clear my debts through Bankruptcy – A process in which a court decides if you are eligible to have your debts written off or cleared in full based on your lack of ability to pay priority household bills and repay your personal unsecured debts within a reasonable period of time.

Clear my debts with an IVA or Individual Voluntary Arrangement – This is a 60 month or 5 year legal binding agreement between you and your creditors.  After the 60 months or 5 years is over, the remainder of debt unpaid is written off and cleared in full. If you own a home an IVA could involve you  releasing some of the equity from your property at the end or nearing the end of the IVA.

Refused or failed an IVA to Clear my debts!

Clear my debts with a Debt Management Plan – Debt Management is an informal arrangement and not legally binding between you and your creditors.  There is no guarantee of an end date and no guarantee that interest and charges can be frozen unlike with an IVA. Debt Management is a good short term solution to regain control without legally binding commitment.

Clear my debts with a Debt Consolidation Loan – This is a good option if you have a small debt level with many creditors to pay each month.  One reduced payment or repayment can help but if you are struggling at present to manage, another loan is not always the best option.  These types of loans are often secured against your property if you are a home owner which can put your home at risk should you fail to keep up with repayments.  Be cautious if using a secured loan to clear debts.

• IN FACT, BE VERY CAREFUL!

Lewis Alexander offers this information for people starting to embark on the journey of clearing their personal debt.  If you would like help and advice from a trained personal debt counsellor in the UK regarding how to “clear my debts” then please call our personal debt helpline FREE from a UK land line using 0800 018 6868, lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

• Call 0800 018 6868 today, your call is FREE!
• Obtain professional advice
• We will call you at your convenience

It only takes one FREE call to start the process of clearing your debts in the UK.

• Do you have debts that are ruining your life?
• Do you feel trapped because you can’t get out of debt?
• Get help with your finances and clear your personal debt problems

If your finances are the part of your life that causes you the most heartache and stress, then we can give you the help and advice that could make all the difference.

• Many people experience these feelings when they are in debt and don’t have debt advice resources.

Just because you can’t see a way through your debts, that doesn’t mean there is not a debt solution that will alleviate the pressure or perhaps even clear your debts totally over a period of time.

Over recent years we have helped a huge amount of people get out of debt through our professional debt management service rather than quick fixes you often find with other debt “wipe off” companies.

Will you help me find the best way to clear my debts?

We will first have a discussion with you to understand your present situation and work out the best way to clear your debt.  There are various solutions we can recommend to help you get out of debt, some of which are informal and self managed and others are more formal.

• We can help you restructure your debts and make them easier to manage with an informal debt management plan.
• Consolidating all of your existing debts into one debt consolidation loan can cut down on interest and charges associated with lots of different debts. Acceptance for a debt consolidation loan is subject to your current credit status.
• The formal option of an IVA or Individual Voluntary Arrangement is a good way to clear your debts over a fixed term but should only be considered as a last option due to the fact that it will harm your credit rating for the future.

All of the above debt solutions will only be recommended once we have talked to you and discussed your thoughts and fears about the different aspects of your personal debts.

I’ve been in debt since I was 18 years old, are you sure you can help?

This is not uncommon! Many people get caught in the cycle of debt at a very young age and then conduct their finances in a way that is well understood by the banks and other lending institutions.

Often a teenager will take on an overdraft facility to pay for something ‘important’ which is the beginning of more and more credit throughout their lives until they get to a point where they cannot control it all any longer and then need help to clear debt and get their personal debts back under control.

This is all well known and the lenders all count on this cycle of circumstantial change to get people to take on more and more credit.

• We have trained debt consultants to help you, call free from a land line in confidence today using 0800 018 6868.

Anyone who has had personal debts will know that trying to find honest and impartial national debt help that isn’t guiding you down an self interested road is often more difficult than you would imagine.

• There are though, a lot of free resources to help people clear debt in the UK.
• There are those that most people initially think of like the Citizens Advice Bureau or Accountancy firms for example.

Online however, there are lots of resources that perhaps people would not previously have had access to such as the managing debt section of the directgov website or the FSA website or the “In Debt” pdf available from the Insolvency Service.

• We can give you the benefit of our experience today!
• Confidential advice about ways to deal with personal debt in the UK!
• All the options explained clearly and precisely!

Whether you understand the meaning of some of the terms used by some debt management companies or not, we will make sure you have a full grasp of everything before you commence anything. Our advice is both informative and personal and gives you the necessary knowledge to make an informed decision about your financial future.

The following are some typical questions we get asked by clients when they call,

• I’ve heard about the cycle of debt. What is it?
• I’ve already been refused a loan, will that stop me consolidating my debts?
• I am struggling with debt and I am a single parent. Can you help me?
• I am disabled and am in serious debt. I am struggling to make ends meet on my income
• I don’t know what to do first, can you give me some basic debt information?

Try not to forget that you are not alone and you certainly are not the first person to struggle with debt. We are confident that we can reduce a lot of the stress and we know have devised a personal strategy for a lot of our clients. Getting rid of the worry about how to clear debts alone is often the biggest part for a lot of people in debt and many of our past clients make a point of telling us this.

Take control of your own future right now by contacting one of our trained advisors who will guide you and advise you through every step of any debt recovery process you might embark on, whether it is a simple debt consolidation loan, an IVA or even a debt management plan.

By calling Lewis Alexnader on 0800 018 6868 you can talk to one of our fully trained advisors in total confidence. People who have obtained UK debt advice have improved their lives by sorting out their debt problems in the long term.

Benefit from our fast, efficient and no nonsense approach to helping people in debt and our excellent working relationship with all the main UK creditors and lenders. We are simply people dedicated to getting you back to financial health if you are confused by debt.

• Debt advice is available to all.
• Let us help you get your finances in order and get you on the road to being clear of debt.
• The sooner you decide to get help, the sooner you will be clear of debt.

Obtain confidential debt advice today and call us free from a land line using 0800 0186 868.

• Most people who get their identity stolen are not aware until it’s too late.
• There are things you can do to make it more difficult for criminals.
• Follow simple advice and protect yourself and your family from Identity Theft in England, UK!

Following the news some years back about the loss of over 25 million UK residents personal details, the subject of data protection and identity theft was thrust back into the headlines.

The problem with identity theft may come however, if the information stolen gets used to impersonate people in order to take out loans, credit or services.

If you think you have been the victim of such criminal activity otherwise know as identity theft, then you can find out exactly what has happened by contacting one or all of the credit reference agencies.

• Callcredit
• Experian
• Equifax

Read some of the more common questions and answers about how personal debt affects how you will be able to get new credit in the future.  If you think you have a less than perfect credit rating and you would like to repair your credit you should follow our guidelines.

What are the implications of identity theft?

If you are unfortunate enough to have your identity stolen you could experience all sorts of problems, some of which could have a direct effect on your credit rating and how suitable you are then deemed to be for future loans and other borrowings.

If you are already having problems with debt and would like to get some advice about how to get out of debt, we have first rate advisors ready to help you with any aspect of debt management UK and debt help.

We can offer debt management plans, debt consolidation loans, IVA or Individual Voluntary Arrangements, Trust Deeds in Scotland and a whole host of other debt solutions to all kinds of people.

• If you or anyone in your family needs help to clear debt, don’t wait any longer to get the help you need call free from a land line in confidence using 0800 018 6868.

• We specialise in helping people with debt problems get out of debt. We will do our utmost however bad the situation has become.
• It is much better to seek debt help before things get to the point where you are being declared bankrupt or facing other court actions.

If debt advice is sought early enough there are many options available to help you find a way out of debt. Some of them are informal and relatively simple to set up.

More often than not, people in this position benefit hugely from proper debt management strategies. We discuss your present situation with you then design a debt management plan around your personal circumstances.

Can you stop all the creditors letters and phone calls?

We take care of creditor correspondence for our clients and we do manage to get all the phone calls and letters reduced if not stopped because we communicate with creditors so they know what is happening.

This is a huge relief for a lot of people who find debt help and come to us as these calls and letters cause an awful amount of worry and stress but it is just your creditors way of trying to find out when they are getting their money. Once they know, they are normally fine.

What if my debts are too big?

If you are struggling with very large debts then it is even more important that you get debt help as soon as possible because the interest and charges you will be getting charged will be a lot higher too.

The amount you owe is not the primary concern, it’s getting a debt management plan together to repay it all and be able to live your life at the same time.

• If you are in this situation, please call us on 0800 018 6868, we really can make a difference and help get you out of debt!

What if I don’t earn much money?

Unfortunately, people who don’t earn very much are the very people who are most vulnerable. These are the people who tend to take on high interest debts and then struggle to maintain the repayments.

We are very proud of the way in which we help people with particular difficulties in their lives. Often these difficulties are temporary but not always. We have helped and continue to help many people.

There are lots of ways to get out of debt and some are good and work whilst others are not and don’t. If you are late pating bills, fighting with debt and would be interested to find out how we could help you clear your debts, get in touch today.

• Call 0800 018 6868 free from a land line in confidence.

• Have you decided that you are in need of help with your debts?
• Are your debts a problem to solve?
• Are you unsure what to do about your debts?

If you are feeling like the above, then things have got to the stage where you could do with some personal debt help.  We are glad to say that help with debt problems is available from Lewis Alexander.

Some people think that their debt problems are totally unique and that they have never been seen before.  Luckily, this is rarely the case. We have seen most scenarios and do not judge people, our professional advisors will help and guide you through the entire process if you so wish, our initial advice is free, our ongoing services are chargeable.

• Debt problems that are left and not addressed don’t go away on their own.

If you would like expert advice on how to solve your debt problems and get help to start the process of becoming clear of debt then get in touch with one of our advisors today.  You will be glad you did get help with debt problems and you will remember today as being the day your debts stopped running your life.

What kind of personal debts can you help me with?

We are a professional debt management company with a successful track record of helping people through their debt problems.

It doesn’t matter what kind of personal unsecured debt you are struggling with, we can help with debt problems and have a lot of experience dealing with creditors.

• Are you struggling to make payments on your credit cards every month?
• Are you in need of advice regarding debt management?
• Are your store cards not being paid on time and the interest is just increasing the debt?

Because personal debt problems come in all shapes and sizes, it is impossible to have a one size fits all debt management solution. We have several solutions that will help different people with different debt problems.

Most debt solutions are available to anyone who may need help with debt problems including divorcees, single parents, the unemployed, retired and people with a long term illness or disability.

• Get debt support information about clearing your personal debt problems.
• Call free from a land line today using 0800 018 6868.

• Are you In Personal Debt?
• Do you need help or advice to manage your finances?

The following information is for UK residents in need of debt help or debt advice.

In the UK in recent years, the amount of people who have taken on personal debt and further credit has rocketed! Whilst that fact alone is not the end of the world, the amount of people who are not coping with their personal debts is of a great concern for the government and a lot of other financial bodies.

• Our goal at Lewis Alexander is to help as many people as possible who are in debt, clear debt for good.
• Using all the tools we have at our disposal we do our utmost to help every single person that comes to us.

Each person we help is treated as an individual, with respect and confidentiality, focusing on their own set of personal circumstances and then together we devise a debt management plan tailored to their situation. Nothing is imposed … just good honest advice with recommended courses of action at the end of it for you to take up or leave …it’s entirely up to you.

• Is your life restricted by debt?
• Would you like to clear those financial restrictions?
• Would you prefer to enjoy your life without debt?

A debt management plan can help once we have looked at all your debts against your earnings, we can devise an informal repayment plan to ensure your interest and charges are kept to the absolute minimum and help you by negotiating with your creditors directly.

Don’t pay for advice about debt consolidation loans, consolidating all your debt into one easy, affordable monthly repayment through debt management UK or another loan is effective, even if previously refused loans. However, you should be aware that any loan application is subject to your current financial status.

Individual Voluntary Arrangement or IVA, this is a formal agreement between you and your creditors over a fixed term (usually 60 months) after which you are clear of debt as long as you maintain your agreed monthly repayments. You should not receive any further phone calls or letters from your creditors once you enter into an IVA however restrictions do apply especially if you are a homeowner.

With a Trust Deed in Scotland you will find the law in Scotland is slightly different, but in it’s basic form, the Trust Deed is the same as an IVA. The term of a Trust Deed is shorter (usually 36 months) but apart from that, the agreement is very similar.

• Make the choice today and ensure what you pay towards your debts actually goes towards reducing debt instead of just paying or servicing the interest.

Sometimes we even manage to get the interest and charges frozen with the informal debt management plans we set up for people reducing the time needed to pay off the debt however this can not be guaranteed.

• Are you confused with the amount of information being directed at you all the time regarding your personal debts?

Call us FREE from a UK land line using 0800 018 6868 and we will help you identify your best solution, you may not even need anything formal to give you the route through to clearing your debts, perhaps just a fresh eye is all that would be needed to show you the way forward, and if you do need formal debt help, we will advise you what would be best suited to your needs.

• With so many people in the UK struggling from week to week with their debts, wouldn’t you like to be one of the ones who gets them self out of the debt trap?
• Don’t remain chained to your debts for one day longer than is absolutely necessary, there is an alternative.

Call a Lewis Alexander trained debt advisor today, call free from a land line using 0800 018 6868, all calls are dealt with confidentially.

• The British Bankers Association are taking no further action about the PPI Claim Judicial review.

Sky news reported that on a scale of 1-10 for the banks, this reversal in direction regarding consumer PPI claims would have to rank about an 8 out of 10 for embarrassing.

The scandal is similar to the MP expense scandal as far as the banks following the letter of the law but not the spirit, miss-sold payment protection insurance has been found on an industrial scale and this is basically down to being not regulated correctly, however, what the banks were doing was basically wrong.

Lloyds Banking Group set aside approximately £3.5 billion and other banks have fallen in line with RBS expecting a bill in the region of £1.5 billion

20% of a clients’ monthly loan or credit repayment would have approximately contributed to ppi insurance on that debt.

Approximately £9 billion is expected to be claimed by the consumer from the main High Street banks who tried all they could to avoid this uturn / ruling.

• Will the consumer end up paying this bill in bank fees?
• We shall have to wait to find out!

Payment protection insurance or ppi is not a bad product it just needs selling correctly!

For further information about claiming back Payment Protection Insurance or making a PPI Claim on a loan or credit card you have or may still have, please call us free from a UK landline using 0800 018 6868.

• If you are having trouble getting a basic current account with the high street banks or have been refused a bank account, we may be able to help you.
• For existing clients, we try to arrange a basic bank account that allows people to benefit from things like direct debit savings and the normal benefits of a basic UK bank account.

Do you need a basic bank account because you have been refused?

• Are you having problems getting a current bank account with one of the high street banks because of your credit history?

We have a relationship with some of the main UK high street banks and can often get a basic bank account set up for our clients even if they have a chequered financial past. These basic accounts offer no lending facilities but do give you a lot of the other regular features you get from a normal current account.

You will be able to pay your bills by direct debit and have your wages paid into your account. you will also be able to withdraw your money from eligible ATM machines using a cash card.

• We can also arrange for an advisor to offer you personal debt help for you to try and control any financial problems!

What will it cost me to set up a basic account?

Most of the banks don’t require any large deposits to open one of these basic current accounts but one or two of them may ask for a £1 (one pound) deposit to get the account up and running.

As far as the day to day cost of running a basic account goes, you may be liable for the general charges associated with running a bank account. e.g. returned direct debits.

• Prepaid cards can often be a great alternative to a basic UK bank account.

Can you help me with my debt problems?

Yes. We are debt management specialists who can help you with a whole range of personal debt problems. We deal with people struggling with debts on a daily basis and do out utmost to help them get out of debt permanently.

If you feel that your situation may be getting to the point where you feel you need some debt advice before you get into real financial hardship or you feel you are already overstretched, then let one of our trained advisors give you the benefit of our experience on how to better manage problem debts.

• We offer solutions such as……
• Debt Management Plans
• Debt consolidation relief
• Formal debt solutions such as an IVA or Individual Voluntary Arrangement

Credit ratings and credit rating repair

If you have had trouble getting credit, there may be something held on your credit report with one of the credit reference agencies that could be preventing you obtaining further borrings or credit.

You can request a copy of what they hold on file about you by writing to them or going online. Details of how to do this can be found on their respective websites

• Equifax
• Experian
• Callcredit

Once you know what is being held on file about you, you can ask these companies to remove anything that is incorrect, or if there are any mistakes you can request that they are updated or ammended.

• Obtain further information today by calling 0800 018 6868, your call is FREE from UK landlines!

• Have you recently had problems applying for a credit card?
• Have you been turned down for some other kind of unsecured borrowing and don’t understand why?
• We can help you discover why you were turned down and maybe even help you sort out the problems that may stop you getting credit in the future!
• Why not obtain advice today?

Most people do not understand or realise that by making multiple applications for credit cards or unsecured loans within a short period of time and then being turned down for each one can make the likely hood of you getting the next one accepted even less.

So why do you keep getting refused for a credit card?

When you apply for a new credit card, the card issuer will investigate whether you are a good risk or not by checking with the credit reference agencies to see how you have conducted your finances in the past.

Whilst you do not necessarily have to have an impeccable past, a poor credit history will certainly hurt your chances of being accepted. Not only are past defaults etc visible on your file but also how many times you have applied for credit and been refused.

Sometimes however, there are things on your reference file that are simply wrong or untrue. We can help you discover what is holding you back and we offer debt help and debt management UK to consumers struggling with personal debt problems.

What are credit reference agencies?

When a company wants to find out whether someone is a good risk to lend money to, they apply to one or more credit reference agencies to find out about your credit history. These companies hold information about everything you have had credit for, applied for credit for and also all the personal debt problems you may have had in the past.

In the UK, there are three main credit reference agencies and they can be contacted using the following details.

Callcredit plc
PO Box 491
Leeds
LS3 1WZ
Tel: 0870 060 1414

Experian
Consumer Help Service
PO Box 8000
Nottingham
NG80 7WF
Tel: 0870 241 6212

Equifax Plc
PO Box 1140
Bradford
BD1 5US
Tel: 0870 514 3700

I have been told I have been blacklisted, what can I do?

The existence of a so called credit blacklist is an urban myth. People with a poor credit history are not held on a list for lenders to check and then deny credit.

Can I find out what is held on a credit file about my finances or me?

All of the credit reference agencies will supply you with a copy of what they hold on file about you for a nominal fee. Exact details of what they require are available on their respective websites.

Once you have read what is on that credit report, you will be able to have inconsistencies or mistakes removed if there are any and therefore possibly repair your credit rating.

• For further help adn advice regarding being refused for credit cards or loans or other unsecured borrowings, please contact our debt helpline using 0800 018 6868, your call is free from UK land lines.

• Do you have debt collectors chasing you for money?
• Is NOW the time to sort out any personal debt problems you may have?

There are several routes to explore when dealing with personal debt problems. Every situation requires a tailored solution.  The following information could be a good starting point for helping people clear personal debt.

• Information about a Debt Management Plan
• information about an IVA or Individual Voluntary Arrangement
• information about loans to consolidate debts
• REMEMBER; Initial debt advice should be FREE!

This blog post about advice on debt in the UK is aimed to help the genral public find online information about all different types of personal debt solutions.

This can often be a very 1st starting point online to an individuals quest to clear the debt problems they may have.  We simply explain to you the different options and solutions available to your particular circumstances.  Most people have genuinely suffered a change in circumstances when they approach our debt helpline, such as reduced hours at work, loss of job and income, split from partner, death in the family etc…

You have to be committed to clearing your debts if you want  to get out of the situation.  It will take effort on your part regardless of who you decide to get help from, if anyone.  You will have to make sure that if you set a budget to live on you stick to it and no variations to what you set should take place apart from the unexpected ones which you may set aside for as you go!

• If you require information regarding Debt Help, Debt Management, IVA or Bankruptcy or just general help to clear debts, please contact us free today.

Our advisors are well trained and qualified through many years of experience.  They advise many people every day and they could possibly help you!  Your call is dealt with in the strictest of confidence.

Once an individual has made contact with a personal debt advisor they tend to feel much better as it is like having the lights turned on when you are stood in the dark, everything becomes clear again.  The credit industry a complicated one and we are not taught about credit cards and loans and personal finance in school.  Maybe if we were, we would not be in so much personal trouble regarding finances as a nation.

If you are searching the web for debt advice and came across this Advice On Debt UK blog post then call Lewis Alexander on 0800 018 6868.  Our website is very informative and subsequently offers advice on all options available to clear debts. Some people decide to do a debt management plan instead of an IVA because of its informal structure, even though both options can be available.

If you need debt help or friendly advice regarding personal debt please call FREE in the UK from a landline using 0800 018 6868, our lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

With the right financial guidance and debt help you can free up more of your available money to work harder for you.

Are you constantly having to count up what you’ve spent and working out what you can afford to spend because you are not left with much money after all your bills are paid each month?

We offer debt advice to people in this position as well as those who are already struggling with overwhelming debts. We are determined to help as many people out of debt as we possibly can using our years of experience and our skills as debt management consultants.

• Do you lie in bed at night worrying about your bills?
• Do you constantly have to work out what you can afford?
• Are you only managing to pay the minimum payments on credit cards?

These are very common aspects of being in debt.  The first thing to remember is not to panic!

• Why don’t you charge for your personal debt helpline?

We do not charge for our personal debt helpline or the advice available on it because we believe that advice about debt should be honest and readily available without charge. People need someone to discuss the ways out of debt with then before obtaining the help to achieve that goal.

• We do charge for our ongoing services should you take our assistance after the initial advice.
• We do not say we are a non-profit organisation!

Find out more about how we operate as debt consultants.

• What options would I have to help me clear my debts?

We specialise in helping people get out of debt. We do not use quick fixes! We analyse your personal situation and then make recommendations based on our discussions. These recommendations are designed to help you get out of debt!

• We can build a personal debt management plan for you which will reorganise your finances.
• We could arrange for a debt consolidation loan to save you interest and charges. (subject to status)
• We can advise about or help you set up an IVA if you need something more formal to help clear your debts

Are there any groups of people that you cannot help?

We do not generalise when it comes to helping people with debt. We have helped all kinds of people from all walks of life, from single parents to people in the armed forces and even helped people refused loans to clear debts.

Call free from a landline today using 0800 018 6868

• The right reasons being getting the client out of debt!

We get told so many stories about how people have been charged for advice or then get charged all kinds of hidden fees during their time with other debt management companies.

• IMPORTANT: Never pay for initial debt advice!

We advise people from all walks of life about personal debt help, from road cleaners to doctors, caretakers to social workers and soldiers to lawyers. No one type of person is immune to getting into debt. The good thing about working with Lewis Alexander is that everything is dealt with in a confidential manner.

• Are some particular groups of people vulnerable?

Because some groups of people in society live on very low incomes or their situation has recently changed meaning a severe drop in income then these people are very vulnerable to getting into debt problems.

• Disabled people in debt
• Debt after a death
• People with a serious illness
• Pensioner debt
• Student debt
• People who have been made redundant

Whilst this is obviously not an exhaustive list of all the categories of people we help it does represent a large percentage of people who do experience personal debt problems.

• Other debt related issues can be things such as;

Been refused credit
If you have been refused a loan or other kind of credit, find out what you can do.

Your credit rating
If you are having trouble getting credit, find out what information is being held about you on your credit file.

Repair your credit rating
Use the information found on your credit report to remove false entries or repair your credit rating.

Identity theft
What is identity theft and what are the dangers of it happening. Read how to protect yourself from identity theft.

• Call today to see if we can help you clear your personal debt

Getting into debt seems to be an easy thing to do in modern Britain. It is reassuring though, to know that there are places you can go where you know categorically that you will get the help you need to deal with that debt.

Get in touch with us today and we will show you very quickly that we are one of those places!

• Calls from landlines are free using 0800 018 6868

• Can you imagine how much simpler life would be if we were all issued with a manual to guide us through?
• Sadly, no such manual exists but there are great places we come across throughout our lives that are great sources of really helpful information.
• We aim to be one of those places for anyone quietly struggling with debt having to juggle different credit card or bank debts on a daily basis.

We have helped a huge number of people either get their finances back to a healthy position or have helped them better manage, reduce and finally clear debts. We give invaluable advice to people every day about managing their personal debt problems and we are ready to help you too.

• Would being clear of debt suit you?

No-one enjoys having excessive personal debt but sometimes a change in circumstance happens to us which can make this far more likely. Life events like an unexpected illness, a redundancy, a divorce or even a death can contribute towards the reasons people find themselves getting deeper into debt.

If one of these events has caused you to fall behind on your debt repayments or become more concerned about your debt situation than you were before, then we can help. Starting off by giving you honest, clear and effective advice about your situation could possibly help you better manage your debts. We would then lay out debt solutions we think would help you get out of debt.

• Not all solutions suit everyone but we try to offer the most practicle one for you.

• Does any of this apply to me?

The most common thing we hear at the beginning of the debt recovery process is how people couldn’t grasp that it could happen to them. A lot of people think that serious debt problems happen to others, not them.

• Do you have creditors calling on the phone, writing letters or even banging on your door?
• Do you find you are getting lots of bank charges because you are always overdrawn?
• Do you pay for normal household expenses with credit?
• Once you’ve paid all your bills and your credit repayments, are you left with next to nothing?

If you have answered YES to one or more of these questions then you are more than likely struggling with your personal debt commitments.

Once you have decided that you wish to clear debt, we will ask you a few questions about your current situation and then we will be able to make recommendations about what debt management solution would be best suited to you. Then, when you choose which route you wish to go down, we will help put that plan into practice and give you help to implement that plan into your daily life.

• DON’T WAIT - get help today!

Your personal debt management solution could be one of the processes we have at our disposal for helping people with debts.

It may be that you need to re organise with professional debt management, or it may be that you need some kind of debt consolidation loan, or perhaps an IVA is what you would be best to consider.

All of these processes are designed to prevent your debts becoming worse and eventually ending up causing you trouble in the courts. For example a CCJ or Bankruptcy.

For confidential advice call us free from landlines using 0800 018 6868

The most important part of help with personal debt is the part that remains confidential!

If you owe money to creditors and have a partner that is not aware, this extra stress can quite easily cause health issues. Not all debt advice services are the same and you should make sure that the initial advice you obtain is without cost and that no sales person will call at your home in person with regards your personal debts.

To clear debt in a reasonable amount of time you have to be committed. People who are not committed to clearing their debts fail to clear the debt and are subsequently subjected to a fairly miserable life

Please use the following links for debt help and advice in the United Kingdom

• Have you ever tried to consolidate your credit card debt using debt consolidation help ?
• Are you a Single Parent struggling to make ends meet?
• Have you been refused a loan or turned down for credit recently?
• Are you trying self debt management or using a debt management service?
• Are you paying household bills including your mortgage or rent with credit cards and loans each month?
• Have you taken advice about an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) or Insolvency in the Uk?

If the answer is “YES” to all or some of the questions above, speak with an advisor today and obtain debt help and find a solution to clear your debts in the shortest time possible that actually suits your lifestyle.

• Regardless who you are
• Regardless what your employment type
• Regardless of where you live in the UK, rules in Scotland differ a little
• WE CAN HELP YOU WITH ADVICE!

We deal with all sectors of society from Ambulance staff, solicitors, teachers, builders, electricians, doctors, retail managers to, believe it or not, Stock Brokers in debt. No individual escapes the world of finance.

• COMMITTED people do not bury their heads!
• They face their problem head on!

Once you have accepted you need debt help to get through this stage of your life, the rest can be down to finding the right help with debt management UK.

For further information on how to clear your personal debt please call our personal debt helpline using 0800 018 6868.

Personal debt advice in the UK has become an enormous issue for all kinds of reasons. Unfortunately it has had a stigma attached to it in the past which may stop some people dealing with their debt problems. This has the effect of actually making the situation worse when it would be relatively simple to get under control with the right advice on debt.

There are several signs that your personal debts have gotten out of control.

• Are your monthly outgoings starting to outweigh your monthly income?

• Are you scared to answer the phone and open your mail?

• Do you have debt collectors chasing you for money?

There are many possible routes to take when dealing with advice on debt. Every situation is different and a tailored solution needs to be discussed. Any one of the following could be the solution for you to find help with personal debts.

• IVA (or TRUST DEED in SCOTLAND)
• DEBT MANAGEMENT PLAN
• BANKRUPTCY
• DEBT CONSOLIDATION LOAN

If you are a bit wary of committing to a fixed term financial solution like an IVA or Individual Voluntary Arrangement, then debt management can help you restructure debts in the short term. A debt management plan constitutes an informal agreement between you and your creditors.

Loans to consolidate your debts, taking out a consolidation loan to pay off all your current agreements (loans,credit cards etc) is often the simplest option as it can reduce your monthly repayments.

• REMEMBER ADVICE on DEBT SHOULD ALWAYS BE FREE
• Do NOT Pay for advice calling HIGH rate phone lines.

Individual Voluntary Arrangements

With an IVA, all interest and penalty charges are STOPPED! You will be given one affordable monthly repayment to make and this should stop all the creditor phone calls and letters you may currently be receiving.

An IVA will prevent court proceedings and even stop bankruptcy and after what is normally 60 months (5 years). Read about a Trust Deed in Scotland as laws differ there for financial help and assistance.

Bankruptcy is the end of the road as far as debt management or debt help. Once you reach bankruptcy, your finances will be sorted out by the courts. In a nutshell, if you reach the stage where you need to become bankrupt, it will mean that you will get a fresh start and normally your debts will be written off, conditions and restrictions do apply though.

Let one of our trained professional advisors call you today to help give advice on debt and find a solution to your debt problems. Peoples debt problems are rarely unique and we may be able to help you clear debt.

• Call 0800 018 6868 free from landlines, call charges from mobile phones may vary.

The person who buys on price alone is this man’s lawful prey.

• John Ruskin, English critic, essayist, & reformer (1819 – 1900)

Buyer Beware!

• We can either (a) Increase the price, or (b) work a little bit harder to meet this increased demand.

Since the economy currently has recognisable ‘slack’ (as there are resources that are not being used or out of work) in most cases the decision made is likely to be to increase supply to meet this increased demand.

As in most things that relate to large scale finances, these things work in cycles.  Once demand starts to increase, and companies work harder or use more resources to meet this demand, it means that more money is spent and any staff employed would then receive increased wages and thus have more disposable income to spend on even more goods and services.

Once industry output is increased and sales start to improve, this often results in management teams looking to new markets to see where they can further expand sales – as they recognise that their business is on the up.  With the increasing trend towards a global economy, any plans to expand sales are likely to include thoughts about breaking into new markets abroad.

When these plans are put into practice, despite an initial outlay, any successes then mean that outside investment is then brought into the economy as foreign funds are spent on UK goods and services.  These funds are ‘new’ funds (rather than money that has been recycled in the UK economy) and as a result provide greater funds that are available for investment, or indeed create additional disposable income.

• So does the encouragement of the slogan ‘Buy British’ have any real impact?

Well, if you agree with the above points, then you will certainly think it does! But beyond this, it makes a statement to the EU and our other trader partners or potential trade partners that we believe in the British made products and British provided services.  Such confidence in your own domestic output does radiate to other countries and helps create a perception of quality.  The success of BMW & Mercedes in the car industry, Sony & Panasonic in the electronics industry and single malt scotch all show that where locals truly believe in a product or brand, this is reflected in how a brand is perceived across borders.

• So do you buy British?

• Or are you influenced by price or indeed the latest magazine that talks about ‘top buys’ for that month?

To be perfectly honest, this blog writer must admit to making some brand substitutions in recent times.  As the cost of living rises, the tendency to move away from British brands (in favour of cheaper alternatives) increases.  Expensive fresh British cuts of meat have been replaced by the odd frozen meal here and there, and Cadburys has most definitely been sidelined in favour of any cheaper chocolate options.

If this financial climate is creating you difficulty and you think you need help with debt then call Lewis Alexander to see if we can help set you back on a sound personal financial path.  Our advisors are available on 0800 018 6868 and we can conduct a financial health check for you to understand why you are struggling to meet your existing commitments.

• So call us today on 0800 018 6868

• Why are we being charged to a call a Freephone number?
• There’s actually no reason as it’s not really costing the Mobile Operator anything.

We’re a bit tired of it, so we are sharing our knowledge of a new service that will allow you to call any Freephone number from your UK mobile and avoid the overpriced charges.

• How can you avoid these charges?

• Dial 01600 700 800
• Enter the freephone number you want to call.
• Then press the # key. Your call will then connect as normal.

This is completely free to use, there’s no registering to use it and the call to our number will be treated as any other call you make to a UK landline, which means you won’t have to pay for it; it’ll just be included in the minutes you get from your Mobile Operator, or if you’re on Pay As You Go, the call will be charged the same as any other landline call.

• We think this will help our mobile clients when calling our free from a landline personal debt helpline.

As the UK struggles to move under thousands of pounds worth of personal debt for each household, it appears that we may have passed a culture of debt on to our children.

A recent report commissioned by Barclays Money Skills suggests that a third of British teenagers don’t consider monies spent on credit cards to be ‘real’ spending a worrying stat for a country trying to cut down on its levels of personal debt.

It is easy to understand how this attitude may have been transmitted as Brits in their millions racked up unsecured borrowing across credit cards, personal loans and store cards during the late 90’s and early naughties.  With our children watching our every step, it is hardly surprising that their view of credit cards is the same as ours was.  A kind of ‘tomorrow’ approach, where we think that everything will kind of sort itself out in the end and the debt will be magically repaid!

• The report also stated that 34% regularly ran out of money!
• 13% were constantly out of cash!
• and perhaps surprisingly a third rely on their parents for regular handouts in order to survive!
• Only one third?

With this being the case, it does seem to ring true that very few teenagers reach financial independence prior to potentially moving out of the family home.

• Of further concern should be the fact that 90% suggested they solely relied on advice from their friends and family.
• With only 3% commenting that their place of education had helped.

Perhaps it is no surprise that in listening to us parents that so many are struggling to attain a decent level of financial understanding.  What with us being such masters of the art of fiscal management!

Somewhat reassuring was the fact that ¾ of those surveyed had made some kind of savings during the past twelve months, albeit these funds were mostly used for gadgets and clothes.  But then again, some savings are better than no savings.  A fact that I keep telling myself as besides the princely sum of £1000 that I placed into an ISA recently, I currently have no other savings to speak of.

To help this shocking state of affairs and genuinely to their credit, Barclays have recently announced a trio of partnerships with youth charities designed to improve the fiscal skills of up to 1 million young people.  At a time when the banks are being given some considerable stick (not least from this blog) such a move is commendable.

Action for Children, the National Skills Academy for Financial Services and the National Youth Agency are the charities involved and the scheme is due to target youngsters who are out of work or in education / training, educating across a range of financial disciplines including budgeting, spending, saving and avoiding debt.

If however this financial training has come a little late for you and your own little personal debt mountain has already been created from the costs of being a teenager and in particular a student in the 21^st century, then don’t worry, help is at hand.

• Here at Lewis Alexander, we have debt management consultants to take your call.
• Before you speak to us, it would help us if you can write down how much you owe, who you owe it to, details of any savings and details of your regular income.

By understanding your current position our financial consultants will be able to develop a plan of action that suits your current circumstance.  Rather than force certain debt solutions to fit your individual set of circumstances, we prefer to understand the issues that you are facing before recommending the best course of action.

So call today and see if we can help you to improve your financial health.

Call 0800 018 6868 in confidence, your call is FREE from a UK landline.

This isn’t exactly the headline that David Cameron wants to see during these tough economic times, especially after his assertion that the private sector would and indeed could create vacancies to make up for local and central government cutbacks.

But at a time when Britons owe £1.4trillion (that’s more noughts than we can even think to draw out in a blog!) and bankruptcies are being declared at a rate of 337 per day, the stats are beginning to look more than a little bit grim.

So without wishing to compound the agony unduly, figures such as the average UK household owing £57,635 and approximately 1,000 Britons turning to various organisations to help them manage their debts are hardly going to help build popularity.

It is likely that the Cameron, Clegg, Osborne axis are sure to blame the previous government, but with the public having short memories, the continual panning of the previous regime has only been tolerated for so long.  As we approach 12 months into this term of government, this ‘honeymoon period’ is coming to an end!

1589 redundancies may not sound like a great number when there are 60 million or so people living in the UK, but when you think this is around 11,000 per week or over ½ a million in 2011, then the numbers really start to hit home.  When these figures are added to the 833,000 Britons who have been unemployed for 12 months or more we really start to see a picture of a country in trouble.

• So what difference is a neutral budget going to make during such difficult times?

The short answer is that the budget pleased very few.  Hard line capitalists would have wanted to see additional tax breaks for small and medium sized businesses, whilst 99.9% of those who marched on the recent TUC rally would call for more government cash to help create jobs for cash-strapped Britons.

Sitting on the fence is not a common pastime for this blog writer, but with food price inflation standing at 6%, energy prices rising at a higher rate and the cost of a barrel of oil remaining impossibly high, it is hard not to have sympathy for fellow Britons who are watching their quality of life slip back by a year almost every month.

But what does being made redundant and experiencing higher petrol, gas, electricity and food prices actually mean for the man in the street?

• Well, first up, stating the obvious, if you don’t have any income, paying the bills does become somewhat tough.
• So that’s where the state come in to help, right?
• Wrong!

• State help only really kicks in once you have burned your life savings and are down to the poverty line.
• Life in the UK is going to get very interesting, that’s for sure!

If you are currently finding yourself worse off with each passing month and in a situation where your household debts are spiralling past the average £57k detailed above then it may be time to join the 1000 people who every day are seeking help with their debts.

One free call to Lewis Alexander on 0800 018 6868 could be the start of better things for you and your family in 2011.  Our debt management specialists are well versed at working with families and hard working Britons who are in debt.  We approach the situation from a new perspective… yours!

Rather than try and sell you a solution we identify your current situation, understand what you are looking to do, before advising on a solution that meets your needs.

If you need help with debt then why not give us a call and see if we can make a difference to the debt situation for your household.  If you are driven to make a difference to your life and have a regular income, then we can help you!

• Call 0800 018 6868 in confidence today.

Since the start of the credit crunch, financial news in the UK has been littered with news about sub-prime lending, bad debt, poor credit risk decisions and negative reviews on how little the high street banks are now lending personal and small business customers.

In effect, the kamikaze lending of the early ‘naughties’ has been replaced with the polar opposite of a lending freeze as banks attempt to repair their decimated balance sheets and prove to regulators and the government that they are viable businesses that no longer require tougher regulation and handholding to restructure their business models.

This is in stark contrast to the type of lending that was made in the 1950’s and 60’s when the role of a High Street Bank Manager was considered to be a responsible, respectable leader at the heart of a community.  During these times, any lending decision made was preceded by an application and the personal interview of the person(s) applying to consider their suitability for the loan in question.

A holistic approach was taken to the ‘credit risk’ decision by a bank manager or one of their senior officials.  In this process, the application, interview, local knowledge, return on investment and sheer  ability (and willingness) to repay a loan were all considered key elements of equal importance, In stark contrast to the ‘computer says no’ processing that Little Britain has regularly satirise.

Perhaps an overlooked feature of the process from these post-war years was inclusion of walking prospective borrowers through the full consequences of a default or failure to make the repayments.  This process included stating in full all the charges that would be incurred, how the bank would go about reclaiming the money, what this would feel like for the customer and ultimately how debt collection agents would go on to seize assets that have been secured against any loans if necessary.  This cold, yet stark appraisal of the worst case scenario at least left all borrowers in no doubt of what would happen if the repayments could not be met.

This is in contrast with today’s process of handing out 100-page booklets detailing the terms and conditions of the loan (which in fairness do highlight charges that would be incurred from non-repayment) but these statements are written down and are not accompanied with a full and frank description of what this collection process would feel like.

The modern bank executive manager would suggest that a return to such a halcyon age would result in the increase in application times and thus reduce the profitability of each branch and employee.  But perhaps this overlooks the need for banks to play a more active role in educating society and fulfilling the role of responsible lending.

Getting into trouble and behind your scheduled rate of repayments is easy and the stress this causes can build up quickly.  If this position rings true for you, then perhaps a call to one of our debt management specialists would help you to restore order, structure and a help to plan long-term to get yourself out of debt and back into the black.

Our dedicated debt advisors are available on 0800 018 6868 and we are trained to advise on your specific circumstances and help you take control of your finances once again.  We understand the intricacies of the modern day personal debt and are happy to try and explain any complexities you did not previously understand, together with the collections and recoveries process that most financial bodies use.

Simply understanding the perspective of your lending institution can help you to form an action plan for you to put into practice.  So don’t delay, if you need help with debt call Lewis Alexander today using 0800 018 6868.

• Call are FREE from landlines!

Recent events in Japan have shocked the world, as one of the most powerful earthquakes ever to strike planet earth sent a tsunami wave to decimate Northern Japan and put a screeching halt to the world’s third largest economy.

• Since the quake has struck, thousands have been confirmed dead, thousands more are missing, the country’s infrastructure has been devastated and almost 20% has been wiped from the stocks listed on the Nikkei.

In the UK, our favourite topic of conversation is the weather.  However, we are sat in temperate climbs, with only very minor seasonal changes (in comparison to others) and very little in the way of seismic activity.

Perhaps it’s about time we considered ourselves a little more than fortunate!

To watch the devastating pictures of the world’s third largest economic power brought to its knees, certainly for this blog writer, brought home how critical the economic restructuring of the economy in the UK really is.

As the coalition government attempts this restructure, it occurs to me that should such an event have occurred in the North or Atlantic seas then the UK would be condemned to generations of recession, stagflation and a possible return to the Victorian era quality of life.

Over the other side of the world, as billions and billions of Japanese Yen are poured in aid to support the stricken country, these funds are going to need to be matched with determination, engineering expertise, time and patience to spark a recovery. Possibly over the next five years or more.

Sickeningly ironic, is the fact that the economic impacts of the tsunami continue to ripple around the world.  Whilst it does seem somewhat inappropriate to think of oneself during such terrible times, it is perhaps the pressure on oil prices that should be of most concern to the world economy.  With Japan’s status as one of the world’s largest energy importers, this need is only likely to rise in the aftermath of the ongoing nuclear disaster and subsequent reviews.

Almost 30% of Japan’s energy is currently derived from the nuclear industry and with nuclear energy production under question, together with the need for increased energy to support regeneration, this is only going to have one effect on oil prices and thus the upward pressure on UK inflationary figures will place UK households already struggling to make ends meet in even harder financial hardship.

• In the UK we are also likely to see rising prices of insurance products, increased pressure on pension funds (through the lost value of International and specifically Pacific Rim stocks), and further increased pressure on home energy prices and prices at the pump.
• This may all leave you remarkably short and starting to struggle with your everyday finances.  If this sounds like you, then it is perhaps time to get in touch with a debt management company to help you review your financial situation.

Here at Lewis Alexander we have debt management specialists available.

By calling 0800 018 6868 you can speak to our experts and start to restructure your own personal finances in what is an increasingly challenging world.

We start by understanding the full details of the commitments you already have and then work with you to understand what you can afford to pay each month.  Once our experts have a view of your complete financial picture we can then look at ways to improve your financial situation and put you in a better position.

The current world economic and geological climate is as challenging as we have ever known it, but by getting organised and being disciplined, Lewis Alexander will try and help you manage any personal debt problem you may have.

• Call us FREE from a land line today on 0800 018 6868 now.
• We are waiting for your call!

Cleardebt Group Plc has bought the client base of DCM Money Solutions.

What does this mean for the vulnerable client base that put their trust into DCM when taking up a debt solution from them, be it an IVA or debt management plan?

Well the fact that Cleardebt Group Plc has swooped in for the client base suggests that the failure of DCM Money actually again benefits the Cleardebt acquisition model.  On the other hand it will be down to the client to decide if the service and management of the IVA’s or debt management plans by Cleardebt actually compares either positively or negatively when compared to DCM who previously managed their cases.

• As a client on a debt management plan, you should not be tied in or contracted to the company helping you.
• You should be free to leave at any time!
• When joining another debt management company after leaving or moving from another, your creditors should not be subjected to a missed payment due to the change over.

At Lewis Alexander we will help any client that finds themselves in the unfortunate position where they have chosen one debt service and ended up with another through no fault of their own, just like situations such as the DCM Money example where that company has gone into administration.

• You have the choice to join any service you so desire but should be aware when shopping about.

From our own industry experience DCM had always operated within the remit of the Debt Management Guidance set out by the Office of Fair Trading.  We never heard bad press regarding the daily operation or with regard to the advertising for that matter.

There was a fairly recent change in management from what we were aware of and sometimes when the ethos or founding individual is removed from a business, that business does not always continue to prosper, that could have been the case for DCM Money Solutions but we cannot clarify this.

If you need advice regarding moving debt company or service then call our debt helpline using 0800 018 6868. We can offer you debt management plans and IVA advice if you are unsure or mislead by your current provider.

If you were a client of DCM Money Solutions and would like to see how Lewis Alexander Financial Management can help you, we can state that by moving to our debt management plan would mean that the first payment you make would be distributed to your creditors, therefore, they would not notice a break in the payment plan and subsequently we would not be keeping your first payment to our company.

• For further information on becoming a client of Lewis Alexander Financial Management call 0800 018 6868, all calls are dealt with in the strictest of confidence.
• Your call is FREE from landlines and our lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Much maligned for its perceived part in the credit crunch, the 100% mortgage may make a return in the UK during 2011 as a matter of necessity to avoid plunging the UK banks into further swathing write-offs for bad debt.

A serious concern for the Monetary Policy Committee and leading economic advisors is that by raising interest rates in 2011 (arguably required to control inflation and encourage economic growth) it will plunge many customers currently in negative equity paying standard variable rate mortgage rates into a position whereby they can no longer afford their monthly repayments.

Such an impact is considered too great a risk to the economic recovery as large volumes of customers defaulting and banks suffering from reduced profits will undermine the fragile confidence in the banking system.  Therefore, the government owned banks (such as RBS, Lloyds TSB & NRAM) are rumoured to be ‘under significant pressure’ to review their lending policies for mortgages.

Essentially the choice offered is stark – either offer existing customers a reasonable rate on a fixed term or risk having to write off £millions more in bad debt as mortgage customers find it difficult to keep pace with rising standard variable rates as the MPC hikes interest rates, as expected, during 2011.

As recent market responses to bank results show, large provisions for bad debt do not help support high share prices so this is something that banks very much wish to avoid.

Put simply, if the banks don’t come up with decent deals, then there will be more people struggling to pay their mortgage payments and thus repossessions will increase and there will then be more people queuing at the door for social housing and less people from ‘Alarm Clock Britain’ focusing on the big society.

• Still with us? We hope so!

• So what does it mean for you and I?  Well not a lot if you bought your house before 2005 and haven’t taken any further loans secured against your house.

• If however you bought at the top of the market or currently have a loan to value of 95% and more, then this may be of concern.  Worrying about being able to meet your mortgage commitments is not a good place to be in, and actually being in or having mortgage arrears is worse.

Failure to keep up repayments on a mortgage or any other debt secured on your home may result in you losing your home through repossession!

As debt management specialists, we may be in a position to help you change your current unsecured debt repayment arrangements to reduce the impact that an increase to your monthly mortgage repayments would bring.

Help is at hand and here at Lewis Alexander as we have personal debt specialists available to try and help you.  If you are in a position whereby your household finances are carefully balanced and any increase in your mortgage rate would cause a real difficulty then call us on FREE today using 0800 018 6868.

After the announcement of the sale of BeatThatQuote to Google, the financial and seo blogosphere has become a wash with predictions on the real reasoning behind the £37 million acquisition by Google.

As a personal debt consolidation company that specialises in obtaining the majority of client acquisitions through white hat / good seo practices, here at Lewis Alexander we have experienced the pleasures and fantastic results achievable by working hard to obtain top ranking positions in Google and its partners search results.

• The reasoning behind why Google has bought this financial comparison site will be many fold and only time will tell what the real plans and visions held by Google for this company really are.

What we can be sure of is that the chiefs at Google know exactly what they are doing.  We can also be sure that the north London entrepreneur John Paleomylites, founder of BeatthatQuote is also on the same wavelength as Google re comparison search, hence the deal.

We believe that this purchase is the start of a claim by Google in the UK online comparison world, the ability they have to define the ergonomics of a site and functionality whilst still retaining profitability is second to none and within 3 years we predict Google to have cornered the entire UK comparison market, regardless of the current size and worth of comparison sites such as “comparethemarket”, “GoCompare” and “MoneySupermarket”. It is the not for profit experience that will prevail.

We may be wrong but after working alongside the Google algorithm for the past 8 years and watching with interest many progressive changes implemented by Google, one thing we know is that Google is to be trusted as a partner and will not hinder a genuine quest for natural, relevant and organic search listings, if you pull Google by the tail and try and creep around the back door you will have yourself to blame!  In fact from our own experiences, Google only seems to penalise companies if they are employing black hat / bad seo practices.

• Google rewards effort, it is as simple as that!

To obtain top search engine rankings in industries such as financial services, you may have to enlist the help of internet advertising consultants that can “power” your site or help you develop it into a high ranking site through “on page” and “off page” optimisation.

At Lewis Alexander we are debt management specialists and without the seo injection into our company, we would not have been able to sustain such a competitive and prominent online presence when compared to our larger PLC sized competition.  The larger companies have caught up with seo rankings as they were and still are known to use the “get it now” method of PPC or pay per click. Since market forces have become harder for most companies, the marketing spends have in turn reduced and most of these larger debt companies have reduced spend on often expensive PPC or pay per click advertising.

• Mastering strategies to obtain an enquiry at a lower cost to larger competition was something that businesses world over fought hard to achieve and regularly failed at, this was prior to the internet revolution.

Lewis Alexander is eternally grateful to Google for creating such a platform that enables smaller competition to flourish in the manner it does.  Without this type of technology clients and potential consumers would only get to see the adverts of the personal debt consolidation companies with the deepest pockets.  Surely that would not be fair!

• For personal debt help and advice you can call the Lewis Alexander personal debt helpline using 0800 018 6868.

First it was all about producing straight, one-size-fits all Bananas and Cucumbers, next it was votes for prisoners.

Surprise, surprise there is only one winner out of this situation and you’ve guessed it!

Its not the average UK male receiving a lower premium, it’s the insurance companies who could be able to charge higher premiums to female car drivers!

Essentially the EU are saying it is ‘unfair’ to charge different groups of people different prices for their insurances.  The application of this policy decision will change how UK insurance premiums are calculated overnight.

Your immediate reaction may be – ‘will it really be that bad?’, but upon investigation this has several impacts on the British economy & its people:

1.     The competitive advantage of female only insurers – such as Sheila’s wheels – could be wiped out, as they will longer be able to offer the extremely competitive rates for women

2.     This ruling will require considerable change to how insurance companies’ most skilled employees calculate risk.  At a time when large financial organisations are being asked to reduce the risks that they are taking, additional work to comply with mindless European regulation hardly seems a priority.  In the same way that straightening that banana was ridiculous!

3.     Thirdly and perhaps most importantly is the financial impact on households across the UK that may be put into deficit with increased insurance premiums.

It is this third impact that is of most concern, at a time when household budgets are already stretched to breaking point.  For those who are unable to get to work using an alternative mode of transport (and we could blame Dr Beeching, Thatcher’s privatisations, New Labour’s ill-discplined use of tax-payers money amongst a whole host of government errors in the last 80 years or so) the car really is an essential of modern day life.

At a time when oil soars towards $200 per barrel, congestion charging schemes are being considered across the UK, parking costs have increased, an additional £50 per month spent on insurances (across cars and life) could make all the difference between managing existing debt commitments and starting to fall behind on repayments.

If you are starting to struggle with your debt repayments, it can be difficult to know where to turn.  Here at Lewis Alexander we understand the struggles of the average working Briton and we seek to help anyone who has a regular income and a determination to improve their current financial situation.

Contact one of our debt management specialists on 0800 018 6868 and we can start to build up an understanding of your current commitments, the changes that are placing pressure on your household budgets and could start to work with you and your creditors to develop a solution to your financial headaches.

Our specialists are professional and will treat your case in the strictest of confidence.  We do not charge potential clients ‘up front fees’ for our advice and always seek to provide the best solution for our clients, rather than tie them in to an unsuitable solution. Our ongoing services are chargeable should you proceed after taking our initial advice.

So, if your car insurance costs are rising and you are starting to struggle, give us a call today on 0800 018 6868 and we can see if we can help you start to improve your household’s financial health!

• It seems to be getting harder and harder to be accepted for a personal loan in the UK.

This is due to a number of factors as follows:

• Purely and simply, banks have tightened their criteria for lending
• There is a smaller pot of money that banks are using to lend out to customers
• Previous credit records are being more closely scrutinised

Which to be honest is all underpinned by the fact that banks are looking to fundamentally change the structure and the risk reflected in their balance sheets.  Having re-read this a number of times, your blogger is in danger of sounding like an ultra boring accountant, so lets look into what this actually means in more detail.

1. Banks are being asked by the coalition government (and the EU) to reduce the overall risks taken in their lending, to avoid a repeat of the recent financial crisis.  In the longer term, this may see some banks be ‘split’ so that there retail divisions (everyday banking for you and I) are split from their investment arms.

NB: When the papers talk about ‘grotesque bonuses’ it is very rare for anyone in the Retail divisions to be in receipt of these substantial sums.  Therefore, try not to get too angry with the customer services clerk who serves you in your local high street branch!

• The banking crisis and bonus culture cannot be attributed to he or she!

2. In response to being asked to reduce overall risk, the executive boards of major banks have decided that the overall amount of money available to lend to individuals and to small and medium sized businesses should be reduced.  This means that there is the same amount of people competing for a reduced pot of money.

Specifically in response to reducing the ‘risky’ lending, it is considerably easier to tighten up lending scorecards to personal customers and small businesses.  These scorecards are basically a list of questions, where the responses are used to make decisions on granting a personal loan or approving an overdraft or credit agreement.  For retail customers these scorecards can prove to be very accurate predictors of what constitutes a ‘good’ lending decision.

During the height of personal borrowing in the UK,  these scorecards were ‘loosened’ slightly, which meant that banks accepted that there may be a higher volume of cases which default, in exchange for obtaining an increased overall lending pot (and increased interest payments to fuel profits).

3. Finally, the executive management of many of the large UK banks have decided to go ‘back to basics’ and instead of borrowing money from international markets, in order to lend to retail customers, they would go about things in the traditional way.  Encourage more savers to deposit with them, prior to lending out a safer proportion of saver’s funds.

Whilst this is a noble response, it also doesn’t take a genius to work out that when the average savings deposit account on the high street pays less than 1% gross interest (and the UK inflation rate soars towards 5%), depositing funds into a high street bank is a less than attractive proposition.

• So, where does this leave you, the borrower, looking to obtain funds to allow you to purchase that new car, or build the extension at the back of the house?

At Lewis Alexander, we specialise in debt management advice and advice if refused a loan, we may be able to help you obtain access to borrowing if you qualify.

One free call to our personal debt and personal loan advisors on 0800 018 6868 could help you understand how you can restructure your existing borrowing or rectify your credit rating.

• Our advisors are all professionals and will treat your call in the strictest of confidence.
• So call us FREE today to see if we can assist you in your borrowing plans for 2011!
• Call 0800 018 6868

Can you settle my debts immediately… please?

With increasing numbers of Brits turning to debt management companies for help, the question we encounter most is ‘Please, please, please can you wipe out my debts as soon as possible?’

99% of the time the answer is “No” and at Lewis Alexander we believe that our responsibility is to set our customers on the journey to a stable long-term financial existence.  Therefore, rather than starting with a solution we like to start by understanding the personal circumstances of each of our clients.

By completing a thorough financial healthcheck with any prospective new debt management client, we are then in a much better position to offer debt advice and debt solutions to best help our clients.  Typically, we find that the most common solutions are:

(1) Entering into a long-term or short term debt management plan

• Where we negotiate with your creditors on your behalf
• Potentially stop interest accruing on your debt – this is not guaranteed!
• Agree reduced debt management repayment plans over an agreed period of time

(2) Re-structuring debt payments for our clients

• Where we discuss with your creditors the current debt repayment amounts, term of loan/debt & the interest rate
• Agree new terms that are more preferable to you if possible
• Potentially change the debt solution that you are using

(3) Arranging partial settlements for outstanding debts

• Where we negotiate with your creditors to encourage them to accept a reduced repayment, by way of one lump sum usually known as a short settlement or settlement in full and final.
• Ensure that any agreement is acceptable to all parties

(4) Entering into an IVA

• Whilst some of our competitors consider this to be the ‘first debt solution’ we prefer to use this as a debt solution of last resort.
• An IVA is a formal agreement where you come to an arrangement with creditors you owe money to, to make reduced repayments towards the total amount of your debt in order to pay off a percentage of what you owe over a set period of time, usually 60 months.

The choice of debt solution depends solely on the individual circumstances of our clients, but each of these options take time to negotiate, agree and formalise. The only true option that leads to immediately sorting out debt as soon as possible, is the 100% (or very near) repayment of all of your debt. Which, if we are being honest may have made you less likely to have called Lewis Alexander to access our expertise in helping ordinary people, like you, who are in debt!

The one thing that we can promise to do instantly, in all cases, is to identify a solution that best suits you.  Should our service not be what you need we will try and refer you to a company or organisation that is better placed to help you.  For many people who are in debt they would ideally like everything sorted using the wave of a magic wand, however, this does not happen but the feeling that their situation is being managed professionally is enough to take away a large percentage of the pressure of being in debt.

• Our free from a landline personal debt helpline is available by calling 0800 018 6868.

We believe that by providing easy access to our advice means that we are better equipped to start working on your personal solution as soon as possible should you qualify for any debt solutions that we can offer.

So, if you find yourself in personal debt and need some help to turn your personal finances around then call us on 0800 018 6868 now.  Whilst we can’t promise instant debt clearance solutions, we do promise to work hard for clients and to look after your best interests.

• Call us today and see if we can help you to start to relieve some of the stress of being in debt.
• Our number again is 0800 018 6868.

In today’s ‘instant world’ plagued by financial difficulty, many of us are seeking instant miracles to reduce our personal debt following spending years of living in excess.

Those in the upper middle classes (and certainly those with a combination of wealth, financial acumen and discipline) are increasingly scoffing at such behaviour – indeed part blaming it for compounding the economic difficulties of the past 3 or 4 years.

• But whose fault is it really?
• The banks for making such poor lending decisions in the first place?
• Or us, the general public, for accepting offers of such easy money?

Having developed a mini debt mountain of your very own, once it becomes unserviceable (and certainly once you are unable to perform balance transfer magic or rob Peter to pay Paul) then the next stop can be quite drastic.  Alternatives include going cap in hand to a family member, taking an equity loan on your house – should you be lucky enough to have any equity – or entering into a debt management plan or IVA.

When debt management companies first sprang up in the UK way back in the early nineties, there were a number of small to medium sized companies offering a debt management service to their clients.  During recent years, these have been narrowed down to a few and now this market exists as an oligopoly with a few large players claiming the majority of the marketplace and its clients.

Where this happens, the inevitable consequences are poor customer service, service failures and a lack of personalisation. Look at any market run by a few small players and you will see the same. You can move or leave debt management companies!

• Energy companies are blighted by their inability to get household bills correct.
• Banks think it ok to outsource customer services to non-English speaking countries.

Should you have taken out a debt management plan with one of the large companies, it’s understandable that you may not feel personally served. Hidden fees in your terms and conditions, charges for break clauses, or simply the inability to talk to anyone who actually manages your case on a day to day basis is frustrating, infuriating and very much the opposite to the glossy brochure you were sent originally!

Here at Lewis Alexander we take a different view. As an established name in debt management, we ensure all our clients are afforded a personal, professional service that cannot be matched by our competitors. One dedicated point of contact throughout your dealings.

• Once we have taken your case, we appoint a senior case manager who will be your contact throughout the period of time you use our service.
• Whilst we can’t promise they are available 24/7 (we do encourage our advisors to get a good night’s sleep!) we do promise that if your case manager is not available to take your call, then we will  take your details and get your case manager to call you back when they become available.
• Our call centre is also based in the UK, so you will not need to learn another language just to speak to us! Lines are open 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

By retaining this personal touch we believe that fewer mistakes are made when evaluating your financial situation during our initial financial healthcheck.  We don’t simply set up arrangements for clients unless we truly believe there is a benefit to you. This time investment at the start of the process means that more of our clients are happy with what we do for them.   As we strongly believe that recommendation is our strongest avenue of new client attainment, this means that we generate most of our new clients via existing client referrals.

Finally, we are completely open with our charges and encourage our customers to review our terms & conditions and our competitor’s offerings to ensure that any solution we offer is competitive. We also display our debt management plan charges clearly and concisely up front. We know that being in debt is extremely stressful and so we don’t want our clients to be worrying about ‘the small print’ in our terms of business!

• So call a personal finance advisor today! Our trained consultants are available by calling our freephone number – 0800 018 6868.

• See if you can make a difference to your personal finances now and use a trusted financial services company as seen on TV to help you through a difficult time.

We look forward to speaking with you soon and working together to get you out of the personal debt problems you may face.

• Our number again is 0800 018 6868.
• Call FREE from a landline today for a financial healthcheck!

It was interesting to see the BBC dedicating a large percentage of the Rip off Britain show on BBC 1 this evening, to how debt management companies can harm a consumers’ financial position rather than benefit their financial future.

As with any commercial profit making industry, there will be rogue traders operating and taking advantage of any vulnerable consumers.  These rogue traders do not follow not only sometimes the spirit of an industry if unregulated but also the regulations or guidance if there are any in place.

• What was particularly interesting this evening was the way the show seemed to tar the fee charging debt management sector.

There are a few points that we would like to cover regarding a fee charging companies attitude to the free fee sector, this is in addition to what was broadcast.

• Lewis Alexander is a compliant industry member celebrating 8 years of compliant trading.

1)      The first thing we have to accept is that the Office of fair Trading put in place something called Debt Management Guidance in September 2001.  This Guidance sets out what is expected of and what must be adhered to by any consumer credit license holder should they wish to offer fee charging or free sector debt management plans or services.  Without being offensive or finding fault in any authoritative organisation, the guidance to our knowledge was not heavily policed unless complaints were made about a particular individual company.

Therefore, a great number of rogue traders felt “free” to operate without much concern of being found or traced as long as they pacified any consumer, who complained for whatever reason, thus stone walling any escalation of the complaint to an authority. We were only aware of such companies and subsequent practices when certain clients would tell us of their personal experience when explaining how they wished they had found us first based on our honest responses.  This guidance is still in place and was updated in 2008 prior to the recent investigations over the last 12 months or so by the OFT and local Trading Standards offices.

2)      The first lady featured on the BBC show had a genuine complaint and was obviously not made aware of the free sector or charitable debt management services available when she was being advised by the particular fee charging debt management company. However, her attitude was that of surprise that she had chosen a fee charging company when she could have got something for free.  The show then later changed topics and discussed being aware of something that is free, is that not a contradiction?

The free sector is funded. The Citizens Advice Bureau is absolutely free and government funded.  Other operations such as Payplan, CCCS and National Debtline are all funded and we believe operate on a not for profit basis, however they are funded to enable them to say the service is free.

You can check who funds these free debt services, in some cases it can be the creditor who the consumer actually owes money to hence the fee charging sector selling against these operations, on the basis of who is actually working for the client? an independent source or an extension of the people whom the consumer owes the monies to?

3)      The second gentleman seemed to be a victim of IVA direct selling, something we reported on way back in 2006/7 when certain large Insolvency operations were floating their businesses on the London AIM stock exchange. In certain cases an IVA may be the best solution to clear personal debts but insolvency became the quicker fix direct sell against the already badly publicised debt management plan. Say no more!

4)      The 3^rd lady was genuinely miss sold to and mislead from what we could gather but again, the free sector is there and funded apart from CAB citizens advice bureau which is governmental. This particular lady had suffered a bereavement and was very vulnerable, another reason why the free sector should have been offered at the point of advice.

We often ask why people have this attitude that they can go out and spend what they like or commit to loans and expenditure for certain changes in circumstance and then find a free service to get them out of the mess.  It is a strange attitude and we hope that this changes as the pressure and load coming to these FREE services will always create an overflow of cases that require immediate attention and private paid help.  If this was not the case, BUPA and NHS would not exist alongside each other in such harmony, one compliments the other.

All personal debt cases should be considered individually, at Lewis Alexander we have offered free debt advice on our free from a landline debt helpline (free from landlines, mobile costs may vary) for 8 years now and only when a consumer decides to take our debt management help does our service become chargeable.

• We are proud to charge for what we believe is an excellent unrivalled service within a most competitive arena. We also refer cases to the free sector when we believe the client would not benefit from our fee charging assistance.

DEMSA got a final interview and they are a trade body that set themselves up to offer a “stamp of approval” to certain member companies that comply with their expected standards.  We approve of Demsa but there are other debt management trade bodies such as the DRF or Debt Resolution Forum.  Our only concern is that the fees that these trade bodies require for us to join are not (when last checked) offered on a pro rata basis to the member companies turnover, if it was we would join as we believe we operate in line with what they require from a DEMSA member.  It is just the fees we cannot justify or afford.  It is less of a cost for the larger companies as they have a greater turnover than Lewis Alexander.  Our clients would only end up footing an extra cost for these associated fees.

Whilst remaining politically unbiased we would like to clarify that we are well behind the Coalition Government with Mr Camerons plans for the Big Society.  We welcome the effort shown by the new government and credit where credit is due, people may knock the Prime Ministers attempts but at least he is trying when we all accept that broken Britain is a real and current dilemma.  We feel that our initial free debt advice (ongoing services are chargeable) and our commitment to retaining our free phone number from landlines can be our donation to the big society and long may we continue in our quest to do our bit for broken Britain.

Whilst wishing ourselves at Lewis Alexander a happy 8^th birthday we dedicate this blog post to our celebrated event.

• Should you wish to discuss your personal financial problems with a trained advisor please call our personal debt helpline in confidence using 0800 018 6868.