The above is exactly the same as when an individual or consumer leaves a personal debt problem to grow out of control without taking action to balance the income and expenditure into the household.

The longer the debt problem is left un-managed, the greater the problem becomes to manage!

Debt Management plans have been around in the UK since the early nineties, they offer consumers in personal debt an informal opportunity to pay off debts without having to borrow any more money to do so.  Debt Management Plans came about due to people finding they could not obtain any further credit to consolidate, or put into one, all the other debts they had accumulated.

If you find you are in need of a debt management plan, the first thing you should do is contact a reputable debt management company.  This way you can obtain advice regarding your personal situation.  You should not be charged any fees up front when being advised and only if you decide to use that particular debt management service should you be asked to part with any money.

Debt Management in the UK is very common place in the personal finance industry and when a debt management plan is operated professionally by a reputable personal debt service, consumers can find that a debt management plan is a very useful solution to clear personal debt problems.

A debt management plan can help you to clear unsecured personal debts such as, credit cards and store cards, personal loans and overdrafts, catalogues, book clubs and even allow for you to repay car finance, mortgages and other commitments as part of the solution if your disposable expenditure allows for it. All secured debts such as car finance, mortgages and secured home loans have to be kept up and cannot be included within the debt management companies’ dealings with creditors, the debt management company must make an allowance within your expenditure for you to maintain these payments as they constitute your priority debts, this is how they form part of the overall debt solution that a personal debt management plan can offer.

Priority debts are debts that must be paid before others are taken into account, for example your mortgage payments must be taken more seriously than your credit card payments.  It sounds so simple but the pressure that credit card companies can put on people who owe them money is often enough to make them prioritise the credit card repayment over the mortgage repayment.

This is why the press report horror stories daily about people who have lost their home due to failing to keep up with mortgage or rental payments.

If you find yourself in need of help and advice regarding a debt management plan or other form of personal debt solution, please contact our free debt helpline 24 hours a day in the UK using 0800 018 6868, our lines are open and your call is free!

• Need Debt Management Help?
• Find Debt Management Questions and Answers!

During the course of our business day, we receive a lot of questions from prospective clients about debt management, how we can help them, how much it costs and the best debt soltuin for them to follow. 

As you can imagine, all situations are slightly different and we specialise in helping people from all walks of life, you could be a single parent with a low paying job or even a footballer.  Yes, even they get into these kinds of financial situations and need help with their debt problems. They are fully aware of the quality help a debt management plan can give them should it be needed.

• We have listed a few of the questions below, 

One of those often asked questions is – How can a Debt Management Plan help me?

Debt Management Plans can help you if you are struggling and unable to repay consumer debts such as personal loans, credit cards, store cards, bank overdrafts and catalogues etc.  If your income is lower than your outgoings, this will cause you to get further into debt each month.

A Debt Management Company will gather all the information from you regarding all your unsecured debts, your income from wages and any other means including state benefits and then decide with you, how much you are able to repay as one monthly sum to start the pathway to reducing the total indebtedness over time.  One, new and affordable simple monthly payment is arrived at with the client to ensure they are comfortable with meeting that payment.

• The Debt Management Company will then negotiate with the various creditors as to the amount they will each receive monthly. 

As you can imagine this involves a fair amount of work and negotiation with the various creditors.

One of the most common types of feedback we receive is that clients are so thankful that we make this process as pain free as possible and we manage to arrange a new debt repayment plan without the clients having to even write one letter.

It is possible to arrange all this yourself, but imagine just for a moment how much time energy and cost would be involved in the process if you were trying to deal directly with your creditors.

• A client who is already in financial trouble is less likely to be able to cope with such situations as well as trying to negotiate the best terms possible.

Yes, it’s true that a debt management plan will cost you a small amount each month, payable as part of the payment plan and usually included within your monthly payment but the cost is negligible when you consider the many aspects involved in arranging a structured repayment plan yourself.

• One needs to peek into the management side of a plan to see what is involved and appreciate the complex negotiations a reputable debt management company undertakes on behalf of a client.

Once a sensible monthly payment is agreed, the debt help provider will normally distribute your payments monthly on your behalf to your creditors on a pro-rata basis, minus the costs of the plan.

• A second question we receive is;

Do I need to pay any legal fees and Do I need to put my property up as security?

The answer to that question is NO in both cases! 

A Debt Management Plan is not a legally binding agreement and therefore no legal fees are involved.  If you have a property, this will not be needed for security when entering into an informal debt management plan.

What you will also find is that once a fair payment plan is arrived at, most creditors are very flexible in their attitude towards a debtor.  This is very probably due to the fact that many lenders or loan companies look at it with the attitude that the person involved has taken the positive steps to approach a Debt Management Company and made efforts to re negotiate their debts.

• This is a very positive move!

They can also be very flexible depending on your track record of repayments.

You must bear in mind that under normal circumstances, debt management plans usually do not deal with but do take into account any secured loans such as mortgages or court fines and any tax arrears. These debts are normally budgeted for within your expenditure part of debt management plans financial statement.

For impartial advice on how a Debt Management Plan can help you right now, contact Lewis Alexander and ask to speak to a personal debt counsellor for free advice.

Professional debt companies like Lewis Alexander understand what people are going through and are willing to offer assistance that allows you to cope in these difficult circumstances.  We will help you review all your finances in private and make a suggestion for a positive solution.

Lewis Alexander Financial Management, offer a first class personal Debt Management Servicenationwide throughout the UK. We are based in Trafford Park, Manchester and we have helped thousands of people in our history.

We have in house specialists who concentrate on debt management and personal debt and loan consolidation and we have been looking after a great number of our clients for many years now. 

Call Lewis Alexander on their free debt helpline using 0800 018 6868, our lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and your call is free.

In our business of managing hundreds of clients finances and helping them with their debt consolidation, we have found that the biggest cause of stress in families is always regarding their personal debt and how best to manage the debt problem that can spiral out of control very easily.

We find that many people are not aware of the debt help that is available for people who genuinely want to reduce their debt and be able to cope with managing their income and expenditure.

There are many financial companies who have an excellent track record in helping people in this situation and these companies are able to ease their clients’ worries very quickly.

Debt consolidation is one method that can be used very effectively to reduce your outgoings and balance it with your in comings, especially with expert help.

• Many people need educating in what one needs to do in this situation!

Contacting a debt consolidation company will help and educate them as to what decisions need to be made to effectively manage the current situation in the best possible way.  This in itself is a way that a client can receive immediate relief from the worries of not being able to cope financially and the ability to sit down or talk to a consultant over the phone will have long term benefits for the individuals financial future.

Over the many years of managing and clearing clients debts, our experience tells us that once a client contacts a debt management or debt consolidation company, they are put at ease, knowing that that they will not have to deal with a bailiff or collection agent knocking on their door demanding monies that they cannot afford.  The fact that the debt agency is there to help in this situation makes a huge difference.

• What Is Debt Consolidation?

In the simplest terms, debt consolidation means that you take all of your individual unsecured or secured repayments such as credit cards, overdrafts, loans and catalogues etc and put them all together as one full amount owed. This full amount is the amount that is then arranged into one consolidated loan, offering the benefit of making one lower, affordable and reduced monthly repayment over a longer period initially, if necessary with the effect of reducing ones monthly outgoings.

• The main purpose of this is to;

1)  Reduce the total amount of debt – this can be achieved effectively when you work closely with one lender who will pay off all your outstanding debt and consolidate it into one monthly repayment.

2)  Create one new payment to a new lender that is far smaller than all the individual payments to various lenders. Debt consolidation companies have much more experience dealing with lenders in this scenario and can also negotiate a much better rate of interest, effectively reducing your overall personal debt.

3)  Allowing you in time to reduce your overall debt if you can make slightly larger payments in due course will have the net effect that you would pay much less in interest over the whole period.

• One of the benefits that occurs as a result of the above is that you end up with a much better organized financial statement regarding your income and expenditure.

We all find that many bills to pay means you have to be so much better organised and able to meet all the various payments at the due dates or end up paying penalties for late payments, causing you to pay much more in the long run and also affecting your credit rating along the way.

One outgoing for a loan is much easier managed than 10 different payments to various lenders!

• What are my options when Consolidating my Debt?

1)  If you own your own home and have a reasonable amount of equity in your home you may consider the route of refinancing your existing mortgage to pay off other debts which will reduce your overall interest paid.

2)  If you have a fairly good credit rating you may be able to obtain a personal loan and many people would favor this as the equity in their homes has been drastically reduced in the last few years. You can find out more information about these specialist loans from good debt consolidation companies or debt counselors.

3)  If you have credit cards with large balances then you may opt to transfer all your other debts onto one single card, but you will end up paying higher interest or charges with this method.

4)  Many times you may be able to get help or assistance from family and friends, however, when one wants to keep a certain amount of privacy with financial affairs, most people are swayed against this course of action unless they have very good and open relations with family.  You are also likely to create tensions in family when the last thing you need is further tension, lack of privacy and stress.

5)  Seeking out a professional debt consolidation company – For many people this would be the best option, working closely with a time served and reputable company who have specialists in debt consolidation, debt management and debt reduction will really help you. The advantage is in the fact that they have an in depth knowledge of the areas concerned and also have very good working relationships with banks, credit card companies and general debt collectors and lenders. It is possible in many cases that they are able to negotiate better rates of interest and settlements.

It is important to note here that lately, there has been a surge in new companies operating in this debt arena, many of whom have very little track record and your interests are, shall we say, not their first priority!  It is very important that you do your homework and work with only the best companies that are prepared to look after your interests first, not their own.

Lewis Alexander Financial Management offer a first class personal Debt Management Service, nationwide throughout the UK. We are based in Manchester and we have helped thousands of client’s in our history.  We have in house specialists who concentrate on debt management and loan consolidation and we have been looking after a great number of our clients for many years now.

Call Lewis Alexander on their free debt helpline using 0800 018 6868, our lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and your call is free.

Your creditors are possibly on the large list of banks and credit companies that contribute funds to free debt management charities, these funds are paid to the charities from the banks and credit companies for the work undertaken on clients files.

• How can a free debt management service be helping you personally when they are being paid by the people you owe the money to!

We are proud at Lewis Alexander that we do charge the client directly and transparently for our debt management service, these charges are all agreed upon with you first and you are not tied into any formal agreement of any type whilst utilising our informal debt service.

• You are free to leave at any time!
• We only ask for your personal commitment to our plan for your financial recovery.

Most people find that when employing the services of a free debt charity they can often become just another number, no real personal service can be offered as the number of enquiries that these services receive is quite amazing, this is basically because they are free.

Not all debt charities are the same, some are totally free services such as the governments CAB or Citizens Advice Bureau.

If you wish to discuss how Lewis Alexander could help you better understand free debt management, please contact our free debt helpline today using 0800 018 6868 our lines are open 24 hours a day / 7 days a week!

Clear debt without a loan

• Debt Management Plan
• IVA or Trust Deed in Scotland
• Bankruptcy

Lewis Alexander is a specialist debt management company, we help people clear debts without loans, we also offer a free debt helpline to UK residents struggling with personal financial problems.  The advice we give is based on individual personal circumstances and is often not what the person (possibly you) wants to hear.

This is where debt counselling comes in, we have a proven method of helping those that wish to be helped.  Often in life, the truth is the hardest to accept, usually with any personal financial problem, there is an element of truth that needs accepting before the individual can move ahead.  That is the hard part to get over and after what we call the acceptance period, the individual feels so much relief from the stress of the debt problem that they really can continue with a normal daily life just like they experienced before being in debt.

If you are suffering with financial problems such as mortgage arrears, missed or late payments on credit agreements etc, you must deal with the situation as soon as possible, in the time it has taken to read this article so far, you could have dialed our free debt helpline using 0800 018 6868.

Our advisors will help you to make a fresh start financially and offer you tested and proven methods that you can employ to combat the pressure from debt collection agents or lenders that may be chasing you.  Letters and phone calls are the most worrying to people along with the threats of court action.  There are laws that appertain directly to debt collectors and the procedures of collection that they undertake, more importantly, the Office of Fair Trading sets out debt collection guidance that the collection industry is expected to adhere to, just the same as the debt management guidance set out for debt agencies and not for profit debt charities.

For further advice and help on how to clear debts without loans, contact our free debt helpline today, lines are open 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week and your call is FREE.

The “credit crunch” has obviously been the contributing factor of changes in circumstance for most people within the UK over the last 18 months.  Many people will just carry on and find new or alternative employment where for others, it is much harder to do so.

This can be down to several factors such as age, ability, health, stress, depression, location etc.

Most calls received by Lewis Alexander on their free debt helpline are from people who have recently suffered a change in circumstance and need initial advice on how to deal with personal debt based on the change they personally have suffered.

• The main advice to take on board is that all priority debts such as Rent, Mortgages (including secured home loans), Council Tax, Electricity, Gas and Water are paid, or at least the companies are contacted by the individual to make new and possibly reduced payment arrangements for the short term future!
• Many credit companies and lenders will not offer this advice freely to the debtor and they put extra pressure on the situation that legally need not be there. Due to the way priority debts are structured under the consumer credit act, consumers must honour these first!

For more detailed advice regarding a change in personal circumstance, please conatact one of our trained debt advisors today in total confidence.  Our lines are open and your call is FREE, call 0800 018 6868