The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) has warned that failing to have a financial plan could lead to serious debt problems, especially if you are struggling to make ends meet already. This debt could soon become unmanageable, especially as wage growth is slow, inflation is increasing and unemployment is also rising.

All of these factors could make 2012 a very difficult year for many families, particularly the 6.2 million households which the CCCS identified as “financially vulnerable” in its recent Debt and Household Incomes report.

The charity’s director of external affairs, Delroy Corinaldi, said:

“It’s never too late to put your finances in order. Setting a clear budget now is the best way to help withstand the financial headwinds in 2012 and beyond, and will leave you in a far better position to cope with any difficulties you may face in the future.”

In another survey carried out by YouGov recently, it was revealed that 29 per cent of people think their best hope of improving their financial situation and clearing debt problems is to win the lottery. Financial experts warn that it is incredibly foolish to leave your financial future to chance in this way, especially as the odds of actually winning the lottery jackpot are around 1 in 14 million.

One in four people with debt problems need a financial debt management plan is a post from: TheDebtPeople.co.uk

Snipes, 49, is currently serving a prison sentence over his debt problems with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which pursued the Blade Runner star over millions of pounds in unpaid taxes.
Lawyers working for the actor employed a number of tactics to keep him out of prison, including the invocation of something called the “861 argument”. This theorises that some parts of US residents’ domestic income isn’t taxable, and Snipes claimed he was a “non-resident alien”.

This and other attempts failed, however, and in December 2010, Snipes was handed a three-year jail sentence for tax evasion and other related fraud charges. He is currently serving his sentence in the McKean Federal Correction Institution in Pennsylvania.

It now looks as if Snipes’ debt management problems will continue once he comes out of prison in 2013, or possible before his release, as American Express has filed a lawsuit against him over an alleged $29,343 credit card bill which he has yet to pay. The company is not only seeking to recover the amount Snipes ran up before entering prison, but also the interest on the debt and the legal costs it has incurred in taking the case to court.

Legal representatives for Snipes have not yet commented on the lawsuit.

Wesley Snipes sued by American Express over credit card debt management issues is a post from: TheDebtPeople.co.uk

Centre manager of the Christians Against Poverty service in Sunderland, Fred Finch, urged to people plan a clear strategy for their festive shopping and to follow it. He said:

“These are difficult times for a lot of us and the temptation is to say, ‘at least we’ll have a great Christmas’ and use that as an excuse to spend what we haven’t got.

“If you’ve already caught yourself saying this, we want your alarm bells to be ringing loud and clear.

“Over indulging on presents for everyone in a mile radius is no longer in fashion.

“Most of us have seen our income squeezed significantly and will be scaling back so we must not feel the pressure to over consume.”

Mr Finch went on to say that nearly half of those who had sought debt help recently had taken out a personal loan to cover Christmas costs. The charity’s statistics also showed that many of those went on to develop even more pressing debt problems, and some even lost their homes, faced mental health problems and the occasional person even considered suicide.

Mr Finch made it clear that spending more than you can afford to have a “nice” Christmas is simply not worth it if these sort of spiralling problems are the consequence.

Sunderland charity warned of Christmas debt problems is a post from: TheDebtPeople.co.uk

According to the council’s figures, a total of 9,521 tenants have rent arrears on council-owned houses. A total of £1.8 million is owed by 5,667 current residents, whilst 3,854 former residents owe a further £1.8 million. This means that on average per household, current tenants have rent debt problems of £318 each, whilst former tenants owe £467 each.

These figures are also a huge increase from a few years ago in 2006-2007, when the total amount of rent owed to the council was just £1.6 million.

The local authority itself is already strapped for cash, which has led to the launch of a new savings programme in which the council hopes to claw back £24 million by shutting care homes, cutting jobs and increasing council tax.

The council, which owns 19,000 houses at present, will now have to start sending officers to the houses of tenants who owe rent, to stop the arrears soaring and hopefully recover as much of the debt as possible.

Speaking of why this situation has occurred, the assistant director of housing services at Stoke-on-Trent City Council Val Bourne has blamed a new computer system which sent out warning letters to tenants with rent debt problems. She said:

“The connection with tenants was taken away. It became very much an automated process, made worse by a reduction in staff.

“Within days an officer will now knock on the door and talk to people about why they are not paying their rent instead of letting it drag on for weeks and become a problem they don’t want to face. We don’t want to evict people. We want them to keep their tenancies.”

Stoke council tenants rack up £3.6m in rent arrears and many could benefit from debt help is a post from: TheDebtPeople.co.uk

The Government has introduced the new rules in response to continued criticism that shops are pushing store cards on customers, not all of whom understand what they are signing up for. Many have trouble paying back what they owe on these cards and with interest rates as high as 25 per cent, debt management problems often follow.

As part of the new rules:

• Shops will no longer be able to offer discounts on purchases at the till in return for filling in an application for a store card
• Discounts and free gifts will still be offered for store card holders, but only after the seven day ‘cooling off’ period. Customers must return after this time to get money off their next purchases or their free gift
• Shop staff will no longer earn commission for encouraging shoppers to sign up for a store card, and any staff selling store cards to customers must receive standardised training first

Explaining the purpose of the new rules, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban, said:

“The public told us that consumers can be tempted into taking out a store card by being offered a discount at the till. We’ve listened to these concerns and have worked with industry to develop a strong package of measures in response.”

Shops warned not to tempt consumers into debt problems with store card offers is a post from: TheDebtPeople.co.uk

YouGov conducted the research on behalf of the Institute of Financial Planning (IFP), and timed it to coincide with Financial Planning Week (21st – 25th November). Researchers found that women, in particular, are at risk from debt problems once they retire. Nearly half of those surveyed said they had never put any money away for their pension fund and they aren’t saving currently.

Only one in five of those included in the survey said that they thought they were saving all they would need to make their retirement financially secure.

The research also revealed that many people aged 55 and over are worried that they will never be able to afford to retire. Around one in ten said they had no idea how to improve their financial outlook for the future, but one third said they were planning to tackle their debt problems first.

This suggests that household do not have enough disposable income at the moment to clear debt problems, pay all their bills and put aside savings for retirement. The figures show this too, as more than half of survey respondents said their household finances have worsened over the last six months.

Financial Planning Week is a campaign which aims to help people plan for their futures and to seek proper financial and debt advice where appropriate.

Half of UK could face retirement debt management issues by not saving for pension is a post from: TheDebtPeople.co.uk

The Central Bank of Ireland has released data which shows that the number of mortgages which are currently in arrears of more than 90 days was 62,970 in September this year. This is a significant increase compared to just a few months ago in June 2011, when the figure stood at 55,763.

Furthermore, the bank revealed that another 69,736 mortgages have been restructured recently, through agreements between homeowners and the bank. A total of 33,360 of these mortgages are currently in arrears.

These figures show that there is a increasingly mortgage debt problem in Ireland, which could be attributed to the after-effects of the banking crisis, property crash and the €67.5 billion bail-out of the country by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU) in 2010.

Another factor which could be increasing debt problems for Irish homeowners is the high level of unemployment in the country at present. This 14 per cent unemployment rate, combined with lower wages and wage freezes, could make it very difficult for homeowners to clear their mortgage debt and keep on top of payments in the future.

Indebted homeowners could soon have some relief, however, as the Irish Government is pushing to pass new legislation which will force banks to help struggling mortgage holders by passing on cuts in the European Central Bank’s interest rates.

Irish mortgage debt problems increase is a post from: TheDebtPeople.co.uk

According to the survey, around 31 per cent of those questioned admitted providing financial aid to family members and close friends. The average amount given by such generous families was £442 a year. Whilst this may not seem like very much, it could make a huge difference to a household that is already struggling with debt problems.

The Aviva report also uncovered a shift in family dynamics which has lead many households to lend money to their aunts, uncles and other ‘extended family’, as well as close friends, adult children and ageing parents. These were the main recipients of this new wave of altruism uncovered in the insurer’s report.

The director of workplace savings at the insurance company, Paul Goodwin, advised families that they may be better keeping the cash they give to friends and relatives in order to tackle their own debt problems or to save for retirement. He said:

“While it is good to see how families are pulling together, people need to make sure they are not sacrificing their own financial wellbeing, particularly in the long term.

“While we obviously don’t expect people to stop supporting their families, we would urge them to think about the types of support they can provide and decide whether they can help them in different, more practical ways.”

Families requiring debt consolidation by loaning friends and family money is a post from: TheDebtPeople.co.uk

At a hearing at Southwark Crown Court recently, it was revealed that Devine was one of four MPs to receive legal aid in order to fight their cases in court. Mr Devine, who was found to have unlawfully claimed expenses of £8,385 during his time in office, was given a total of £32,000 in legal aid.

Mr Devine has now been told that because he because he had been through bankruptcy proceedings in February 2011, he does not have to pay back his legal aid costs. Mr Justice Saunders explained that Mr Devine would be saddled with greater debt problems if made to pay the money back. He said

“In relation to all other costs I should make orders for payment by the defendants unless in all circumstances of these it would involve undue financial hardship.

“In the case of Mr Devine different considerations apply. He is bankrupt and it seems unlikely that he will have anything left by the time all his debts are paid off.”

Meanwhile, the three other defendants, Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Eric Illsley, have been ordered to pay back a total of £66,951 in legal aid. They will also have to pay a total of £58,530 in prosecution costs.

Expenses scandal MP won’t pay legal aid due to debt advice pre-bankruptcy is a post from: TheDebtPeople.co.uk

The campaign is called Plug the Debt, and it aims to help people who are falling behind on their energy bill payments or are likely to in the coming winter months. According to campaigners, energy prices increased by around 7 per cent last winter. By spring 2011, this had increased the number of people amassing energy debt problems for the first time by more than a fifth for gas and more than a quarter for electricity.

Those behind the campaign also revealed shocking figures which showed that more than 850,000 people in Britain are in debt to their electricity supplier. Gas customers are also struggling with debt problems, as 700,000 people also owe money to their gas supplier.

According to the latest research, more than half of British people are worried about energy debt problems this coming winter, but as many as 29 per cent believe that their energy supplier would not help them if they experienced problems paying their bills.

Support for the launch of the Plug the Debt campaign also came from the Energy Minister Charles Hendry, who said:

“I wholeheartedly support the Plug the Debt campaign. Recent energy price rises in combination with other rising costs mean that many household budgets are under huge pressure, so it’s more important than ever that consumers who are at risk of falling behind on their bills know what their rights are and what help is available.”

Campaign to target energy bill debt is a post from: TheDebtPeople.co.uk

According to official figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), around one in five people aged between 16 and 24 are without a job of any kind. On top of that, it has also emerged that the UK has the highest levels of unemployment now than it did back in 1996.

A total of 8.3 per cent of the economically active population are unemployed, and more than 200,000 young people have been out of work for a period of 12 months of more.

These figures have prompted many employment experts to worry that the UK is cultivating a generation of individuals who are unable to fully connect to the workforce. This could leave these people with a lifetime low job security, reduced wages and possibly debt problems.

In response to the figures, the government has blamed the eurozone debt crisis, as the Employment Minister Chris Grayling explained:

“These figures are bad news. They are I’m afraid the consequence of what we’re seeing in the eurozone. If you go back four months, unemployment was falling, youth unemployment was lower than 900,000. We’ve seen a big slowdown in the economy I think as a result of the crisis elsewhere.”

However, Grayling’s comments were met with criticism elsewhere, with even the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg admitting that the government needed to do more on youth unemployment. He said: “I think it would be a real dereliction of duty if we did not do more to try and make sure that young people are either given a real pathway into training, into education, into further education, into higher education or into the labour market.”

Unemployement for UK youngsters hits 1 million and debt management advice demands increase is a post from: TheDebtPeople.co.uk

Mr Davey described a bank account as an “essential stepping stone” for bankrupt people, saying:

“Without access to a bank account, even the simplest financial transaction is beyond reach for an un-discharged bankrupt. What I want to see are financially capable consumers who are able to effectively manage their money and make the fresh start they need. If evidence suggests that there are some people that are struggling to get a bank account, I want to see what can be done to help improve their circumstances.”

The Insolvency Service has confirmed that although bankruptcy can often be seen as a fresh start for people who have struggled with insurmountable debt problems, some have difficulty in getting a bank account. The decision to offer an account to an un-discharged bankrupt is the bank’s, and some may not even offer a basic account.

However, two high street banks do currently offer basic bank accounts to people who have not yet been discharged from bankruptcy, and the Government is now looking into ways of promoting these financial organisations.

A consultation into how financial access can be improved for people who have been through bankruptcy has now been launched by the Insolvency Service, which is concerned that some bankrupts may face added expenses if they aren’t able to use a bankrupt to pay bills or receiver wages.

People who have been through a debt management plan or bankruptcy need better bank account access is a post from: TheDebtPeople.co.uk

Brian Leeming admitted stealing the money from the Commercial Hotel pub over a period of time, but said that he only did so because of mounting debt problems. It also emerged that Leeming, 52, had been through bankruptcy proceedings with his wife last year, after they racked up debt problems exceeding £52,000 whilst running a pub together.

Richard Reed, mitigating in the court case, also said that Leeming had desperately needed money to afford to undergo a surgical procedure on his leg after it was broken in an accident. These were used as mitigating circumstances in the case, as well as the fact that Leeming had no previous convictions.

The court heard that rather than seeking debt help for his desperate situation, however, Leeming decided to steal from the business of which he was in charge. Prosecutor Mehran Nassiri said that discrepancies in the bank takings, especially from the pub’s fruit machine, had been discovered in January and February of this year. It was also noticed that some stock was missing from the Pudsey pub. An investigation was launched, and eventually Leeming was arrested.

After Leeming had admitted seven offences of theft and all mitigating circumstances had been put forward, a judge in the case handed the former pub manager a suspended prison sentence.

Pub manager spared jail for £7k theft after admitting bankruptcy is a post from: TheDebtPeople.co.uk

Tess Sharratt, 30 from Acomb, spoke to the York Press about how debt problems began to take over her life after the family got into financial difficulties. Her husband Steve lost his job, and she had to leave her position when she became pregnant.

As the family’s debt management problems increased, Tess and her husband were hounded by creditors for repayment and debt collectors even started to contact their neighbours for information. They would be left with no money at all if they met all demands from creditors, so they only made minimum repayments.

Tess said she despaired of what to do, until the moment she finally decided to seek professional debt advice to get the family out of debt and back to normal. Bankruptcy was deemed to be the most suitable option, although Tess and husband Steve have had to work very hard to clear £5,000 from their existing debt problems.

Describing her stressful experience and explaining what it had taught her, Tess told the York Press:

“You should only spend what you can afford and if your children can’t get their computer games for Christmas that’s probably a good lesson for them to learn. It’s a lot worse to get into debt. That said, I was not lavishly spending money on credit cards. I didn’t get into debt by buying TVs and cars. For a long time, I kept chipping at the minimum payments. It was a very desperate situation and affected my health and everything really.”

York woman finally decided to seek debt management companies for advice is a post from: TheDebtPeople.co.uk

Researchers for the insurer found that a total of 52 per cent of UK families were struggling with unsecured debt problems, including loan and credit card debt, and that the average owed was £10,604. For many families, this amount is nearly half of what they earn in a year.

The average annual household income is £23,796, according to the findings of Aviva’s Family Finances Report. With such high debt problems in relation to their income, many families will find it nearly impossible to completely pay off what they owe. This will be especially difficult due to the pressures of rising living costs, wage freezes and increasing redundancies.

Aviva did find that on average, monthly incomes have risen by around £46. However, this increase is eclipsed by the rate at which energy bills, food and transport costs have soared.

Paul Goodwin, who is Aviva’s director of workplace savings, commented on the latest findings, saying:

“Incomes have only risen by £46 since January so to make ends meet, we have found that UK families are cutting out luxuries, economising on spending and reducing the typical amount they save.”

Other results from the Family Finances Report included the statistic that 31 per cent of families are having to spend their hard-earned cash providing financial support to friends and relatives who are also struggling from debt problems.

Family debt problems now equal half yearly income is a post from: TheDebtPeople.co.uk